19th Century Childbirth & Childcare

The World of Midwives

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Midwives have been around since the beginning of time and they saw lots of joy and sorrow. In 1716, New York City was the first to license midwives and try to legitimize and see them as professionals. At the time, few doctors were formally educated so it made sense for midwives handle births since they did have greater knowledge.

In 1925, a nurse named Mary Breckenridge started the Frontier Nursing Service in Kentucky. The nurses rode horseback all over the Appalachian Mountains delivering babies mostly but also treating all kinds of sickness and injuries. The service received high praise for the invaluable medical care they provided.

As anesthesia came about and began to be used in the late 1800s and early 1900s, more and more women sought doctors and hospitals for deliveries. They wanted something for the pain and I don’t blame them.

In FANCY, Fancy Dalton used a midwife to deliver her baby, trusting the woman to give her excellent care. But the woman took her baby and told her it had died, giving the infant to her sister who was plagued by miscarriages.

Two years passes and Fancy grieves for the child she never got to see. Then one night during a bad storm, the midwife knocks on her door and confesses her crime in order to live with herself. This sets the journey in motion and changes her life forever.

 

Stolen. The word still brought chills. Fancy set her jaw. She wasn’t going to be a victim anymore. She’d fight and claw and hold on with the last shred of strength until she got back what was hers.

Today, pregnant women are increasingly choosing a midwife over a hospital setting. My niece had a midwife at home with each of her four children. Do you know of someone who opted for a midwife instead if choosing the hospital? I’m giving away three ebook copies of FANCY so leave a comment.

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This sweet historical western romance is #10 of the Love Train series and is on sale now. Only $2.99 for Kindle Unlimited or free to those who have a membership. It’s also available in print for those who prefer that.

I’m on a book blog tour with Lone Star Literary until the 18th. Enter the rafflecopter for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift card or one of four copies of the book. Click on the image to take you there.

In October, I’ll have a new Christmas novella called HOPE’S ANGEL so you’ll be hearing more about that in the coming days.

19th Century Childcare by Charlene Raddon

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One of the things I enjoy in writing is the research. I love learning new things. For my current series, Bachelors & Babies, I needed to learn about childbirth and childcare in the 19th Century.

During the 1800s, infant mortality was shockingly high. Many died before the age of one, and a relative few lived to adulthood. Drownings, falls, snake bites, accidents, diseases, bad water, spoiled food due to the lack of refrigeration, poor hygiene, poor diet—the causes were numerous.

My hero in my second Bachelor & Babies book, JARED, was a rancher who happened to enjoy inventing things, such as a recording device like the phonograph invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison. After the arrival of triplets in the household, Jared’s interests veered toward ways to aid mothers. First, he created a window box made with a wooden frame and using chicken wire for the top and sides. The box fit into an open window, with the bulk of it sticking outside. The infant could enjoy sunshine and fresh air without insects and be relatively safe (have to wonder about that).

 

He also created a walker much like those sold today. This wasn’t too unusual. Walkers were used back beyond the 17th century. His other inventions included a swing that resembled a porch swing except with a baby bed and a mechanism to make it rock. He also designed folding highchairs. The key was to make these items safe enough for the child and then pray they would be used safely.

                   

 

At the time, when my story takes place (1879), baby formula had yet to be invented. There were baby bottles (some called murder bottles—see bottle like baby’s face & picture of several bottles—because of harmful bacteria housewives couldn’t easily wash away.) Rubber nipples tended to develop cracks that harbored bacteria. They could also release carcinogens and cause allergic reactions. Although the first rubber nipple was patented in 1845, it wasn’t until the early 1900s that a practical rubber nipple for nursing bottles was developed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nineteenth Century medicines, even those made for children, tended to contain shocking levels of alcohol and opium. Bayer Pharmaceutical Products invented heroin (diacetylmorphine) and started selling it from 1898. Sigmund Freud extolled the virtues of cocaine for its supposed ability to treat depression and impotence. Kimball White Pine and Tar Cough Syrup, which contained four minims of chloroform, was marketed for colds and bronchitis. In 1849, Mrs. Charlotte N. Winslow launched her Soothing Syrup containing sodium carbonate and aqua ammonia, as well as 65mg of morphine per ounce. It was advertised as effective for children who were teething. Babies were also spoon-fed laudanum for teething pain, bowel problems, flatulence and convulsions.

 

If that wasn’t enough to explain the high infant mortality rate in the 20th century, there was also premature birth, birth asphyxia, pneumonia, congenital malformations, term birth complications such as abnormal presentation of the fetus, umbilical cord prolapse, or prolonged labor, neonatal infection, diarrhea, malaria, measles and malnutrition.

When you think about it, you have to wonder that children survived at all.

AMAZON

#kindleunlimited

To win an ebook copy of JARED, Book 7 in the BACHELORS & BABIES sweet romance series,

tell me . . . 

 

What crazy things did you do as a child that you were lucky to survive?

I had a swing in my backyard and a driveway that went downhill. I’d swing as high as I could, wearing roller skates, jump off and skate down the drive. The trick was to turn onto the sidewalk at the foot of the hill and avoid flying into the busy street.

Charlene Raddon likes to claim that her fiction career began in the third grade when she told her class she’d had a nonexistent baby sister killed by a black widow spider. Her first serious attempt at writing came in 1980 when a vivid dream drove her to drag out a typewriter and begin writing. She’s been writing ever since. She grew up certain she’d been born in the wrong era and truly belonged in the Old West. Her genre is, of course, historical romance set in the American West. At present, she has five books, originally published in paperback by Kensington Books, two anthologies and a novella available on Amazon. Now an indie author, Charlene is busy on her next novel. She also designs book covers and other graphic materials for authors, specializing in western, at http://silversagebookcovers.com.

Website: http://charleneraddon.com

Amazon author page: https://amzn.to/2ThzsNY

Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/CharleneRaddon/

Divine Gamble buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074P686Q5/a/p?tag=pettpist-20