Martha Ballard – History of Midwifery in the United States

Martha Ballard began life in Massachusetts and settled in Hallowell, in an area that became Maine. We know about her because of the diary she kept from the age of 50 until her death. Her entries describe the life of a midwife in a fairly new New England settlement. She travelled across enough distance that she needed a horse or a canoe to cross the Kennebec River. The diary recounts 814 deliveries, but there would have been more before she started the diary. As other midwives in her day, she also attended to the sick and to the dead. As a healer, she gathered (or sometimes bought) and prepared ingredients to create remedies. Many of her remedies can be traced to England, but she also incorporated local plants. Her diaries show that she had the respect of the residents and the local physicians, who often deferred to her knowledge and experience. She also used doctors when needed though, such as when she broke her toe. Martha’s diary not only shows her healing practice, but also her other activities and has given scholars a look into the economic life of 18^th and 19^th century New England women.