The Chainsaw Was Originally Invented To Help With Difficult Childbirth And Free Babies That Became Stuck During Delivery

Believe it or not, chainsaws weren't originally invented to chop down trees. They had a much more gruesome use. An early version of the chainsaw was actually developed as a medical instrument to assist with difficult childbirth.

Before modern medicine, childbirth was excruciating and dangerous. Back in the 18th century, doctors had limited options when a complication or emergency arose.

One particularly terrifying problem occurred when a baby's head could not safely pass through the mother's pelvis.

By the 1770s, a French doctor named Jean-René Sigault came up with an idea to help babies that became stuck during delivery. His idea ultimately led to the invention of the chainsaw.

In 1777, he and his assistant, Alphonse Leroy, tested a theory from the late 1500s about cutting the joint at the front of a woman's pelvis to widen the birth canal for a safer delivery.

Sigault used a sharp knife to widen a pregnant woman's pelvis and deliver her baby. The woman had already delivered four stillborn babies in the past due to a pelvic abnormality. The delivery proved to be successful.

The procedure that Sigault performed was called the symphysiotomy. No anesthesia was used during the operation. In 1785, a pair of Scottish doctors wanted to improve on Sigault's method.

The doctors, John Aitken and James Jeffray, developed a flexible saw made of chain link with a wooden handle at each end.

The tool was meant to separate the mother's pelvic joint and widen the birth canal more quickly and easily. It was successful and became known as the Aitken's saw.

aaalll3110 - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual people - pictured above a man holds a newborn baby

Then, a German surgeon named Bernard Heine improved on the Aitken's saw design in 1834. His Heine osteotome included a handle that was manually cranked to cut through bone even faster.

However, very few surgeons were able to perfect the use of the tool. So, the Aitken's saw remained the most popular choice for childbirth emergencies until the end of the 19th century.

Leonardo Gigli, an Italian surgeon and obstetrician, developed the Gigli saw, which was a thin, flexible wire with handles at either end.

Today, the Gigli saw is still used for amputations and craniotomies. In veterinary medicine, it is used to cut tusks, antlers, and horns.

Eventually, the chainsaw tools were phased out as better surgical techniques were introduced. Although they may seem absolutely horrific today, they helped contribute to advancements in medicine.

In 1905, the chainsaw concept found a different calling. It was finally applied to trees rather than women in labor. It revolutionized the logging industry with its power.

So, the next time you hear a chainsaw roaring through the trees, you can take a beat to remember that history is even stranger and darker than you once thought.

Sign up for Chip Chick's newsletter and get exclusive stories like this delivered to your inbox.