Book Reviewed by:Martha Ballard, the heroine of Ariel Lawhon's The Frozen River and a real-life 18th-century midwife, left behind a diary that remains one of history's best sources on midwifery in late colonial America. In addition to this work of historical fiction, Ballard is the subject of historical monographs and of a PBS special on her life. Along with Ballard, many other midwives – named and unnamed in historical records – made their mark on the colonization of America and on the development of social norms in the new country at the end of the 18th century.
From the very beginning of European colonization of the Americas, midwifery and the safe delivery of infants was a high priority for the colonists: for example, Bridget Lee Fuller served as the midwife for three births on the Mayflower's journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The knowledge required to be a successful midwife was passed from woman to woman. Just like Martha details in The Frozen River, young midwives-to-be were ...
