Christian Kielland Christian Caspar Gabriel Kielland (10 November 1871 in

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

– 18 March 1941 in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

) was a Norwegian

gynaecologist Gynaecology or gynecology (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with ...

, known as the inventor of the

Kielland forceps Obstetrical forceps are a medical instrument used in childbirth. Their use can serve as an alternative to the ventouse (vacuum extraction) method. Medical uses Forceps births, like all assisted births, should only be undertaken to help pro ...

. The tool is probably the most common forceps used for rotation deliveries. The sliding mechanism at the articulation can be helpful in

asynclitic birth An asynclitic birth or asynclitism refers to the position of a fetus in the uterus such that the head of the baby is presenting first and is tilted to the shoulder, Types of Forceps Used in DeliveryFebruary 2006. Reviewer: Douglas Levine, Gynecolog ...

sHealthline > Types of Forceps Used in Delivery
February 2006. Reviewer: Douglas Levine, Gynecology Service/Department of Surgery, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. (when the fetal head is tilted to the side),Asynclitism in labor
spinningbabies.com since the fetal head is no longer in line with the birth canal.

Early life and education

He was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

as the son of missionary pastor Jan Olaus Kielland (1833–98) and Hanna Olsen (1842–1913), and was married in 1900 to Alice Louise Franziska Traub (b. 1875). Kielland came from a shipowner family near

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

. In 1874 the family returned to Norway from Africa and Kielland began his studies, first at

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

where he graduated in 1891. He studied

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

at the

Royal Frederick University The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

where he graduated with the

medical degree A medical degree is a professional degree admitted to those who have passed coursework in the fields of medicine and/or surgery from an accredited medical school. Obtaining a degree in medicine allows for the recipient to continue on into special ...

in 1899.

Career

Early career

After an internship at the hospital in Gravdal,

Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...

, he returned to Oslo in 1901 to work in the department of surgery at the

Rikshospitalet Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet is one of the four main campuses of Oslo University Hospital in Oslo, Norway. It was an independent hospital, ''Rigshospitalet'', later spelled ''Rikshospitalet'' ("The National Hospital"), from 1826 to 2009 ...

. From 1902 to 1904 he worked in the Maternity-Foundation and was obstetrician at the University Clinic ( en, Universitetsklinikken). Here he developed a birth rod receiving considerable attention internationally. In the years 1911–14 he was the so-called senior registrar in Maternity-Foundation. He also worked in Copenhagen and the Catholic hospitals in Oslo.

Scientific and clinical research

Kielland proposed a new way to correct prolapse-uterus (

uterine prolapse Uterine prolapse is when the uterus descends towards or through the opening of the vagina. Symptoms may include vaginal fullness, pain with sex, trouble urinating, urinary incontinence, and constipation. Often it gets worse over time. Low back pa ...

), which was well regarded abroad. His international reputation and fame rested yet completely at birth forceps that still bears his name. He started using this tool in 1908 at his practice. He was also a private assistant to Professor Kristian Brandt (1859–1932) in this period. Over the next seven years he collected data material on 352 cases of birth delivery. Kielland first presented the

in 1908 when he gave a lecture for the Surgical Society in Christiania titled "The Birth Forceps mechanism and technique". Two years later in 1910, he demonstrated his rod in Copenhagen and at various clinics in Germany. But it was not until 1915 during a visit to Munich Gynecological Society at the invitation of Professor Döderlein that his invention got the international recognition it has today. In 1916 Kielland publicized en a complete description of the forceps in a 31-page article in German, complete with user instructions. Although his new invention was the subject of intense discussion in Norway, it was popular and frequently used abroad. The first year after his invention, the forceps was still not used at his own clinic, The Maternal-Foundation in Oslo. Despite Kielland working closely with Professor Brandt for more than 10 years, his invention never got a definite breakthrough in Norway. On the contrary, Brandt did not think it had any advantage over the one he already used. The Simpsons-forceps met all reasonable demands, he said, "so it has not been necessary to consider any other candidate." He did not think there was much to learn from his former assistant physician. In a later edition of Brandt's textbook of obstetrics which was published in 1922, seven years after Kielland had first received international attention, the forceps was not even mentioned. Kielland's forceps were, as far as we know, not used in the Birth clinic, or the hospital until after Brandt's departure in 1930. Kielland was a member in good standing of

Norwegian Medical Association The Norwegian Medical Association ( no, Den norske lægeforening (1886–2008), spelled ''Den norske legeforening'' since 2008) is the main Norwegian medical association and trade union, and was founded in 1886. It has 32 555 members (as of 2016) o ...

References

Bibliography

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kielland, Christian 1871 births 1941 deaths Norwegian expatriates in South Africa Norwegian obstetricians and gynaecologists University of Oslo alumni Academic staff of the University of Oslo Oslo University Hospital people People from KwaZulu-Natal