Paths of Midwifery in the United States

The customs surrounding the sacred time of giving birth varies among the different peoples spread across the land varies. For you, the knowledgeable women in your community and your mother and sisters accompany you a short distance from camp and prepare a safe and comfortable spot. Birth could be frightening, but with the women comforting you and keeping vigil, you feel the strength you will need to bring the new child into the world. [[Your daughter's experience->Indigenous Woman, Ohio ]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/1210px-Pioneer_Birth_Scene.jpeg"> Your husband asks for the village midwife when you feel the pains of birth. Your mother has already come to help and now the neighbors arrive too. As a woman, you are subject to the curse of Eve. Birth will be painful and frightening. Women died, sometimes even days after birth of a fever. But if you get through it, with help from the midwife and the prayers of your friends and family, you will be able to rest for a good long while as they do the household chores for you. [[The Next Generation->Giving Birth in the Colonies]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Colonial-midwife.jpeg"> Giving birth in the colonies was much like it was at home, in England, except that your family and beloved friends were not near you. But after being here for a year, you'd grown to appreciate and trust the women of the village. None of the women on the ship had been a midwife, but one of the women had a kind disposition and a steady mind. She often sat and cared for the sick, somehow knowing just how to care for them. She'd already delivered a couple of babies. It almost seemed like they were healthier than the women at home who had just given birth. Maybe the air was cleaner here. [[Your daughter stays in the area->Urban New England woman]] [[Your daughter moves west to Ohio->A Country Woman, Ohio]]

Please choose your starting point below. [[An indigenous woman from the eastern coast of North America->The First Peoples]] [[An English woman->An English Midwife's Help]] [[An enslaved woman ]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Slavery19.jpeg"> You do not know how your grandmother gave birth in Africa. You barely remember your mother since you were sold away from each other when you were very young. But you're starting to feel the pains now as you stand over your work and you begin to cry, wishing you'd never become pregnant. One of the women working with you hears your groans, looks at you with empathy and runs to the house to tell the master. He'll call the white midwife, the same one that helped deliver the mistress last season and all the women on the plantation. He'll pay her well to deliver you safely, not because he cares about you, but because he needs you to keep working and keep bearing more children he can sell. [[Your daughter is a slave->An enslaved woman 2]]

Your husband has decided to move west so he can farm land of his own. Things are much the same for you as they were for your mother, the difference being that she can come. Just in case, she is coming a month before your confinement. Your home is just a short way from a barely settled village and you are just getting to know your neighbors. You have a good friend who has offered to help. Hopefully nothing will go wrong. [[Your daughter moves South->Southern White woman 1]] [[Your daughter joins a religion and moves West->Nauvoo Woman]]

You married a man from Virginia who is quite well off. When it comes time to deliver the baby, he calls a midwife from town who helps deliver all the babies in the area, even the slaves. Your mother will come to offer support, but with your negro housekeeper and maids, she won't need to help. Of course, in such a delicate situation after you have the baby, you won't be able to get out of bed for a month. [[Your daughter stays near->Southern White woman 2]] [[The point of view of the woman you enslave->An enslaved woman 2]]

The house is bustling with excitement as your confinement nears. The pain scares you, but your mother is here to support you in your delicate condition. At least you have a doctor instead of a midwife, like mother did when she had you. But she lived on the frontier, and is glad things have improved so much too. You live in an established town and are well-to-do enough to afford a doctor. Mother gives your younger sister and cousin some instructions, then turns to the doctor and tells him where to put his things. You feel assured that you will be safe in mother's and the doctor's capable hands. [[Your daughter stays near->Urban Woman]] [[Your daughter goes West->Midwest Woman]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/smallpox-first-nations.jpeg" width="600"> You aren't sure how you survived what the Englishmen call smallpox. Your mother, all of the elders, and most of the village died when it came. You are with a different people now. You learned the new language and customs, but now that it is time to give birth you are more frightened than ever. These people believe a woman must deliver their child alone. You prepare yourself as you prepare a safe and sheltered spot. [[The Next Generation->Indigenous Woman on the trail]]

