Licensing and the “New Laws”

Abstract

This chapter introduces the supervision and licensing of lay midwives implemented with the passage of the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and Infancy Protection Act in 1921. It details the ways in which the midwives adapted to the increasing local, state and federal public health mandates, and how they interacted with county health officers, nurses, and physicians. Dr. Felix J. Underwood of the Mississippi State Board of Health was an early pioneer of midwifery supervision and his development of midwife club meetings and the midwife manual are used in this chapter to illustrate the state and county initiatives to improve maternal health.