The Black Midwives Series

Midwifery in the US is founded on the labor of Black midwives.

And Black midwifery here has a legacy going generations back to African and Caribbean roots. Half of all births attended at the start of the 20th century were attended by Black midwives largely known as granny/grand midwives.

As the American Medical Association became established and the push for care in hospitals by white male doctors began, Black midwives were suddenly deemed dirty and dangerous. Through smear campaigns and policy change, midwifery was largely dismantled.

When midwifery had a revival in the 1960s and 70s, midwives were almost exclusively white women. As of 2014, only 2% of the 15,000 midwives in the US were Black.

We’ve partnered with the National Black Midwives Alliance to bring you The Black Midwives Series, spotlighting Black midwives across time and across the US.

Do you have a story of someone in your family was a Black midwife or was delivered at home by a Black midwife?

Call in and leave us a message on our phone line — 804-601-6065. Your story may be featured by us and/or the National Black Midwives Alliance!

Recommended Resources:

• “The culture war between midwives and doctors, explained” — Vox

• ”Birthing Reproductive Justice” — University of Michigan

• ”A Brief History of Black Midwifery in the US” — Doula Trainings International

• “The persecution and prosecution of granny midwives in South Carolina, 1900–1940.” — Alicia D. Bonaparte

• Birthing, Blackness, and the Body: Black Midwives and Experiential Continuities of Institutional Racism — Keisha La'Nesha Goode