You're giving birth yet again. This is your eighth time, but you only have one child near you and they will soon take her away from you. This time, the master isn't going to call the white midwife. She still comes to help out the mistress, but she taught one of the girls to deliver babies. Now the enslaved midwife goes all over the place, delivering babies on other plantations too. She's cheaper for the master than the white woman, but that doesn't matter to you. The midwife brought word from your teenage son that he is good and healthy and that makes you happy. Also, she's nicer to you than the white woman was. [[Your daughter is a slave->Enslaved woman 3]]

As you get ready to give birth, you think about the child you're bearing. You know it's the master's, but you aren't going to think about how that happened now. It isn't the baby's fault, and that baby, with his face and your skin is going to be a slave again anyway and you won't have her near you but a few short years. The midwife helping you is another enslaved woman from a different plantation. [[Your daughter is a slave->Enslaved woman 4]]

The master and his son are gone off to war when it's time for you to give birth, and they took some of the field workers with them. There is a rumor going around that if they lose, you might be free. Whatever happens, you hope the white men never come back. The old midwife tells you that the mistress is pregnant too, and you hope that you'll be able to give your child enough suck before she asks you to nurse her child too. That woman doesn't know how to do a lick of work, and you wonder if it would be Christian of you to leave her and that baby if you get freed. [[Your daughter is freed->Freed African-American woman]]

You lay in bed, nearing your time to give birth. You wish your mother could be here, but she died of fever a few weeks after giving birth. She just wasn't strong enough, so you're always extra careful when its time. Besides, you have confidence in your girl. She's delivered a hundred babies at least, and your friend says she's very good. Your husband lets you have the money your girl earns to spend as you wish. You're sure she's grateful that you let her keep some of the money for herself. [[Your daughter stays near->Southern White Woman 3]] [[The point of view of the woman you enslave->Enslaved woman 3]]

You hate the war. You're lying in bed, waiting to give birth, wondering where your husband and son are fighting. It's a good cause, keeping things as God intended. The negro would be helpless and primitive children without your firm guidance. And it is your God-given right to have servants to help you. Your housegirl comes in, bringing with her the old granny midwife. You're grateful that your girl had a baby a few months ago. At least you won't have to borrow a girl to nurse your baby. [[Your daughter stays near->Southern White Woman 4]] [[Your daughter moves North->Urban Woman]] [[The point of view of the woman you enslave->Enslaved woman 4]]

Your family lost everything during the war. You're lucky to even be married. You live in a shack that probably used to be slave quarters. Your husband is in the fields and you're outside feeding the chickens when your birthing pains come on. Lucky for you, the granny midwife lives just a couple of doors down the lane. You send your oldest child running to get the negro woman. She's a few years younger than you, but has been midwifing since she was just a little girl helping her slave mother. [[Your daughter stays nearby->Kentucky Woman]]

You're free, but it seems like nothing much is different except you don't have to be worried that anyone's going to sell away this baby you're about to have. And lucky for you, the midwife lives just a few doors down and is one of your good friends and used to help her mother midwife. When the pain comes, you send your kids down the lane, where her oldest will take care of them while you're having the baby. You're a little scared but the thought of your friend and neighbors helping gives you comfort. [[Your daughter stays nearby->Kentucky Woman]] [[Your daughter moves North for better opportunities->Midwest City Woman]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Nauvoo_Temple_flipped_Daguerreotype.jpeg"> You gathered with the Saints in Nauvoo after joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You're sad that you have left your family behind, but your neighbors are kind and gather around you as your time nears. One of them is a midwife from back east, much like the ones at home. Her gentle and firm manner comfort you as she takes command of the situation when your time to deliver comes. A few years later, mobs force you and most of your co-religionists to leave Nauvoo. [[You choose to go West with the Saints->Latter-day Saint Woman on the trail]] [[You choose to return home->Urban Woman]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/mormon_pioneers_wagon_minerva_teichert.jpeg"> (text-size:0.5)[Covered Wagon Pioneers, Madonna at Dawn, by Minerva K. Teichert, Gospel Media, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, used with permission] You're walking alongside the wagon when your pains start. Your husband wants you to get in the wagon, but it is so bumpy and jolting you prefer to walk a while longer. When the pains come too close, your company stops. None of the women in this company were midwives, but a few had been helpers at several births and knew about what to expect. A wagon is not an idea place to give birth, but at least it is covered and you are surrounded by friends and family who care. One of the women lays her hands on your head and gives you a blessing to be safe and have little pain. That soothes your fears and soon you are delivered of a healthy girl. [[Your daughter stays in Salt Lake City->Salt Lake City Woman 1]] [[Your daughter settles in a remote area in Utah Territory->Rural Utah Woman]]

