17th Century | 18th Century | 19th Century | 20th Century
A colonial midwife was a community-based healthcare provider who assisted childbirth, provided medial care for common illnesses and sometimes performed other community duties like preparing bodies for burial. They learned their trade through apprenticeship and were essential members of society, valued for their skills and often paid in goods or services. Their roles were performed by women of all backgrounds, including enslaved Black women who acted as "Granny" midwives.
Role and responsibilities:
1. Assisted with childbirth: Midwives were the primary providers of care during home births, relying on practical experience rather than formal medical training.
2. Provided broader medical care: They used herbal remedies, treated injuries, and were knowledgeable about a range of illnesses, providing a level of healthcare that was otherwise expensive and limited.
3. Community support: Midwives also handled other tasks such as assisting in the delivery of animal offspring, attending burials, and testifying in court in cases of paternity or bastardy.
4. Trained others: Their knowledge and skills were passed down through generations by working with and learning from other, more experienced midwives.
Diverse practitioners: The practice was carried out by women from various backgrounds. Some were trained in Europe before coming to the colonies, while others, like those in the South, were enslaved women who learned and practiced midwifery within the enslaved community.
Respected profession: Midwifery was one of the few trades a woman could pursue outside the home, and skilled midwives were highly respected.
Legal and social influence: Midwives could influence legal proceedings, such as helping to identify the father of an illegitimate child, which could put social pressure on him to pay a fine or marry the mother.
During the colonial period, midwife payments varied widely, including cash, bartered goods, annual salaries, and even free housing. The form and amount of compensation often depended on the midwife's location, the family's wealth, and whether they were free or enslaved. Records from Mount Vernon show that George Washington paid free midwives approximately 10 shillings per birth in the late 18th century. For example, in 1798, he paid a midwife named Nell $2 per delivery, totaling $10 for five births. Cash was often scarce, so payment was frequently made in household goods or produce. The diarist Martha Ballard, an 18th-century midwife in Maine, recorded being paid with items like food, candles, and utensils. In some colonial towns and cities, communities provided annual salaries or other incentives to ensure access to skilled midwives. Some New England towns offered midwives a rent-free house or lot.
A stark divide began to take root in the 1800s, when white male physicians began to explore childbirth with greater interest. Their approach was based on a colonialization framework, which devalued birth as ceremony and focused instead on the physical aspect of wellbeing. This maybe also reflected a desire for monetary growth for doctors.
Many doctors opposed midwife-assisted births. They launched campaigns against the profession, promoting Western science and the pain relief that hospitals could offer. By the turn of the century, they attended approximately half of births, despite having little training in obstetrics.