“Protect the Mother and Baby”: Mississippi Lay Midwives and Public Health

This article explores the relationship between African American lay midwives and the Mississippi State Board of Health. Seen as responsible for high rates of infant and maternal mortality, the midwives were targeted for elimination in the 1920s. However, the shortage of physicians and hospitals postponed this process for more than five decades, and lay midwives were integrated into the state’s public health system.