The Bio//Medical Enthusiast

In simple terms, no-one knows.

In more complicated terms, there might be two reasons:

• “Caesarean” comes from the Latin verb “caedare”, meaning “to cut”^1,2.
• In ancient Rome, burials of deceased pregnant women were forbidden by Numa Pompilius, King of Rome in 715 BC. He created a law of kings known as Lex Regis de Inferendo Mortus: even when chances of surviving were slim, the baby was always removed from the mother’s body so that they could be buried separately. When ancient Rome became the Roman Empire, the Lex Regia became the Lex Caesarea².

Also: Caesar’s mother Aurelia lived long enough to bury Caesar herself, so she probably gave birth without the help of a C-section².

Further reading:

1. Dictionary.com. Caesarean section [Internet]. Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged. 2012 [cited 2025 Sep 24]. Available from: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/caesarean-section
2. Fadel HE. Postmortem and Perimortem Cesarean Section: Historical, Religious and Ethical Considerations. Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America. 2011;43:194–200.