The evolution of paediatrics from archaeological times to the mid‐nineteenth century and the historical influence on present day practice

The history of childcare dates back to the beginning of time. This article critically analyses the history of paediatrics from its roots to mid‐nineteenth century with the view to examine its evolution and influence on today's practice. Paediatrics as a sub‐speciality of medicine only began in the fifteenth century when the Four Incunabula were published in the West. This was the first attempt at producing a comprehensive and accessible reference paediatric text. However, long before the Incunabula, early traces of childcare are found in different cultures like Egyptian, Indian and Chinese. Modern paediatrics is a highly advanced field of medicine that relies on many recent technological innovations. In spite of these, this paper concludes that paediatrics today is very much based on concepts, such as observation and clinical skills, introduced many centuries ago. The basic approach used in everyday clinical practice owes more to century‐old ideas of scientists.