Brigham and Women’s Hospital combines a historic commitment to the care of women patients with cutting edge diagnostic, treatment and research technologies. Formed in 1980 by the merger of four of Boston’s most revered medical institutions, the BWH is a 777 bed facility associated with Harvard Medical School in the heart of Boston’s Longwood medical district. It has an international reputation for excellence in biomedical research, patient care and the education and training of physicians, researchers and other health care professionals.

The history of Brigham and Women’s founding hospitals is significant in the development of women’s healthcare. The Boston Lying-In Hospital was founded in 1832 as one of the first maternity hospitals in the United States, for women who could not afford the in-home care that was more common at the time. At this hospital in 1847 anesthesia was used during childbirth for the first time, and in 1883 antiseptic techniques were introduced that dramatically reduced the death rate of mothers and their children during and after childbirth.

In 1875 the Free Hospital for Women was founded in Boston with a mission to help “poor women affected with diseases peculiar to their sex or in need of surgical aid.” Then in 1911 the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital was established for Boston’s sick and indigent with a donation from real estate and restaurant baron Peter Brigham. Two years later, his nephew founded the Robert Breck Brigham Hospital, for the care of patients with arthritis and other joint diseases.

Through the years each of these hospitals earned reputations for excellence in quality of patient care as well as research that contributed to breakthroughs in medical science. With such an illustrious history, it is no wonder the merger of these institutions into the Brigham and Women’s Hospital was a historic event. Not only the women of Boston, but the world has benefitted from the research, education and care given there.