Saiseikan and midwives,済生館と「産婆」

Saiseikan and midwives

Training of midwives at Yamagata Prefectural Hospital Saiseikan began in September 1880, just one year after the hospital opened. Considering that nurse training did not begin until 1907, this represents a remarkably early effort. During Roretz’s tenure, he was responsible for classroom lectures, while practical instruction was carried out by experienced midwives. In 1887, a Midwifery Training School was established. The school continued to operate even during the period when Saiseikan Hospital was privately managed, and after the hospital became municipally operated in 1904, midwife training continued without interruption.
It is not known exactly how long the name “Midwifery Training School” remained in use or when the program ceased operation. Among the surviving materials preserved by the Local History Museum, the latest confirmed graduation record dates to 1951, and the graduation photograph from that year’s class is displayed here.