Sunday, February 28, 2010

Midwifery as Calling - Guest Post by HeatherLady

One of my assignments for this book has been to research the birthing history of early LDS women. It has been an incredible experience and I’ve learned so much about birth and about midwifery. One of the things that I was most impressed to discover was that in the early days of the church, midwifery was a spiritual calling. A woman was called to be a midwife by priesthood authority, often after having been nominated by the Relief Society, and set apart by the laying on of hands. She was usually set apart by a General Authority of the church, if available, and the calling was for life, much like the calling of Patriarch.

The first woman we know of who was set apart as a midwife was Patty Bartlett Sessions, who is probably the most famous of the early church midwives and who personally delivered at least 4,000 babies during her life time. As a young girl, Patty received a strong spiritual confirmation about her calling as a midwife and had been working as a midwife for many years before she joined the church. When she arrived in Nauvoo she was set apart by Brigham Young and Heber C. Kimball as a “Doctor of Women” and went on to deliver thousands of babies for the LDS community. (Sessions, 1997).

During the early days of the church, hundreds of women were set apart as midwives. Some had formal training before their calls but others didn’t. My favorite story is of Josephine Catherine Chatterly Wood, of the Escalante area. When she was twenty-nine years old and the mother of several children, her Bishop called her to be the midwife of the community. At first she refused, saying, “I am green as a cucumber and I don’t know how babies are born.”

The Bishop promised to give her a blessing, and in the blessing he told her that she would be guided by the Lord and that great wisdom would be hers. Still feeling overwhelmed and inadequate, Josephine read all the books she could find and prayed and studied tirelessly. Before her first call to a mother in labor she asked her husband to give her a blessing, then, Josephine she went to the Bishop’s house and made him come with her to the birth because she was so nervous. The birth went well. Yet for several years afterward, Josephine would occasionally call the Bishop to come help her with the delivery of a baby.

Caroline Redd, one of the women who was attended by Josephine for eight of her births, said this of her: “None served more or gave more than she, and none was loved more. She loved to do the thing she was called to do. She loved her husband and family. She never complained. God gave her wisdom and power because she could translate pain into joy.” (Noall, 1942)

In general though, most LDS midwives had some sort of formal training. Later-day Saints were very unique in this respect in19th America when few midwives had any sort of training. The reason LDS women were so highly skilled in midwifery was for several reasons. Some of the early women coverts to the church came to Salt Lake City from Europe and had studied midwifery at schools in Scotland and France. Also, Brigham Young felt deeply about properly caring for prospective mothers and was particularly impressed by the trails and tribulation that women suffered when they had to “go down to the Valley of death” to bring forth the new citizens of Zion.

Even though Brigham Young had a real mistrust of doctors, which was probably very valid considering most of them didn’t have any sort of training, he eventually changed his mind and in 1880’s he started sending women to medical school to learn obstetrics. It was around this time that germ theory was being adopted. Germ Theory had been discovered in the 1860's, and the medical profession was starting to become more research based and professionalized. Perhaps Brigham Young was inspired to hesitate about doctors until the saints could be assured that they were getting quality medical training and care.

Dr. Ellis Shipp was the first woman sent by Brigham Young to the Woman’s Medical College in Philadelphia to study medicine and obstetrics. After she returned from studying medicine she traveled all over the Mormon territories training hundreds of women as midwives and in the basics of home nursing. In fact, during the 19th century Utah had one of the largest numbers of women doctors than almost anywhere else in the world. (Dorigatti, 2009)

The need for midwives in the newly established Zion was so great that in each Ward, the Relief Society would nominate two women to be trained and set apart as midwives for the women of the ward. These prospective midwives would usually travel to a place where Dr. Shipp, or another traveling doctor, was holding a temporary midwifery clinic. Since the time commitment was great--at least three months, and the cost very expensive (the cost the book was $20, which was a small fortune back then), the Relief Society of each ward would pay for their books and then feed and watch over their husbands and children while they were away.

