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CERTIFY THE MIDWIFE. A Worthy Agitation on the Part of Licensed Medicos. There is a movement among the regu larly qualified physicians of St. Paul to secure the passage of a law by the com ing legislature by the terms of which it shall be made compulsory for women practicing midwifery to obtain a certifi cate of fitness and ability from the state board of health. The necessity for such a movement has been of long standing, as there are numerous persons practicing midwifery in the city who have no knowledge what ever or even the elementary princi ples of anatomy. ‘The result is often disaster in childbirth, and many women reside in the city today whose health has been wrecked by the bun gling of ignorant midwives. A perusal of the birth certificates made out by some of these worthies and handed in to the health department is sufficient to show that a remedy should be found for the existing state of affairs, and without necessary delay. Many of them—almost half, in fact—are written in characters as unintelligible to the eye as sanskrit. It is a matter of doubt whether the women who wrote them could read them, or whether they ever intended that they should be read. ‘The fact that these accomplished ladies usually spell proper names without capitalization, and spell boy b-o-i, wouldn’t count for much if the writing was legible, but it isn’t. The men in the office admit that they have to guess at many of the names. Now, here is a pretty state of affairs. The city is employing a staff of men to keep, in connection with other duties, a rec ord of the births occurring within its limits. They are wanted as a matter of record, and are wanted correctly taken, ors else why take them at all. Yet it is an acknowledged fact that theses birth certificates are illegible as submitted by the midwives, and are guessed at. And then again, it has become a custom for midwives to retain the certificate of a birth for sometimes ten or fifteen days after its occurrence, when, a batch of perhaps a dozen having accumulated, the dear old lady will toddle down to the office and turn them in. ‘There is a law compelling legibility, and it should be enforced in some way. It may also be said that the sooner the restrictions hoped for by reputable medical practi tioners are put in force in the midwife business the better it will be for the mothers prospective, and the better for the prospect of securing a reliable rec ord of births. Fisk, Clark Flagg’s Neckwear. Largest line ever shown in this city, at Claney’s, Hotel Ryan.
Newspaper Details
Saint Paul Daily Globe
Saint Paul, Minnesota, US
Fri, Oct 03, 1890
Page 3
Full Page
Clipped by
Kelley L.
USA 14 May 2026
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