244 - A TOUCHING HEALTH REPORT ON EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE SENT TO EMPEROR NAPOLEON TWO DAYS AFTER THE BIRTH OF THE KING OF ROME

A TOUCHING HEALTH REPORT ON EMPRESS MARIE-LOUISE SENT TO EMPEROR NAPOLEON TWO DAYS AFTER THE BIRTH OF THE KING OF ROME Note signed by Antoine DUBOIS (1756–1837), co-signed by the physicians Joseph François Bourdier de la Moulière (1757–1820), Jean-Nicolas Corvisart (1755–1821), and Alexandre-Urbain Yvan (1765–1839). 1 page, oblong in-8 format, dated March 22, 1811 (small hole and stains). Background Empress Marie-Louise’s labor, which began on March 19, 1811, was particularly grueling. The baby was in a transverse position, an extremely rare and dangerous situation for the mother. When the obstetrician Antoine Dubois informed Napoleon of this and asked him to choose between the life of the Empress and that of the child, the Emperor decreed: “Save the mother. ” After a full night of labor, at nine o’clock in the morning on March 20, forceps became necessary to deliver the infant, whom the doctors abandoned, believing it to be stillborn. Everyone then rushed to the Empress’s side, as she had fainted. It was Corvisart who finally realized that the child was alive. Upon waking, the Empress immediately asked for news of her child. It was then a Napoleon overcome with joy, his eyes misty with emotion, who stepped forward to present her with the long-awaited heir. Our medical report, prepared by Dubois, is co-signed by the most eminent physicians of the Imperial Court: Corvisart, the Emperor’s personal physician; Yvan, his personal surgeon; and Bourdier, physician to Madame Mère and the Empress. Dated March 22 at 9:30 a.m.—two days after the birth—and immediately forwarded to Napoleon, it states: “Her Majesty the Empress is as well as one could hope.” ” This document is a moving testament to the Emperor’s concern for his wife, as well as to the sincere affection he felt for her. Literature - MASSON, Frédéric, *Empress Marie-Louise: 1809–1815*, P. Ollendorff, Paris, 1902. - WAIRY, Louis-Constant, *Memoirs of Constant, First Valet to the Emperor, on the Private Life of Napoleon, His Family, and His Court*, vol. IV, Ladvocat, Paris, 1830.