02/05/2026
Black History Month Tribute: Granny Midwives
Before hospitals opened their doors to Black families.
Before medical systems acknowledged Black pain.
Before formal degrees were accessible to Black people…there were Granny Midwives.
Granny midwives were skilled birth workers who provided care for birthing people across the United States, especially throughout the South. For generations, they were often the only healthcare providers available to Black families in rural and segregated communities.
But their work went far beyond delivering babies.
In African American communities, birth workers traditionally occupied a prominent position as healers, herbalists, counselors, and spiritual leaders. Granny midwives carried African ancestral knowledge forward — combining plant medicine, prayer, intuition, and hands-on skill. They treated pregnancy as sacred, birth as spiritual, and motherhood as communal.
They were called “granny” not because of age alone but because of wisdom, reverence, and authority.
Many were believed to have a spiritual gift. Communities trusted them to:
🌿 Prepare herbal teas and tonics for pregnancy and recovery
🕯️ Pray over laboring mothers and newborns
🌾 Teach nutrition and home care
🧺 Bathe babies and guide postpartum healing
🤲🏾 Counsel families through grief, fear, and transition
🛡️ Protect mothers spiritually during vulnerable moments
They worked in kitchens, bedrooms, cabins, and farmhouses. They walked dirt roads at night with lanterns. They carried clean cloths, roots, oils, and prayers. They welcomed life when systems refused to serve Black bodies.
Granny midwives remind us that Black healing has always been holistic.
It is hands and herbs.
Prayer and presence.
Knowledge and intuition.
Science and spirit.
Today in honor of black history month we celebrate the midwives. 💕
