Introduction

For centuries, pregnant people all over the world relied on midwives to assist them during labor. Midwives typically did not attend any specialized schools but learned their skills from other women who worked as midwives (this process of learning a profession is known as an apprenticeship). Nearly all women had babies at home and midwives were their most trusted aides. Not only did midwives support individuals during labor, but they also helped new mothers care for their newborns. Sometimes they even did household chores for several days after labor to give new mothers time to recover. 

In the United States, these centuries-old practices began to change dramatically in the 19th century. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, doctors, who were almost always men, were replacing midwives, who were almost always women. At the same time, a new type of midwives known as nurse-midwives emerged. Those were women who received formal midwifery training, usually in specialized midwifery schools, and who quickly replaced the older type of midwives known now as traditional midwives. However, those changes did not affect all Americans in the same way. Not all communities had equal access to healthcare facilities and trained doctors and nurses. Furthermore, having a baby with the assistance of a doctor was more expensive than having a baby with the assistance of a midwife so poor women continued to rely on traditional midwives. It was also much more challenging to find a formally trained doctor or nurse-midwife in remote rural areas, particularly in the South. 

In some African American communities, traditional midwives continued to serve a critical role of trusted healthcare providers all the way into the second half of the 20th century (1900s). Particularly working class and poor black women, especially in rural areas and in the South, had limited access to formally trained doctors and nurses. Under those circumstances, traditional midwives provided affordable and reliable healthcare. In this activity, you will examine three photos of African American midwives who offered critical healthcare services in their communities.