A History of Midwifery in the United States

This book is written for several primary audiences: midwives, midwifery students, other health professionals and groups, and members of the public who are interested in midwifery and midwifery care. It is divided into seven sections. Section I presents the early history of midwifery in the United States (U.S.) for the period 1600s to 1940s. Prior to the Civil War, childbirth practice in the South for both Blacks and Whites was largely in the hands of traditional African midwives. The second section provides the practice and educational aspects of the midwives in the U.S. from the 1920s to early 1950s. Coverage in this section include public health nursing, the Sheppard-Towner Act, Frontier Nursing Service, family-centered maternity care and natural child birth, Manhattan Midwifery School, Lobenstine Midwifery School and other schools. Section III describes the resurgence of U.S. community and lay midwives and their early education from 1960s to 1980s. The fourth section talks about the development of three midwifery organizations, namely, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) and the National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM). The U.S. nurse-midwifery education and practice for the period 1950s-1980s is covered in the fifth section of the book. One of the chapters describes the technological advances made in the profession and the continuing quest for pain relief. Section VI focuses on direct-entry midwifery education and credentialing in the U.S. with chapters covering accreditation, certification and licensure. The final section of the book is devoted to midwifery relationships. Separate chapters discuss federal legislations affecting the practice, the relationships of midwives with women, with childbearing with families, with physicians, with nurses and with midwives themselves. The last chapter focuses on the International Confederation of Midwives (ICNM).