One midwife who gained her training this way was Phebe Amelia Richards Peart, a midwife in Farmington. Her daughter said, “When she was on her first case, she decided that some day she would be a midwife…. Knowing how greatly midwives were needed, she looked forward to the day when she could study for this profession…. Some four years later, after she had become Mrs. Jacob Peart Jr., she laid her plans before her husband and also her mother, Mary Thompson Richards. She asked their permission and their help in taking a course of study under Dr. Shipp. It was, however, obvious, from the start that she could expect neither encouragement nor help from her family. Both her husband and her mother were bitterly opposed to the suggestion. They held to the then popular conviction that a woman’s place is in the home. To them it seemed unthinkable that Phebe should attempt such a career. The Relief Society was sympathetic to her desire and through it, even in the face of dire opposition at home, Phebe eventually complete her training and received from Dr. Shipp a certificate which made her eligible to practice nursing and obstetrics.” (Noall, 1942)

Several of the accounts I read also spoke of midwives as “presiding” at a birth. Typically when I think of “presiding,” I think of a priesthood holder presiding over a church meeting. The man presiding isn’t always the one who is in charge of conducting the meeting; commonly he doesn’t say anything, but he is there representing the priesthood authority of Heavenly Father. I like the image of a midwife not “delivering” or “catching a baby,” but “presiding over the birth.” Her job isn’t to do the work--that is in the hand of God, mother and baby--rather, she is there to oversee the process and to represent the power of the Heavenly Mother.

One midwife, Annie Bryceon Laker who served in Southern Idaho, once told her friend that, “… the strength that comes to us is from the Priesthood, and the power we receive through the Priesthood is from our Father in Heaven.” (Noall, 1942)

The experience of the early Later-day Saint women has taught me several important lessons. First, that God is very interested in the way in which His daughters birth and how His children come to this world. Second, that the Lord qualifies whom he calls. Though midwives may no longer be called and formally set apart, many of the midwives (and doulas and childbirth educators) I know, both in and outside of our faith, will tell you that they feel like God called them to do this work and that he inspires and guides them in their work.

We plan to include some of this information in the book, so I would love to hear comments or questions.


Sources:

Noall, Claire. 1942. Mormon Midwives. Utah State Quarterly, Volume 10.

Sessions, Patty Bartlett. 1997 Mormon Midwife: The 1846-1888 Diaries of Patty Bartlett Sessions. Donna Toland Smart (editor). Utah State Univeristy Press. Logan, Utah.

Dorigatti, Barbara T. Thompson. 2009. Pioneer Midwives. Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Lesson for September.

28 comments:

  1. Can I post this verbatim to my blog? I'm concerned if I just link it that people won't bother clicking and then will miss out reading the post.

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  2. It's up to Heather, but I think you could quote liberally from it and then leave people hanging and link to it.

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  3. This is wonderful! I definitely feel "called" by God to be a doula and CBE. It would be awesome if it would count as a calling in church. :)

    Lovely post and very inspirational.

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  4. Wonderfully written post:) This is such interesting information. I had no idea that midwives were called as part of a church calling in the early days of the church. It all makes sense though, and I do believe that Heavenly Father does care how our children are brought into the world.

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  5. I loved reading this. I am not LDS myself, but have lots of family that is, and one of my own midwives was as well. She talked to me one day about her experience feeling called to serve - I feel fortunate that she shared this with me.

    Is there any wonder Utah currently has the lowest cesarean rates in the country? :o)

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  6. How proud that makes me feel to know that the church "had one of the largest numbers of women doctors than almost anywhere else in the world". That's so amazing. We get such flack for being conservation, traditional people.. but check that out! :) And I also love the idea of a midwife 'presiding' over the birth. That's more what it felt like when I gave birth. She was there if I needed her, but I delivered my baby.

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  7. Fan-friggin-tastic. Can't wait to read more.

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  8. Oh I love all this. I'm so glad you guys are including this in the book. I want to hear more! I had no idea the church set women apart at midwives. And I love love love the "presiding" aspect of the midwives role. I hate hearing people say the doctor or midwife "delivered" my baby. Although I've slipped and said this myself, I always try to say, the midwife "attended" the birth. I am the one who delivered my baby!

