NMC blog - Midwifery at Christmas

http://www.nmc-review.org/latest/editor-updates/midwifery-at-christmas/

So interesting, and sadly true! Thanks for posting x

"When she did her routine post-partum examination, Zelomi was amazed to find that the new mother was a virgin. The other midwife, Salome, did not believe her and conducted her own examination, whereupon the hand she used withered up. "

"It resonated with contemporary practice, as midwives were often hired to test the virginity of prospective brides."

Firstly, how would a VE tell one if the mother (or any woman) was a virgin? I know about the hymen but I also know it's absence is not conclusive (and many innocent women were made to suffer, even stoned for it's absence) but wouldn't a VE in itself, and certainly the birth of the baby, have affected it?

Secondly, how lovely for the midwife who's hand withered, the shepherds weren't punished for their initial disbelief, if anyone was going to face the power of the lord of disfigurement, shouldn't Herod have been first choice? Sorry but the sexism in religious texts annoys me no end.