The Midwife's Tale: An Oral History from Handywoman to Professional MidwifeMothers and midwives reveal the wonders and difficulties of early twentieth century childbirth in this informative and insightful healthcare history. Before the foundation of the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, expectant mothers relied on midwives to help them through childbirth. Based on interviews conducted with dozens and mothers and retired midwives over several years, Billie Hunter and Nicky Leap’s The Midwife’s Tale shares the stories of these women in their own words, shedding light on their experiences and on the realities of childbirth in the first half of the twentieth century. Intriguing, poignant, and sometimes humorous, this oral history covers the experiences of women from the 1910s through the 1950s including accounts of the difficulties of rearing large families in poverty-stricken environments and the lack of information about contraception and abortion—even as midwifery changed from an unqualified “handywoman” skill to an actual profession. |
Contents
the woman you called for | |
Midwives in PreNHS Britain | |
Womens Knowledge about the Facts of Life | |
Birth Control | |
Unmarried Mothers | |
the effect on childbearing women | |
the tricks of the trade | |
a tribute to the women and midwives in this book | |
Glossary | |
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abortion antenatal anyway baby Billie Hunter birth control born breech birth breech delivery caesarean Caesarean section Central Midwives Board century cervix child childbearing childbirth clean clinics College of Midwives contraception course delivery described died district midwife doctor Edie Elsie Walkerdine Esther frightened girl Granny Anderson haemorrhage half handywoman happened home births hospital husband knew labour lives London look lovely Marie Stopes married Mary maternal deaths maternal mortality maternity services middle-class Midwife's Tale midwifery midwifery training Midwives Act midwives we interviewed Molly never nice night Nursing Notes oral history pain patient placenta poor practice pre-NHS days pregnancy profession remember Royal College Salvation Army sister sort stay stories talk tell terrible there's thing thought told took twins village washing women we interviewed working-class women