You give birth in your home in your own room. When the doctor comes in, your mother begins asking him questions. He answers her patiently until you groan, overcome by waves of pain. He orders everyone out and tells your mom to get a pot on for boiling water. He opens up his satchel and carefully lays out his instruments. If it becomes too hard for you to push, he might have to pull the baby out with those. Another wave of pain comes over you and you cry out, in fear as much as in pain. [[Your daughter stays nearby->Urban Woman 2]]

Your husband has chosen to go West for land he can farm. You can hardly call the roughshod cabin your husband built last fall a home, but it will have to do. You're more worried that the closest town is miles away, and you have no idea who will be able to help you deliver this baby you're pregnant with. When your pains come, your husband goes to get the woman who just settled on the land parcel next to yours. But she is your age, and hardly knows what to do herself. [[Your daughter stays nearby->Midwest Town Woman]] [[Your daughter moves West->Oregon Trail Woman]]

<img src="https://www-tc.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/images/4tear44b.jpg"> The White Man forced you and your people off land that had been your people's by treaty. You are already exhausted, hungry, and thirsty when the pains start as you walk on the trail. It is too early, but the pains come on stronger and closer together. Some of your friends and your eldest daughter support you as you struggle to keep going. The soldiers don't let you stop until it's time to make camp. That evening, you give birth to a still born child and breathe your last breath. <img src="https://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/trail-of-tears-1.jpeg"> [[The Next Generation->Indigenous Woman on a reservation]] <a href=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears#Statistics>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears#Statistics</a>

You live in a cabin on a reservation, where the White men have said your people can live. Your husband has arranged for four women to help you, your cousin, your aunt, and two neighbors. One of the neighbors is experienced in helping a child to jump down from a woman. When the labor pains come on, you tell the four women, who immediately come to assist you. They give you a tea made from the bark of a wild cherry tree. The medicine woman comes to make sure things are prepared, satisfied, she leaves, but not before she walks around the house outside and blesses it at each corner for the purpose of giving birth. You will be able to choose what position you birth in, with the bodily help of the women who've come to attend you. [[Your daughter stays on the reservation->Indiginous Woman on a reservation 2]] Your daughter goes away to school, then marries outside->Midwest Town Woman]]

You are lucky to be in Salt Lake, where there are several women who had been midwives back east, or even from England or Denmark before the converted to the Church. Your mother lives just a couple of blocks away and has come everyday the last couple of weeks to help you. When you feel your pains, your husband lays his hands on your head and gives you a blessing for safety and health. Then he runs to get the midwife while your mother stays by your side. One of your best friends is there with you too. [[Your daughter stays in Salt Lake City->Salt Lake City Woman 2]]

You send your husband to get the midwife when your pains start. The Council of Health in Salt Lake City appointed a suitable woman to that work in your settlement. She had not been a midwife before, but she had been one of those reliable women who always came to help when one was taken ill. At least by now she'd delivered a couple of babies. You can hardly call the roughshod cabin your husband built last fall a home, but it will do for now. It's better than the wagon mom talks about having you in. She came a couple of weeks ago and will stay a few more weeks to help you after the baby comes. [[Your daughter stays near->Rural Utah Woman 2]] [[Your daughter moves to Salt Lake->Salt Lake City Woman 2]]

