Bennie “Mama” McGuire, midwife
Before there were modern doctors and hospitals, there were midwives.
Prior to the Civil War, records from one census indicated that half of all midwives were Black; the other half were white and Indigenous. Many Black midwives in the pre-Civil War period were enslaved women who learned their trade in an apprenticeship, tracing the roots of the craft to Africa. As populations grew and became more urban, white male doctors began to question midwifery and target it as a threat to their own work; by 1940, over half of births took place in a hospital. Black communities were more likely to have midwives, as they remained more affordable and were more likely to give mothers respect and consideration. In fact, New Jersey’s Department of Health found that maternal mortality rates in the early 1900s were lower in the areas with more births assisted by midwives.
As formalized training programs were instituted and required, racist barriers to entry and high tuition costs resulted in fewer Black midwives. Between this and the campaign of skepticism continued by doctors which resulted in restrictions on where and how much midwives could practice, midwifery dropped significantly; in 1950, only 5% of births were attended by midwives (although they attended 25% of non-white births).
Midwifery is becoming more popular now and could become once again a way to reduce infant and maternal mortality, particularly in Black communities. One source suggests a better future can be achieved for Black midwives by increasing access to birth centers as an alternative to hospitals, increasing insurance coverage for attendants at birth centers and home births, and raising public awareness of midwifery in general.
Last July we learned about Dads to Doulas, a program which attempts to reduce the high infant mortality rate among black babies through education and training of expectant Black fathers. Now we know that they are part of a long line of Black and Indigenous people helping others through the challenges of pregnancy and childbirth.
Interested in learning more about the Love One Another initiative? Visit the archives.
