Peter Chamberlen and his son begin using metal forceps to assist births in England under a veil of secrecy, refusing to show the tool to birthing people or their families. The Chamberlens use their secret tool to build a lucrative practice in a society previously suspicious of "man-midwives." Campbell (2018) writes: "Among physicians and surgeons in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, sitting on trade secrets to ensure maximum profit was a relatively common practice."

Forceps will not enter common usage for another century, and are widely critiqued today for their contribution to birth injuries and maternal mortality.