Black Midwifery in the U.S.
Dr. Noelene Jeffers and Dr. Wangui Muigai discuss the landmark historical film “All My Babies”, the parallels that exist between the challenges faced by Black midwifery in the 20th century and the challenges faced by Black midwives today, and the implications of these challenges for Black maternal and infant health. Dr. Wangui Muigai is a historian of medicine and science. Her research centers on race, gender, and ethical issues in health and health care. Dr. Muigai is also a 2022 Andrew Carnegie Fellow and her scholarship has been supported by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Association for the History of Medicine, and Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
Further Reading
All My Babies Film and Dr. Muigai’s Piece
Muigai, W. " Something Wasn't Clean": Black Midwifery, Birth, and Postwar Medical Education in All My Babies. Bulletin of the History of Medicine, 93(1), (2019): 82-113.
Stoney, G. C. (Director). (1953). All my babies: A midwife's own story [Film]. Georgia Department of Health.
The History of Black Midwifery
Canty, L. Historical Study of the Graduates of the Tuskegee School of Nurse-Midwifery, a Program for Black Nurses. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing. 54(3), (2025): 349-360.
Charles Smith, M. & Holmes, L. J. Listen to me good: The story of an Alabama midwife. (Ohio State University Press, 1996).
Holley, S. L., Mitchell, S., Muñoz, E. G., & Cockerham, A. Z. History of Midwifery at Tuskegee: Vanguards of Midwifery Education. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health, 69(5), (2024): 672-680.
Holmes, L. J. Safe in a midwife’s hands: Birthing traditions from Africa to the American south. (Mad Creek Books, 2023).
Luke, J. M. Delivered by midwives: African American midwifery in the twentieth-century south. (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2018).
Contemporary Black Midwifery
Grayson, N. A., How Black midwives can help our broken maternal healthcare system. [Video]. TedxMemphis. (Oct 30, 2021). https://www.ted.com/talks/dr_nikia_grayson_how_black_midwives_can_help_our_broken_maternal_healthcare_system?language=en
Jeffers, N. K., Canty, L., Drew, M., Grayson, N., Amani, J., Marcelle, E., & Amore, A. D. Beyond “patient‐provider race matching.” Black midwives clarify a vision for race‐concordant care to achieve equity in Black perinatal health: A commentary on “Do Black birthing persons prefer a Black health care provider during birth? Race concordance in birth”. Birth, 50(2), (2023): 267-272. https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12720
Children’s Books about Black Midwives
Greenfield, E. The Women Who Caught the Babies: A Story of African American Midwives. (Alazar Press, 2019).