Cadira paridora (birthing chair)

What is

Birthing chair: the woman gave birth sitting, with the midwife in front of her. Home birth furniture, prior to the hospital bed.

In Mallorca, collectors of antique furniture mention it: a column on mallorcadiario.com ("El moble antic mallorquí", linked to the Amics del Moble Antic de Mallorca) mentions it along with the pastera, the canterano, the peu de ribella and the caixa.

Notice: the DCVB does not collect “cadira paridora”; lambing only as a fertile female and part of the pen where the sheep give birth. I have not located a cataloged Mallorcan specimen (to verify).

How is

• General European typology (to verify in Mallorcan pieces): low and robust chair, with inclined backrest and arms for grip.
• Open or horseshoe seat, to make way for the child.
• Local wood (pine, walnut); board seat, not bova.
• Measurements: without Mallorcan data.

How is fa

• Work of a village fuster, like any armchair (see cadira-de-repos ).
• Solid piece, no size: it had to withstand force and shocks.

Com s'usa

• The comare (midwife) carried it from house to house or a family had it and lent it (general use, to verify in Mallorca).
• It was kept out of sight: an intimate object, which is why little is preserved.

Vocabulary

• cadira paridora: birthing chair.
• paridora: in the DCVB, fertile female; place in the corral where the sheep give birth.
• comare / comadrona: midwife.
• jeure: stay in bed after childbirth (per verify use).

History

• 18th-20th centuries: domestic use of sitting birth in Europe; undated Mallorcan examples (to be verified).
• 20th century: childbirth moves to the bed and the hospital; the chair disappears from the houses.
• Today: piece sought after by collectors of antique Mallorcan furniture (mallorcadiario.com).

On veure'n

• No part located online. Ask at Museu de Mallorca, Secció Etnològica (Muro) , La Granja d'Esporles and Els Calderers.
• Collectors: Amics del Moble Antic de Mallorca (Lloseta, to verify).

Why is it design

• Furniture for a moment: designed for a single event, with thoughtful posture and supports.
• Knowledge of women: form linked to the midwife, not to the workshop.
• Invisibilized design: intimate object that almost does not reach museums.

For the project

• Research: interview with midwives and village families; search for “birthing cadira” in inventories.
• Connection with current respected childbirth: the birth chair returns in hospitals and homes. Contemporary piece with a fuster.
• Trades: fusteria-mallorquina · ebenisteria-i-moble-mallorqui . Files: cadira-de-boga-i-banc , bres.md.

Sources

• mallorcadiario.com/el-moble-antic-mallorqui
• dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=paridora
• dcvb.iec.cat/results.asp?Word=cadira

Working text from the Disseny Indígena knowledge base, machine-translated from Spanish.

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