Bearing Independence: The Concept of Social Childbirth in Martha Ballard's Life Writing

Authors

  • Bettina Huber

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5283/copas.263

Keywords:

Martha Ballard, life writing, social childbirth, midwifery, late eighteenth century, gender studies

Abstract

Martha Ballard worked as an 18th-century midwife in Hallowell, Maine. Her diary, an important historical account of her time, represents the concept of social childbirth. Women formed a female community around the expecting mother shortly before, during, and after giving birth to support her and allow for a period of recuperation. As a midwife, Martha Ballard was the most important woman to attend the expecting mother. This article argues that this significant status, which Ballard performs in her diary, allowed her and other midwives to break through traditional gender roles, to earn a personal income, travel freely, and live a more independent life.

Downloads

Published

2017-05-26

How to Cite

Huber, Bettina. “Bearing Independence: The Concept of Social Childbirth in Martha Ballard’s Life Writing”. Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies, vol. 17, no. 2, May 2017, doi:10.5283/copas.263.

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 2 (2016): Women and Medicine in American Literature and Culture

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.