The Frontier Nursing Service: America’s First Rural Nurse-midwife Service and School

There was a time when the average American woman was more likely to die from childbirth than from any other condition except tuberculosis. This was especially true in areas where hospitals and quality medical care were scarce or nonexistent. But deep in the rolling hills of eastern Kentucky’s Cumberland Range, one woman almost single-handedly changed those dismal figures. Her name was Mary Breckenridge, and her goal was to introduce quality, professionally trained midwifery to the United States. The Frontier Nursing Service, opened in 1925 in Leslie County, Kentucky, set out to meet the health needs of women and infants in one of the poorest regions of America.This book tells the story of Breckenridge’s unparalleled dedication to midwifery and provides a historical overview of the first 40 years of the Frontier Nursing Service. The story is told in human terms, focusing on how such a successful organization was built out of commitment and compassion against all odds. It covers dozens of midwife cases, examining the fascinating interaction between the local residents and the brave nurse-midwives who rode first on horseback, later in Jeeps and other forms of transport, to improve the lives of eastern Kentucky families and to reverse the highest infant mortality rate in the country.