How Did a Woman Convince Everyone That She Gave Birth to Rabbits?

How did Toft, which went down in medical history as an interesting case, come to the world? that you gave birth to a rabbit could he convince you?

Toft, who not only convinced people but also forced some doctors out of their profession, to your strange story let’s dive in.

Mary Toft was a poor maid living in Surrey.

Toft became pregnant in 1726, but a few miscarriages lived. The tragedy he experienced was the beginning of his remarkable fraud plan. Mary began to claim that she had given birth to rabbits, and these claims spread quickly among the local population.

Mary’s strange claims attracted the attention of local doctors and the king.

Hearing the incident, Dr. John Howard examined Mary and was convinced that she had actually given birth to a rabbit. According to him, there was evidence to support Mary’s claims, including the fact that she gave birth. They were pieces of rabbit.

Dr. Howard reported this situation to King George I, a well-known doctor in London. Royal Household surgeon Nathaniel St. To André reported. When the incident attracted the attention of the king, St. André and other doctors arrived in Surrey to examine Mary. The other doctors who came also believed that Mary had given birth to a rabbit because not one but a whole baby. 15 times There were moments when she gave birth to a rabbit.

Of course, the rabbits that emerged were not living rabbits. rabbit parts These were just some of the things Mary removed during labor.

Mary Toft was taken to London for further investigation.

During this period, newspapers carried Mary’s story to the headlines and it became a huge sensation among the public. It aroused curiosity. Many people wanted to know if Mary really gave birth to rabbits.

During the examinations carried out in London, it was revealed that the parts of the rabbit that Mary claimed to have given birth to were cut with a cutting tool. Not only that, but parts from other animals were also found. Even inside Mary Even the straw was gone.

Confession came from Mary.

During further examination in London, some doctors became suspicious of Mary’s condition. Finally came Mary’s confession: She loved rabbits and rabbit parts. placing it in the groin area She was pretending to give birth.

Mary; He was very impressed by rabbits and saw them in his dreams, desire to eat rabbit meat He was facing a problem like this. Mental problems such as depression and schizophrenia pushed Mary to this method.

While Mary went to prison, doctors lost their jobs.

This interesting situation, which followed her fear of rabbits in the field while she was pregnant, naturally created a huge scandal in the country. Dr. John Howard and Nathaniel St. Famous doctors like André were killed because of this incident. They lost their reputation.

Mary Toft briefly was released after being imprisoned and lived the rest of his life in silence.

As humans, we all see that we are very prone to being deceived. This story of Mary served as an important lesson for both medical historians and psychologists. Moreover the power of the media We can also consider it as an example.

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