Cesina Bermudes facts for kids

Cesina Borges Adães Bermudes (1908-2001) was an amazing Portuguese doctor who helped women give birth. She brought the idea of "painless childbirth" to Portugal. Cesina was also a strong supporter of women's rights. She bravely stood up against the Estado Novo government, which was very strict. Because of her actions, she was put in prison for three months.

Cesina's Early Life and Education

Cesina Bermudes was born on May 20, 1908, in Lisbon, Portugal. Her father, Félix Bermudes, was a writer and a famous sportsman. He even represented Portugal in shooting at the Summer Olympics. He was also a big supporter and president of S.L. Benfica, a top soccer club in Portugal.

Cesina's mother, Cândida Emília Borges, was very educated. She taught Cesina French and read her stories from Greek mythology. Cesina inherited her father's love for sports. She was a swimming champion and also enjoyed skating, gymnastics, and racing bicycles and cars. She was one of the first women in Portugal to get a driving license! She even won the first two "Tour of Lisbon" cycling races for women.

Like her father, Cesina was part of the Theosophical Society of Portugal. This group explores spiritual ideas and wisdom. She believed in reincarnation and was a vegetarian.

Cesina first studied at home. Later, she went to the special Camões Secondary School. When she started, there were only a few girls in her class. By the time she finished, she was the only girl among 15 boys!

Becoming a Doctor

In 1933, Cesina graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon. She then did internships in general medicine and surgery, specializing in Obstetrics, which is the study of childbirth. She worked as a doctor at a center in Lisbon that helped mothers and children.

Later, she became an Assistant Professor of Anatomy at a Lisbon hospital. In 1947, she made history by becoming the first woman to earn a Doctorate in medicine. She got an amazing score of 19 out of 20! Her special paper was about the muscles in people with low incomes in Portugal.

However, because Cesina was involved in politics, the Estado Novo government did not let her teach at a university. Instead, she taught at a college for nurses.

Standing Up to the Government

Cesina became aware of political issues in the early 1940s. She strongly supported groups that were against the Estado Novo government. In 1945, she joined the Movement of Democratic Unity. This was a group of organizations that secretly opposed the government.

She supported José Norton de Matos when he ran for president in 1949. She even spoke at several rallies to support him. On October 14, 1949, the Portuguese Secret Police (PIDE) arrested her. She was a member of a women's democratic movement. She was held in prison near Lisbon for three months. In 1950, she helped create the National Committee for the Defence of Peace.

Helping Mothers with Painless Childbirth

In 1954, Cesina Bermudes went to Paris, France. She wanted to learn about a new way of giving birth called the psychoprophylactic method. This is often known as the Lamaze technique, named after a French doctor. This method helps pregnant women feel more confident about giving birth. It teaches them ways to handle pain during labor.

In Paris, she met three other Portuguese doctors. They worked together to create new techniques for childbirth. These included using medicines to help with labor. When she returned to Lisbon, she brought these new ideas to Portugal.

Some of her ideas were quite new for the time. The idea of "painless childbirth" was hard for many people to imagine. Especially for some Catholics who believed women should suffer during childbirth. But in 1956, Pope Pius XII said that "childbirth without pain" was okay for Catholics.

Cesina quickly became a very respected doctor. She wrote many articles for medical journals. Her most famous works are Scientific Bases of Childbirth without Pain (1955) and Notes on Childbirth without Pain (1957).

After the 1958 elections, the Estado Novo government stayed in power. Cesina then stepped away from politics. She focused on helping pregnant women from the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), who had to live in secret. The government did not allow her to work in public hospitals. So, she worked in private clinics in Lisbon and Cascais. These clinics helped single mothers.

Cesina Bermudes passed away on December 9, 2001.

Awards and Recognition

• In 1989, Cesina was given the Portuguese Order of Freedom (Portuguese: Ordem da Liberdade). This award honors people who have done important things for democracy and freedom. It was created after the Carnation Revolution in 1974, which overthrew the Estado Novo government.
• In 1996, she received a special "Distinction of Honour" from the Movement of Democratic Unity.
• A street in Lisbon is named after her: Rua Cesina Adães Bermudes.