The following article was written by Jennifer Stover, current president and founding member of the Birth and Baby Resource Network, for the Women's Press. The original online published version can be found here. The history of American midwifery is a long one. Please take a moment to read on, and learn a little about the road our midwives have traveled.
Midwifery; a David
and Goliath Tale
By Jennifer Stover
The
story of midwifery in America is a classic power struggle for women’s rights,
respect and choice; a tale of the clash of women’s culture and values with the
male dominated spheres of science, medicine and finance. It is an ugly story
laced with racism and class war fare. This struggle continues to walk the halls
of political power and sits in insurance industry board rooms today.
It
began as the eighteenth century was drawing to a close and the science of
medicine was on the rise. Men for the first time began to move deeply into the
privacy of the birth room, a place that in most cultures around the world is
traditionally populated almost exclusively by women. This slow and determined
encroachment into what had previously always been a woman’s world began the
battle.
