Imagine wading through mud and snow in an ankle-length dress with petticoats, or dealing with a stuck wagon or a row boat through partially frozen water en route to a labor on the prairie. I’d love to see a motion picture on the lives of pioneer midwives and their dealings so close with birth, life and death. It makes modern-day Vermont home birth in a February blizzard with easy access to technology and medical services seem like patty-cake.
I live and practice as a Vermont mormon midwife in the most atheistic state in the nation. Hence, I do not shout from the rooftops that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) because my faith is intensely private to me. Faith has been a blessing for my family and is a consideration in all that I do. Here is a fun article about the legacy and pioneer history of Mormon Midwives.
Rediscovering the Legacy of Mormon Midwives
By Jenne Erigero Alderks
Below is a book I’ve been hoping to buy and read.
The Midwife: A Biography of Laurine Ekstrom Kingston
Lastly, another reading project I hope to someday undertake…
A Tribute to a Mormon Pioneer Midwife – Patty Bartlett Sessions