You are excited to bring a new little one into the world, even if that knot of fear over the pain and risk you'll experience keeps you awake at night. But you feel blessed that you will have the best of care from a woman physician who got her degree at Philadelphia. Your doctor has not only the knowledge and skills of modern medicine, but she has born several children herself and she knows how it feels. When labor starts, you retire to you bed. One of your sister wives sits by you, comforting you while your husband goes to fetch the doctor. There is that new hospital the Relief Society women set up, but you have a nice home and would prefer to stay there. [[Your daughter stays near->Urban Woman]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Black_Midwife_Packing_Bag.jpeg"> A few weeks before you were due, the old granny midwife had taken you to the county clinic where the white doctors and nurses examined you and took blood and urine tests. They pronounced you heathy, so now you are here at home about to have the baby. The midwife comes in your room carrying a black satchel with her. From this, she carefully lays out her supplies, assuring you that they are clean and sterile. After you have the baby, she checks in on you every day and does some of the housework. It doesn't actually matter whether your daughter stays near or moves elsewhere, but race does matter. [[You are Black->1950s Black Woman]] [[You are White->1950s]]

Industry is booming here, and you and your husband are excited to have found work in this northern city. You live in an apartment. When it is time to have your baby, you call the midwife. She is a kind woman who lives in the same neighborhood. Her knowledge of traditional midwifery is comforting to you. As labor progresses, she has several techniques to help with the pain. You're grateful for her support, but you wish you could afford to go to the hospital, where they have anesthetic. [[Your daughter stays nearby->1950s]]

You are a modern woman, ready for the miracles of modern medicine. Doctors have discovered a combination of drugs that will allow you to give birth almost in your sleep, completely pain free! You might stay home to give birth, but you want that twilight sleep birth. You will have to go into the hospital. Your husband takes you there in your new car. He helps you to the reception area to check you in, but once the nurses take you back he can't go back to be with you. [[It doesn't really matter if your daughter moves or stays near->1950s]]

The house is bustling with excitement as your confinement nears. The pain scares you, but your mother is here to support you in your delicate condition. At least you have a doctor instead of a midwife, like mother did when she had you. But she lived on the frontier, and is glad things have improved so much too. You live in an established town and are well-to-do enough to afford a doctor. Mother gives your younger sister and cousin some instructions, then turns to the doctor and tells him where to put his things. You feel assured that you will be safe in mother's and the doctor's capable hands. [[Your daughter marries well->Urban Woman]] [[Your daughter marries for love->Midwest City Woman]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Fort_Hall_Snake_River_above_American_Falls_near_Pocatello_Idaho_1849_ALCA_1477.jpeg"> Your husband has chosen to go West for land he can farm. And it seems he has no care for you, because there you are with child, walking alongside a wagon. Luckily, you reach a trading fort where there happens to be a doctor before you go into labor. Your husband stays with you He's never delivered a child, but he's a doctor. Part of you has faith that he knows what he'll need to do. After all, he did care for wounded soldiers during the Civil War. But the other part of you is frightened and lonely. You're out in the middle of nowhere with no friends and only one or two other women at the fort. [[You arrive safely at a new settlement in Oregon where your daughter grows up->Oregon Woman]]

<img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Portland_Oregon_3640904265.jpeg"> You live in a beautiful little town. There were never any midwives here. That wasn't so nice for the first few women who gave birth here, and that included your mother. But eventually they sent for a doctor from back East. He's the one your husband sends for when you start to go into labor. Your mother, who doesn't live far, rushes to be by your side but when the doctor appears, she defers to his expertise. Though the thought of painful labor and delivery frightens you, you feel assured that you are in good hands. [[Your daughter stays nearby->Urban Woman 2]]

