[Forced delivery instead of postmortem cesarean section].

The Lex Regia stipulated that no pregnant women shall be buried unless the child has been removed from her womb. The post mortem caesarean delivery was upheld till 1861 by the majority of obstetricians but nevertheless, anterior to the XIXth century, in 1729, Delamotte practiced delivery in the agonising patient in the absence of labour in view to bypass the cesarean section in hope of better child survival. This article describes the beginning of forced ante mortem delivery upon post mortem cesarean section, which contributed to a decrease in child mortality.