Male Midwives? I Had No Clue!

I wasn't around Baltimore in the 1800s. Still, I had no idea. Apparently I need to head up Charles Street tomorrow for some continuing education from the folks at JHU's Homewood Museum.

They say, "The early 19th century was a pivotal time in maternal care as female midwives gave way to male midwives and obstetrics emerged as a major medical specialty. Cribs, cradles, silver baby bottle nipples, forceps, early medical books, and other period items on display offer a look at practices, traditions, and politics concerning childbirth and childrearing in early Maryland, particularly those of Baltimore families like the Carrolls of Homewood."

The event was organized by students in the Introduction to Material Culture course taught fall 2007 at Homewood as part of the JHU Krieger School’s Museums & Society Program. The course and focus show were made possible by the late Anne Merrick Pinkard.

While I'm considering about all of this, I'm kind of creeped-out thinking of the silver baby bottle nipples. That, somehow, just seems so wrong. It's not like they were serving up mint juleps or anything.