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  9. This article was so meant for me right now! I have been getting promptings for the last few months that I should start schooling to become a midwife, and while I have recieved many promptings, I've still been nervous about such a big undertaking with 4 little boys at home. But reading this article was like a huge confirmation that this really is what the Lord wants me to do. I cried through the whole thing, and felt the spirit stronger than almost any other time in my life. I read it to my husband later and was getting choked up reading it. It was like the Lord was saying "it's ok to do this, even though you are a mother", and that he will help me get through since it's something he is calling me to. I also think this is a great angle to use to start talking to other women in the church about natural birth, and the spiritual nature of birth. I also discovered that Patty Barlett Sessions is my husbands 4th great grandmother. He called his grandma last night, and she's going to send me a bunch of books that she has about her. So I'm hoping to use some of this information to try and organize a relief society "enrichment" class on the topic. Thank you so much for your blog and especially this article!!

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  10. Tara,

    I am so glad that this spoke to you! You know when Felice asked me to write up this post of the blog she said that she had been feeling that someone really needed to hear about midwifery as a calling. Maybe this was for you. Also, the thing that really impressed me about these midwives was that most of them had at least 7 kids, sometimes 11 or 12, and yet they still had these type of careers. They juggled so much and it seem like the Lord provided and helped them. They were mothers, midwives and active relief society sisters-- they did it all, without a car or a cell phone. They really were remarkable.

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  11. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for posting this. I have been looking for this information! Since I was called to be a midwife 15 years ago, I have been trying to juggle raising my family and fulflling this call to serve my sisters, and I am only just now (finally!) at the point in my training where it is my time to "preside" at births. It is not possible for me to detail here all the ways this post has helped me. It is exactly what I needed right now. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

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  12. wow, this was so amazing to read! it just shows me even more how much Heavenly Father cares about our births. thank you!

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  13. I'm loving all these comments! Yay!

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  14. Wonderful, research, and beautifully recorded. I was so pleasantly surprised to read on Katrina's blog that midwives were set apart and called to assist lds women in their communities. I had to read to my husband the paragraph about "presiding" at the birth between the Father, mother, and baby. I love that. Truly, it is the power in the priesthood, the atonement of the savior, that has aided me, and my babies in their earthly debut. What an honor to be a part of such a sacred act. Thank you and can't wait to read more, trina

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  15. Beautifully written article!! I love learning about the history of midwifery and have recently begun researching midwifery and the church. One of the best things I have found is that Emma Smith was a midwife and when they were in Nauvoo, if there was a birth or something another midwife couldn't handle, they would take the woman to Emma. Which I think is absolutely amazing! I love that they used to be called to serve as midwives. I am training to be a midwife and think it would be amazing if they still did this for women.

    Again, wonderful article!!

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  16. Thank you so much for this article! I am another one that believes this was written just for me. While I did know that midwives were called in the early years of the church, it is the points brought out in this article and the way that it is written that really hit home to me.

    I've always teased that I was born in the wrong era, but now I really know it. Being formally set apart by God to be midwife would be such an incredible experience!

    And yet, I know that God has given me certain experiences in my life for a reason, but like others, have wondered how to make it work with a family of young children. I have been pondering a line in my patriarchal blessing for a few weeks now, trying to gain understanding and guidance. And this is it! This is answer to prayer that makes things a bit clearer. Thank you!

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  17. I really enjoyed this article, and loved learning more about how forward-thinking many early saints were, despite a rather markedly opposite perception. One word of caution though...be very careful about references to Heavenly Mother. Though we aknowledge that she is real, and that she loves us, it can be very distressing to the bretheren to speak much of her. I don't know why I felt compelled to remark on that, but the name leapt out at me. Good luck in you endeavors!

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  18. Wow, it never occurred to me to look at my patriarchal blessing regarding my "call" to midwifery. I've wanted something health related since high school, and didn't get into medical school. Now I know that the Lord has defined a path--at this point carefully placing things like local training options in my path.

    I am a new student midwife. I was studying last week and completely overwhelmed (and posted such on FB) and got such a huge flood of support from friends at all quarters! I can do this!

    Don't know how I missed your blog--I will enjoy reading it, I know...

