02/03/2026
Black History is Midwifery History in the US.
Long before hospitals became the norm, Grand Midwives were the backbone of community-based birth care — combining deep clinical skill, ancestral knowledge, and unwavering presence.
They served families who were often excluded from medical systems, and they did so with excellence, dignity, and heart.
Their legacy lives on today in evidence-based, relationship-centered, instinct-honoring care — and in the continued push for safer, more respectful birth experiences for Black families.
Black midwives are essential, and the skills, wisdom, and care they have passed down continue to guide and strengthen birth work today.
📷: Untitled (Timing Contractions), by Robert Galbraith (American, 1919–2015), Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Robert Galbraith. Object no. 2009.1.30. © 1987 Robert Galbraith / Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.