A tragic case of complicated labour in early Byzantium (404 A.D.).

Objectives: Presentation and comment on the problematic delivery of the Byzantine empress Eudoxia's stillborn child.

Study Design: The original Greek language Byzantine histories, chronicles and hagiographical sources were investigated. Comparisons were then made of the knowledge of obstetrics among contemporary and ancient physicians.

Results: The case of Eudoxia's delivery is described in various literary sources with details regarding the fatal clinical picture of the parturient after the embryo's death. The study of early and contemporary medical texts proves that in similar cases conservative treatment was preferred but embryotomy was followed in the event of failure.

Conclusions: Eudoxia's labour represents a characteristic paradigm of the difficulties involved in the confrontation of complicated deliveries in mediaeval times, often resulting in the death of both the mother and embryo. The treatments follow the ancient Hippocratic, Hellenistic and Roman traditions and influence medieval European medicine, thus constituting significant roots of obstetrics.