Joseph Bolivar DeLee (October 28, 1869 – April 2, 1942) was an American physician who became known as the father of modern obstetrics. He led a movement toward obstetric practice dominated by specialist physicians. DeLee was an early proponent of asepsis during childbirth. He also believed that mechanical intervention (such as forceps delivery) could prevent the poor outcomes that sometimes resulted from childbirth in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.