Vernissage: The Fragility of Life

Join us for a reception on 26 November at 5 p.m. to celebrate Karolinska University Library’s inaugural exhibit The Fragility of Life – 500 Years of Knowledge about Childbirth and Foetal Development.

KI Library Director Miriam Nauri will formally open the exhibit, followed by a presentation and film screening. 

Through books, medical illustrations and historical medical objects, the exhibit tells the history of obstetrics and reproductive knowledge in Sweden, from the midwives who traveled to aid women even in the most far-flung corners of the country, to the 19th century's rapidly increasing knowledge about reproduction and foetal development.   

Giving birth in Sweden was once a life-threatening endeavour, both for infants and their mothers. Yet as medical knowledge grew, mortality rates declined, and this in a country that before 1900 was one of the poorest in Europe.

Welcome to a journey through medical history!

All are welcome. No registration required. 

The Fragility of Life will be on display at the KI Library in Solna until May 2026. It is a selection from an exhibit previously displayed at the Hagströmer Library.