TUSKEGEE SCHOOL OF NURSE-MIDWIDERY Lucinda Canty CNM, MSN Hartford Hospital OBJECTIVES At the completion of the presentation attendees will be able to: INTRODUCTION 1. Identify three reasons the Tuskegee School of Nurse-Midwifery Program was established. 2. Identify the number of graduated of the Tuskegee School of Nurse- Midwifery. 3. Discuss the contributions of the graduates of the Tuskegee School of Nurse-Midwifery to the profession of nurse-midwifery. The Tuskegee School of Nurse-Midwifery opened September 15, 1941 in Tuskegee, Alabama. The main goal was to decrease maternal and infant mortality rates in the South, particularly in the Black Community. The School closed 1946, graduating 31 Black nurse-midwives. These nurse-midwives made major contributions to the nursemidwifery profession and made major impacts on the obstetrical and general health care in their communities. GENERAL SOCIAL CONTEXT OF THE TIME PERIOD Black Americans in the South during the 1940 s. World War II was a major event occurring at the time. This period occurred before the Civil Rights Movement of the late 1950s & 1960s. Black Americans faced segregation in health care, housing, education and employment. Health care issue in the Black community: o Inadequate number of health care facilities for Blacks and shortage of Black health care professionals. o Access to health care was difficult for those living in rural areas due to lack of transportation and inability to afford health care. o Black Americans were at increased risk of developing tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhea, infections disease, and maternal complications. o Black women had higher maternal and infant mortality rates than whites. Granny Midwives o Black women received little if any obstetrical care in the 1940s. Segregation and poverty prevented these women from utilizing obstetrical care. o Granny midwives were essential to the Black community, even before coming to America from Africa in 1619.
o Many Black women would not have received any obstetrical care if they did not have granny midwives. Grannies attended two-thirds of births in Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana. o Granny midwives did not receive any formal training, they learned by apprenticeship though family association. o Many physicians, nurse-midwives and nurses believed that grannies placed women and babies at serious risk because of their age, lack of education, unsanitary practices and superstitions. This resulted in state and local health departments developing training programs for midwives. o Many granny midwives cooperated and participated in these programs.. TUSKEGEE SCHOOL OF NURSE-MIDWIFERY Organizations involved with planning of the school: o The State of Alabama Department of Public Health o Macon County Health Department o Julius Rosenwald Fund o Tuskegee Institute o U.S. Bureau o Maternity Center Association Objectives of the nurse-midwifery project: o To reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality through an improved and expanded maternity service. o To make better provisions for hospitalization of maternity and pediatric cases. o To train nurse-midwives. o To study the problems of rural maternal and infant care where adequate medical service is not available, and attempt to arrive at a solution. The school opened September 15, 1941 on the campus of Tuskegee Institute. Requirements for Admission: o R.N. from an accredited nursing program o One year nursing experience o Public Health &/or obstetrical experience o Age 25 40 years old, in good health o Eligible for college matriculation
Directors of the School: o Margaret Thomas September 1941 June1942 & September 1943 August 1945 Nurse-midwife and staff member of Maternity Center Association (MCA) o F. Carrington Owens June 1942 June 1943 Black nurse-midwife graduate of MCA o Claudia Durham August 1945 June 1946 Black nurse-midwife 1944 graduate of Tuskegee Nurse-Midwifery Program: o The program was for 6 months and consisted of lectures, discussions and demonstrations. o Clinical experience consisted of weekly clinics, home visiting and taking prenatal and postnatal call. Each student was expected to deliver 20 30 babies under supervision. Also participated in teaching classes for grannymidwives. The school closed June 30, 1946 after 5 years of operation. It graduated 31 Black nurse-midwives from the program. GRADUATES OF THE TUSKEGEE SCHOOL OF NURSE-MIDWIFERY March 1941 1944 Salina Lestrice Johnson Claudia Marie Durham* Helen Sullivan-Miller* Bessie D. Johnson Fannie Mamie Prentice-Dubois* Marjorie A. Hawkins Frances Mosley SEPTEMBER 1942 Nettie B. Jones* Mary Louise Miller Alice Matthews Evelyn Helen Thomas Marie Jackson Lillie Charvis Flossie Elizabeth Jones 1945 Susie D. Thomas 1943 Viney Ford Winifred Lucille Ellis-Pittman* Eleanor D. Brown Susie L. Davis (5 Students Name unknown) Johnnie Mae Picket-Baskin Marie Cecelia McKnight* 1946 Maude Callen* Constance Manning Derrell* Mamie O. Hale* (?) Thorton Girth Ree Wilkerson*
CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE TUSKEGEE NURSE-MIDWIVES: Worked in several capacities: o Clinical nurse-midwives o General public health practitioners o Educators in nursing and nurse-midwifery o Trained and supervised granny midwives o Nursing Administrators Maude Callen increased visibility of nurse-midwives when she appeared in Life magazine. Constance Derrell broke down barriers by becoming the first nurse-midwife at New York Cornell Medical Center s Lying In Hospital. Some graduates provided general health care to the entire community. They provided care to men, women, and children. They worked with various illnesses, including tuberculosis and venereal diseases. They also encouraged people to seek medical care or hospitalization if needed. The Tuskegee nurse-midwives were able to overcome racial, economic, and cultural barriers that prevented Black women from receiving adequate health care. They brought nurse-midwifery care to communities that had a great need for it.
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