Physicians' Discourse for Establishing Authoritative Knowledge in Birthing Work and Reducing the Presence of the Granny Midwife

This study examines regulatory efforts directed toward southern Black granny midwives in the early 20th century. Using Black feminist theory, I analyze physicians' written anti-midwifery advocacy in The Journal of the American Medical Association and The Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association as evidence of the presence of inter-occupational conflict between physicians and Black grannies. I argue that doctors advocated for enhanced midwifery education and midwifery supervision to eliminate midwives while defining physicians as heroes in birthing rooms. This study illustrates how physicians' professional writings substantiated doctors as veritable experts in birthing work rather than strategically targeting Black midwives.