When you start to have your labor pains, your husband looks a little frightened, and so are you. But Mother said it would be fine. She said that the doctors would have it all taken care of and there would be nothing to worry about. But she had that look, a little haunted. It's like when she says everything will be fine, and in the end it will be, but it might be hard. You wish she'd tell you more, but people just keep quiet about these kinds of things these days. He takes you to the hospital. Once you are checked in, the nurse takes you back while your husband goes to the waiting room. She'd been all smiles and assurances when your husband was there, but now she was all business. She hands you a hospital gown and tells you to change. You do so, then you lie down in the bed. The room is all white and the tiles on the floor are cold. The nurse comes in occassionally to check on you and see how close you are to delivery, but otherwise leaves you alone. Labor pains come on harder, and you cry out in pain, but there is no one there to help you. <img src=“http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Recovery_room_La_Junta_Hospital_CO_24416457532.jpeg”> Finally it's time to deliver your baby. The nurse makes you get on the bed and wheels you into the delivery room. No one talks to you or comforts you. You haven't even seen your doctor. The anesthetist comes in and puts something over your face, and soon you drift off into something - not quite sleep, but something. You won't remember this when you wake.

The Indian Health Service has taken over all the health care at the reservation. The old ways are dying out. When it comes time for you to have your baby, your husband takes you to the little hospital on the reservation. It's not much more than a clinic, really. <img src="http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Taos-Indian-Health-Center.jpg" width="500"> In the hospital, the nurses take little care while you labor. Your husband is not allowed with you. The nurses treat you like you are an inconvenience to them, just being there. They get you in the room, then rarely come check on you. No one talks to you or comforts you. You begin to wonder why you even came. At home, you would have been surrounded by family. The doctors say it's dangerous, but you have your doubts. But you're someone who likes to follow the rules. Finally, when it is time to deliver the baby, the doctor comes in. The anesthetist also comes in and puts something over your face, and soon you drift off into something - not quite sleep, but something. You won't remember this when you wake. [[It doesn't really matter if your daughter moves or stays near->1950s]]

When you start to have your labor pains, your husband looks a little frightened, and so are you. But this is your only option. The state has eliminated the midwives, and now everyone must go to the hospital. There are not many black doctors around and you aren't sure who will deliver you. Your husband takes you to the hospital. The receptionist smiles, but her eyes betray the disdain. You look at your husband, then at the woman and keep your dignity. Once you are checked in, a nurse takes you back while your husband goes to the waiting room. She'd been all smiles and assurances when your husband was there, but now she was all business. She hands you a hospital gown and tells you to change. You do so, then you lie down in the bed. The room is all white and the tiles on the floor are cold. The nurse comes in occassionally to check on you and see how close you are to delivery, but otherwise leaves you alone. Labor pains come on harder, and you cry out in pain, but there is no one there to help you. <img src=“http://chopine.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Recovery_room_La_Junta_Hospital_CO_24416457532.jpeg”> Finally it's time to deliver your baby. The nurse makes you get on the bed and wheels you into the delivery room. No one talks to you or comforts you. You haven't even seen your doctor. The anesthetist comes in and puts something over your face, and soon you drift off into something - not quite sleep, but something. You won't remember this when you wake.

When it's time to have the baby, Mother sends your husband to get the midwife. Mother reassures you for the umpteenth time that the midwife is well trained. She didn't have to, everyone around here knows the sister and the woman is good friend, just a few years older than you. A few years ago, the Relief Society president had called the woman to go to Salt Lake City and attend the obstetrics and nursing school there. The midwife knows all there is to know about modern care and she knows the importance of bringing a new spirit into the mortal world. She will care for you, body and spirit. [[Your daughter moves to the city->Urban Woman 2]] [[Your daughter stays nearby->Rural Utah Woman 3]]

When it comes time to have your baby, your husband calls your mother and the midwife. The midwife is an old woman, your mother's friend. In fact, she had attended your own birth and that of all your brothers and sisters. When they arrive, they make sure everything is in order. Your husband waits outside. Your mother comforts you as the pains come in waves. The midwife encourages you, helping you get in the best position to deliver the baby. It doesn't matter where your daughter goes to live. Midwives have been all but eliminated, and everyone goes to the hospital in the next generation. [[The Next Generation->1950s]]