Introduction
When the first postage stamps were issued in the 1840s for the payment
of postage fare, they frequently depicted the portrayals of royal
figures like Queens, political figures like Presidents, and national
pioneers. Shortly after the first postage stamps were introduced, other
subjects and designs began to emerge, in order to inform people about
pioneers, recent developments and achievements that made significant
contributions to mankind 1-4.
As a natural consequence, collectors were attracted by this area and
philately, which by definition is simply known as collecting postage
stamps, was born. Throughout years many thematic types of philately,
such as industrial philately, historical philately, nature philately
etc., emerged. Medical philately is known as collecting medicine related
postage stamps and other philatelic materials such as first day covers
and memory cards 5, 6.
There are some studies about stamps, regarding orthopedics, anesthesia,
cardiology, dentistry, anatomy, illnesses like tuberculosis, cancer,
Down Syndrome and AIDS 4, 5, 7-14, or famous medical
celebrities. Stamps dedicated to the Obstetrics and Gynecology field are
usually printed in order to (a) pay tribute to the pioneers of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, (b) commemorate important Obstetrics and
Gynecology Facilities & Hospitals, (c) announce solid improvements and
innovations in the field and educate general public about a medical
discovery or promote health programs, or (d) memorialize important
meetings.
The daily use of postage stamps is decreasing due to the newer, faster
and easier communication methods because of the recent technological
developments, postage stamps are still among the best mediums to convey
messages to broad audience.
In this study, we tried to provide an overview of philatelic materials
related to Gynecolgy and Obstetrics.