On October 25th, 1881, María Picasso gave birth to a son who would later be christened Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso. We know him as a the surrealist painter Pablo Picasso. But he almost didn't make it out of the room he was born in.
The midwife noticed that the newborn was not breathing and was not responsive. This wasn't all that shocking, considering the neonatal mortality rate at the time, so she turned her attention to María. but there was a doctor on hand, Salvador Ruiz Blasco, who was also the baby's uncle. He stepped into action, using a method that we consider an old wive's tale, but his quick thinking managed to bring the infant back to life. Some babies do need stimulation to make them start breathing- after all, they'd never taken a breath before. In the 20th century, this stimulation was usually a gentle spank. Find out what made Picasso first begin to breathe after birth at Dangerous Minds.
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