Midwifery in Colonial America

Midwifery in Colonial America

This article relates to The Frozen River

Martha Ballard, the heroine of Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River and a real-life 18th-century midwife, left behind a diary that remains one of history's best sources on midwifery in late colonial America. In addition to this work of historical fiction, Ballard is the subject of historical monographs and of a PBS special on her life. Along with Ballard, many other midwives — named and unnamed in historical records — made their mark on the colonization of America and on the development of social norms in the new country at the end of the 18th century.

From the very beginning of European colonization of the Americas, midwifery and the safe delivery of infants was a high priority for the colonists: for example, Bridget Lee Fuller served as the midwife for three births on the Mayflower's journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The knowledge required to be a successful midwife was passed from woman to woman. Just like Martha details in The Frozen River, young midwives-to-be were trained through apprenticeship to an older, more experienced midwife. This form of education, as well as the presence of women in the birthing chamber at all, would be replaced by the university-educated "male midwife" — doctors whose credentials were seen as more respectable.

In colonial America, one of the few ways in which women could engage in a trade was through midwifery, although they weren't always paid in money. Instead, the barter system was alive and well in the late 18th century, with Martha Ballard sometimes being paid in candles or food for her services. Apart from engaging in the business of birthing, midwives also stepped into the traditionally masculine space of legal testimony. In The Frozen River, one of Martha's main jobs as a midwife is to testify in paternity hearings; it is her responsibility to get a confession out of an unwed mother during labor regarding the identity of the baby's father. While unwed mothers were fined for bearing illegitimate children — and the father of the baby was not necessarily legally culpable — the word of a respected midwife applied social pressure for the father to either help the mother pay the fine or to marry her.

From both a more abstract, cultural standpoint and a very real, tangible one, midwives were cornerstones of early American societies. Their ability to guide new life into the world was unmatched, and particularly as more and more families came to the "New World," their services were increasingly critical. Midwives occupied a unique position between the feminine world of the birthing chamber and the masculine worlds of public economy and legislation.

Filed under People, Eras & Events

This "beyond the book article" relates to The Frozen River. It originally ran in February 2024 and has been updated for the December 2023 edition. Go to magazine.