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December 11, 2016
Changes to the Practice of Midwifery
Enrichment program
This essay discusses the differences between midwifery in the 1800s to midwife practices used today. This essay will focus on a basic history, how they were educated, and their role in society. The sections in this essay are, Basic History of Midwifes, Midwifes in the 1800s, and Current Midwife Practices.
A Basic History of Midwifery
Midwifery is an ancient health science and health profession that provides care for women and babies during pregnancy, child birth, and postpartum period (pospartam is when the period begins immediately after the birth of a child, and lasts up to six weeks). This profession started in the 1600s. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwifery#History_of_midwifery, 2017). When midwifery first began, the legend was that gods and goddesses were in the room looking after the deliveries so that nothing went wrong. Also in the room looking after the labouring woman, was her mother, aunt, grandmother, her friends… and her midwife. In certain cases her doctor would
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In the 1800s there was a conflict between surgeons and midwifes, where some people thought midwifes were “incompetent and ignorant” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwifery#History_of_midwifery, 2017). Yet, others thought that surgeons were a danger from their poor medical education. This argument lasted until the study of bacteriology in the early 1900s. During labor, midwifes did not provide any painkillers, they only distributed alcohol. The midwifes did no such thing as groan or cry of discouragement, they had to “arm themselves with patience” (womenhistoryblog.com/2014/06/19th-century-midwifes.html). Midwifes didn't only deliver babies, they went to the the baptisms, the burial of infants and to the court cases of bastardy: when the a couple have a sexual encounter and they are not
This novel, A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, is based on Ballard’s diary starting in 1785 and ending with her death in 1812. Ulrich takes us step by step through Martha Ballard’s life as a Colonial Midwife. She reveals to us all the marvelous acts that midwives performed for their families and communities. “Midwives and nurses mediated the mysteries of birth, procreation, illness and death. They touched the untouchable, handled excrement and vomit as well as milk, swaddled the dead as well as the newborn” (Ulrich, 1990, pg.47). The novel also reveals that based on the views of societal power, gender roles in the medical environment and personal values, revealed in the diary, women were subordinate to men during this historical time period. Martha Ballard lived and thrived in this inferior atmosphere.
Contrary to having doctors deliver babies today, midwives were called upon to deliver babies during the eighteenth century. There were many more midwives than there were doctors during that time. In addition, Martha served as a midwife, nurse, physician, mortician, pharmacist, and attentive wife simultaneously (40). Aside from being able to deliver babies, midwives were also highly experienced in medical care—they tended to wounds, diagnosed illnesses, and made medicine. Midwives were more accessible and abundant when compared to doctors—they did not require any formal training or education. When the medical field was underdeveloped, the midwives were the leading resource when it was related to medical conflicts.
Before I watched 'A Midwife's Tale', a movie created from the diary found by Laurel Ulrich chronicling the life of a woman named Martha Ballard, I thought the women in these times were just housewives and nothing else. I pictured them doing the cleaning and the cooking for their husbands and not being very smart because of the lack of education or them being unable to work. My view on the subject changed however when I watched this specific woman's life and her work.
Pairman,S., Tracy, S., Thorogood, C., & Pincombe, J. (2013). Theoretical frameworks for midwifery practice. Midwifery: Preparation for practice.(2nd ed, pp. 313-336). Chatswood, N.S.W. : Elsevier Australia
The Grand Midwives, a term we now wish to honor them with, are still among us. Some are with us in spirit, and a few are still with us today. Two midwives who told their stories before passing on were, Onnie Lee Logan in her book, Motherwit, An Alabama Midwife 's Story, and Why Not Me ? The story of Gladys Milton, Midwife by Wendy Bovard and Gladys Milton. One midwife of a few still living is Margaret Charles Smith from Alabama. You can read her story in her book titled Listen To Me Good: The Story of an Alabama Midwife. These three midwives have shared their story with us so that we can understand our history in Midwifery. Midwives can be found throughout the United States and across the sea. In many states Midwifery is still unlawful. Some states have managed to pass laws that have made midwifery a free state to practice in. Those who practice laid midwifery in restricted states do so because they believe that families ought to have the right to birth where they want and to be attended by whom they choose. They believe in freedom and exercise this belief as Harriet Tubman once did. Many midwives today believe they were called to serve the pregnant mother as the midwives of yesterday. They serve with pride and dignity, something that no man will ever take away. As long as there are mothers upon the stool, there will always be
"I had traveled much on the Kennebec, by water, by ice, and, during those treacherous seasons when the river was neither one nor the other, by faith" (e.g., A Midwife's Tale). Martha's diary is one of the few documents written by a woman that exist today and that describes the behavior, occupation, roles, and daily activities of a common society in the 18th century during and after the Revolution. Although she dedicates her whole life to help others and her family, the diary exposes a very different world with the very different community. Many other history documents lacked the problems of women and the lack of written documents by the female gender. Through this document, Martha gives the importance of women in the community and how they
towards African Americans are presented in number of works of scholars from all types of divers
Women in the early 19th century were considered their husbands’ property, and therefore domestic violence against wives was not uncommon during this time period. Women were taught that their place was in the home, and they were expected to be obedient wives and to never hold a thought or opinion that differed from that of their husband’s. In Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie demonstrates to the reader early on in the book her naturally outspoken personality and youthful independence. At sixteen years old, just as she is beginning to become curious about love and the opposite sex, the beautiful young Janie is thrust into marriage and she is faced with having to hide who she is as a person in order to conform to the expectations of a wife during that time. Janie’s profound outspokenness, her beauty, and her subliminal unwillingness to be controlled causes her difficulty as she faces domestic violence, first during her marriage to Joe Starks and again during her marriage to Tea Cake. However, Janie’s physical reaction towards the two different men abusing her is generally the same in each marriage, she remained quiet and cried. However, her mental reactions and feelings toward the abuse changes greatly.
