02/25/2026
Before hospitals welcomed Black women, Black Granny Midwives were the foundation of maternal care in Black communities. According to Sharon Robinson, in the Journal of Nurse-Midwifery (1984), the first Black lay midwife came to America in 1619, bringing with her knowledge of health and healing based on her African background.
They delivered babies, provided prenatal and postpartum support, and carried generations safely into the world - often in rural and underserved areas where no one else would go.
Until the late 1800s, most births were attended by midwives—many of them Black, Indigenous, and immigrant women. They carried generations of traditional healing knowledge, learned through community, apprenticeship, and lived experience.
But in the early 1900s, childbirth became medicalized. Birth moved from homes to hospitals, and physicians replaced midwives as primary birth attendants except in the Southeastern US and rural areas. Midwives went from delivering half of all U.S. babies to just 15% by 1930.
With skill, wisdom, and deep spiritual grounding, they blended ancestral knowledge with lived experience. Though pushed aside by systemic racism and medical gatekeeping, their legacy lives on in birth justice, holistic care, and the fight for dignity in maternal health.
We honor these trusted and deeply respected women - who carried the dual role of Life Bringer and Life Saver. 🖤
