“No Small Part”: Utah Women in Medicine, Nursing, & Midwifery, 1873 – 1930
Calling the Midwife
The practice of midwifery in 19th-century Utah was not just a profession, it was a religious calling. In each stake, two or three midwives were “set apart” by their ecclesiastical leaders. These women served with faithful dedication, and were in turn, respected and cherished members of their communities.
Midwives did more than attend to the births of children. Due to the scarcity and mistrust of doctors among the early Saints, midwives became the primary providers of general medical care throughout the Church’s settlements. Early midwives served without any formal instruction, instead receiving hands-on training from other experienced midwives. When confronted with medical care that was beyond their abilities, the elders of the Church were generally called in for a bedside blessing. When trained physicians, like Drs. Ellis Shipp and Romania Penrose, returned to Utah and started offering classes in women’s health, midwives throughout the state were sent to Salt Lake City to receive formal education.
Adelia Cooley Parker
Adelia Cooley Parker was born in 1874 in a log cabin house in Millard County, Utah. After grasshoppers devoured her family’s crops, they moved to Joseph City next to the Sevier River. “Adelia was of a studious nature and loved good books and received good marks in her school work.” At age 15, she became the plural wife of Joseph Faulkner Parker.
Class notes and certificate
Adelia was asked by her ward Relief Society President to enroll in a class in obstetrics taught by Margaret Roberts. The notes that Adelia kept during her class were later transcribed. Adelia's papers also included the certificate licensing her to practice obstetrics in Utah. Adelia died in 1908, five years after becoming a midwife, leaving behind four young children.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, midwives in Utah could be identified by the black bags they carried to their house calls. It was general practice for mothers to lay in bed at home for several days following childbirth. Midwives made several trips to the home and in addition to checking on the health of the mother and child, they helped with household tasks such as laundry and cleaning. A typical fee for attending the birth of a child including follow up visits was $5.00. This bag and its contents belonged to Adelia Parker.
Many women in medicine during this time period, especially midwives, received official church callings to study and practice medicine. Others answered the call of their own volition. Women from both categories were set apart for medical work and received blessings from their ecclesiastical leaders. Though quite different in style and other details, these two blessings include promises of success in bringing children into the world.
The typewritten blessing, the first displayed above, was given to Adelia Parker on June 23, 1903, setting her apart to serve as a midwife at the age of 29. In her blessing she was promised success in her work and in her short time as a midwife she brought nearly one hundred babies into the world.
The second blessing above was given to Lucy Pratt Russell, daughter of Parley P. Pratt, Sr and Hannahetta Snively. Lucy studied obstetrics with Dr. Romania Pratt shortly after the doctor's return to Utah in 1878. This blessing was given by Joseph F. Smith, who was the 2nd Counselor in the Church's First Presidency.
The Church’s Historical Department kept a daily record of the work being done in the department and in the Church more broadly. The entry for August 13, 1878 records the “setting apart” of Drs. Romania Pratt (later Penrose), Ellis Reynolds Shipp, Margaret Curtis Shipp (later Roberts), and Martha Hughes (later Cannon) “to the practice of medicine and surgery among the Saints.” At the time they were set apart, Romania Pratt and Ellis Shipp had completed their medical degrees, whereas Margaret Shipp and Martha Hughes began their medical education in the east later that year.