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  19. Wow!!! I just came across this blog/post completely at random. I'm lds and the past while have been extremely interested in becoming a midwife. I've had this sudden drive and pull inside of me (again, this was totally random). A lot of people consider it strange or not "legitimate" but I just feel compelled to do it. I felt, just as the other ladies said, that this was writen just for me. It's so great to know there is a whole community of LDS midwives that can support eachother! Thanks again for this posting!
    -Vanessa Walker
    And on a side note- I have now decided that this is what i truly want and feel is my calling, so i've looked into different schools and again, I feel extremely compelled towards Newlife International School of Midwifery in the Philippines. Does anyone know anybody lds that's gone or has experience with it? I would love to get a mormon perspective on it since it is a "Christian" school and see if they are biased or how they treat Mormons. Thanks!

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  20. I have certainly felt a desire to serve as a childbirth attendant to the women in my ward. The unfortunate thing is that there is no interest, no understanding from pregnant women for why that would be useful. Most of us do not know this history nor would care to renew the tradition. I hope someday the women of my ward will see me as a wise woman that they would like that their births. I have a long way to go before that can happen. I'm enrolled in Ancient Art Midwifery Institute and will apprentice when my children are older and after I am further into the coursework. I wish that I could be seen as a doula to the women of my ward before then.

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  21. My sister in-law forwarded me this link and it spoke to my soul. I have for some time desperately wanted to write something that would help woman want to take back "the sacrament of birth" as Ina May Gaskin calls it. I am always amazed at the negativity I receive for using a midwife and having home births because I want that spiritual, natural experience. Most of the criticism comes from my LDS friends and I LOVE that midwifery IS in our heritage. I am always so happy to find other like-minded women who feel as I do. Thank you for writing this!!

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  22. Love this post! Very interesting! In high school I took a class to be a CNA. When I walked into my classroom for the open house (it was a technical program through the high school and you would choose the class you wanted to take and apply for it) I had a really strong feeling like that was where I was supposed to be. It wasn't just me being excited to take the class. It was an overwhelming feeling. Being a CNA did so many things for me, I can't say it was just one thing, but I feel like the most important thing was the series of events that led to me becoming a doula and having my own home birth. I worked in Maternity and that's where I learned what a doula was, that's where I saw women that birthed naturally being happier with their experiences which led me to believe that natural birth was better.
    I had always thought that I received that overwhelming feeling because I was supposed to be a nurse. Then in college I just didn't feel like I wanted to be a nurse. I never got that feeling with nursing. But being a doula feels right and without being a CNA, I would never be here! :D

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  23. I LOVE this! Can't enough say how much I love it!!! I have had such similar feelings about feeling like I was "born" to do this, and sort of had a joke with myself about Maybe midwifery will be what I'll do in the next life-Lol…. I had no idea that the church had this as a calling! So awesome! I really do feel such a connection to birth and what an amazing, powerful, and spiritual experience it can be. I am SO hoping that I get the chance to do this when my children are a bit older.

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  24. This is an awesome piece. I enjoyed reading it.I like the way everything has been written and expressed with such depth. Good job, very well written!

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  25. Awesome post here...I love learning regarding the history of midwifery and the church.

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  26. What an interesting subject! I didn't not know that midwife were set apart. However I am surprised that you didn't mention anything about the washing and anointing ordinances the midwifes were performing on the woman who was about to give birth. Why?? When I read about that ritual it touched me deeply and showed me how close we can be to our Heavenly father and mother and how sacred and divin the act if giving birth is.

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  27. What an interesting subject! I didn't not know that midwife were set apart. However I am surprised that you didn't mention anything about the washing and anointing ordinances the midwifes were performing on the woman who was about to give birth. Why?? When I read about that ritual it touched me deeply and showed me how close we can be to our Heavenly father and mother and how sacred and divin the act if giving birth is.

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  28. This is wonderful history. I love knowing that early LDS midwives were set apart. What a wonderful complementary role to the Patriarchs. Like eamerica, I was so touched when I learned about the washing and anointing ordinances women performed for soon-to-be-mothers. I wish that these ordinances still took place. I wonder if there would be such turmoil in the church regarding women's role in the priesthood if we still had such meaningful interactions as these. I am grateful for the ordinance of the sacrament, for sure, but given the choice, I'd choose blessing a laboring woman over blessing the bread. I can leave that one to the boys.

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