Robert Barnes (physician)

Robert Barnes (1817-1898) was an English obstetric physician and medical author. He is best known for his contributions to the understanding and treatment of obstetrical hemorrhage, and for his advocacy of surgical interventions in obstetrics, including the use of hydrostatic dilators for inducing labor.

Barnes was born in London and educated at St. Thomas's Hospital, where he qualified as a member of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1842. He practiced as an obstetrician at the Metropolitan Free Hospital, the Great Northern Hospital, and St. Thomas's Hospital, where he served as Obstetric Physician.

Barnes published extensively on obstetrics and gynecology. His most important works include Lectures on Obstetric Operations (1870) and A Clinical History of the Medical and Surgical Diseases of Women (1878). He was a strong proponent of antiseptic practices in obstetrics, advocating for the use of carbolic acid solutions to prevent puerperal fever.

He was a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, and a member of the Obstetrical Society of London, serving as its president from 1865 to 1867. He died in London in 1898.

His son, Robert Barnes (junior), also became a physician.