How Did Ancient Romans Keep Babies Alive?

One in three Roman babies died before their first birthday — so how did ANY of them survive? In a world with no antibiotics, no vaccines, and no understanding of germs, keeping a newborn alive in ancient Rome was a daily battle against impossible odds. In this video we uncover how Romans actually kept their babies alive: the skilled midwives trained by Soranus of Ephesus, the strange "medical" swaddling that accidentally worked, the chilling ritual of tollere liberos where a father decided if his child would live, the wet nurses bound by written contracts, the protective bulla amulet, and the dies lustricus naming ceremony held only after a baby survived its deadliest first days. A surprisingly sophisticated — and deeply unsettling — system stood between a Roman newborn and death. This is the story of how your bloodline survived its most dangerous moment, repeated across centuries. 🤔 #historyfacts #stickman #romanlife