Today’s Virtual Book Tour post comes from Arianne at Still Parenting. Arianne’s post made my day. Not only is it beautifully written, she made it even more beautiful with her stunning photos….
VBT #10: Still Parenting- Rediscovering the Magic of Birth Read More »
Today’s Women’s History Month stories come from our Latter-day Saint birthing history. I fantasize about having a book containing all the recorded birth accounts of our early Mormon mothers and midwives. What an amazing book that would be! I have a feeling that those account would do for us modern mothers what the following two accounts have done for me. They would show us over and over and over that God cares deeply about each birth and that we are given divine aid and protection as we participate in the sacred work of giving life to His children.
When I start feeling sorry for myself or overwhelmed by all the day-to-day problems and concerns in my life as a wife and mother, it often helps me to think about my great-grandmother, Cassie. Cassie was born in 1890 in a two-room log cabin in Mapleton, UT, “one mile west of one of the most beautiful mts. in the world,” as she described it. Cassie wrote, “Well you know that the years from 1907 to 1918 were the happiest and grandest years of this mortal life to me.” 1907 was the year she met and married her sweetheart, Edmund, and the autumn of 1918 was the start of several years I can’t even fathom enduring.
This early Later-day Saint woman’s story is one that has really touched my heart. As I did research for our book it was the longest and most detailed birth account I found written in the personal words of an early Later-day Saint woman. Her account is just rich with historical glimpses into early LDS health
“The Responsibility of my Own Case”: Huldah Cordelia Thurston Smith Read More »
I thought that since today is Pioneer Day, the day when the first Later-day Saints entered the Utah valley, that it would be appropriate to share a story about one of those incredible women who crossed the plains and established Zion. Zina Diantha Huntington Young joined the church at age fourteen and traveled with the saints
“Inspired by Some Higher Power”: Zina Diantha Huntington Young Read More »
When I start feeling sorry for myself or overwhelmed by all the day-to-day problems and concerns in my life as a wife and mother, it often helps me to think about my great-grandmother, Cassie.
This was one of the early Latter-day Saint birth stories I collected for the book. These two women, Maggie Ellen Black Rowley and her friend Louella Washburn, were some of my favorite midwives to study about. They were life long friends and worked as midwives together. When I first read their stories two years ago
“Sterile Technique” by Louella Washburn Read More »
This week’s birth stories come from our Latter-day Saint birthing history. They illustrate beautifully that God cares deeply about each birth and that we are given divine aid and protection as we participate in the sacred work of giving life to His children.
This post is from our archives. I wrote it last year after doing a lot of research into the history of the Relief Society and early LDS birth practices. If you would like a little bit more information about the history of LDS women in maternal and infant care you can read Chapter 5 of
The Relief Society’s Legacy of Maternal Care Read More »
