Black Midwives – Margaret Charles Smith’s Story

Black Midwives – Margaret Charles Smith’s Story

In this episode we discuss Black midwives and Margaret Charles Smith’s story. She was a distinguished Alabama midwife who delivered over 3,500 babies and never lost a single mother during childbirth. 

And we highlight the National Black Midwives Alliance (NBMA), an organization that advocates for legislative actions that address disparities in maternal healthcare that disproportionately impact Black birthing people.

Visit the NBMA website, https://blackmidwivesalliance.org/, to learn more about their advocacy efforts and to support their amazing work.

If you would like to suggest a topic we should discuss, share your own personal story, or shoutout an organization or individual please email us at [email protected].

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Resources:

Margaret Charles Smith (1906-2004) by Alabama’s Women Hall of Fame

http://www.awhf.org/mcsmith.html

Margaret Charles Smith – An Extraordinary Midwife by Amy Weig Pickering 

https://libguides.health.unm.edu/blog/Margaret-Charles-Smith-An-Extraordinary-Midwife-92117

Constructing the Modern American Midwife: White Supremacy and White Feminism Collide by P. Mimi Niles and Michelle Drew

https://nursingclio.org/2020/10/22/constructing-the-modern-american-midwife-white-supremacy-and-white-feminism-collide/

Black Midwifery’s Complex History by Dominique Tobbell

https://www.nursing.virginia.edu/news/bhm-black-midwives/

Audio: 

Miss Margaret – PREVIEW by Documentary Educational Resources https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lp9J2XHJwM