... sixteenth and nineteenth centuries the role of mothers changed discreetly though significantly. Although the changes are not noticeably dramatic to most people today, these changes had a significant impact on the activities mothers performed as well as their quality of life. Although it can be argued that the most common role of mothers has always been to bear children, by the mid eighteen hundreds women began to have more choices on when and 0how often to have children. Another big change was that in later centuries women had the time and were encouraged to raise their children themselves rather than leaving their children to their own devices or sending them to be raised by strangers. While these changes in the roles of mothers are not the most obvious changes that occurred during this time period, they were certainly significant to all those that they affected.
...o find a balance between interventional and non-interventional birth. With this being said, I also understand that there are strict policies and protocols set in place, which I must abide to as a healthcare provider, in any birth setting. Unfortunately, these guidelines can be abused. Christiane Northrup, MD, a well recognized and respected obstetrician-gynecologist has gone as far as to tell her own daughters that they should not give birth in a hospital setting, with the safest place being home (Block, 2007, p. xxiii). Although I am not entirely against hospital births, I am a firm believe that normal, healthy pregnancies should be fully permissible to all midwives. However, high-risk pregnancies and births must remain the responsibility of skilled obstetricians. My heart’s desire is to do what is ultimately in the best interest of the mother, and her unborn child.
19th-Century Women Works Cited Missing Women in the nineteenth century, for the most part, had to follow the common role presented to them by society. This role can be summed up by what historians call the “cult of domesticity”. The McGuffey Readers does a successful job at illustrating the women’s role in society. Women that took part in the overland trail, as described in “Women’s Diaries of the Westward Journey” had to try to follow these roles while facing many challenges that made it very difficult to do so. One of the most common expectations for women is that they are responsible for doing the chore of cleaning, whether it is cleaning the house, doing the laundry.
During the mid-twentieth century American’s view of nurses was drastically changing according to Judd & Sitzman the authors of “A History of American Nursing: Trends and Eras.” Prior to this time period the job of a nurse was not something that was very valued. The women who chose this work were not looked upon as highly as they are today. Judd & Sitzman write that during this time “nurses were respected, revered, and deemed professionals; they were portrayed in recruitment posters.” Nursing was now a profession women could actually seek to do outside of the home that was not frowned upon. Nursing was now being viewed as a valued profession. The mere fact that there were recruitment posters being created and displayed proves this point.
"The Role of a Nurse / Midwife." Irish Nursing Board, An Bord Altranais. N.p., n.d.
During the 1800s, society believed there to be a defined difference in character among men and women. Women were viewed simply as passive wives and mothers, while men were viewed as individuals with many different roles and opportunities. For women, education was not expected past a certain point, and those who pushed the limits were looked down on for their ambition. Marriage was an absolute necessity, and a career that surpassed any duties as housewife was practically unheard of. Jane Austen, a female author of the time, lived and wrote within this particular period. Many of her novels centered around women, such as Elizabeth Bennet of Pride and Prejudice, who were able to live independent lives while bravely defying the rules of society. The roles expected of women in the nineteenth century can be portrayed clearly by Jane Austen's female characters of Pride and Prejudice.
Chances are that terms such as “midwife” and “home birth” conjure up for you old-fashioned images of childbirth. These words may bring to mind scenes from old movies, but you’re not likely to associate them with the modern image of childbirth. Do you know anyone who has had a midwife-assisted birth or a home birth? Would you consider one?