Mary Francis Hill Coley facts for kids

Mary Francis Hill Coley (born August 15, 1900 – died March 1966) was an American lay midwife. She helped many families by providing birth services. She also starred in a famous documentary film that taught new midwives and doctors.

Mary Coley showed that Black midwives were skilled medical professionals. She worked in a time when healthcare for African Americans faced many challenges. Her life story is part of the history of "granny midwives" in the Southern United States. These women helped mothers give birth outside of hospitals.

Mary Coley's Early Life and Career

Mary Francis Hill was born in Baker County, Georgia. She was the youngest of four children. She was a twin, but her twin did not survive. After her parents died, relatives raised her. She did not get much formal education, leaving school after third grade. Instead, she learned practical skills and trained with experienced people.

In 1930, she married Ashley Coley, who was a carpenter. They moved to Albany, Georgia. Her husband later left the family, and Mary was left with ten children. She then became a nurse's assistant and a midwife. She learned from an older midwife named Onnie Lee Logan.

Mary Coley was known as a "granny-midwife." This meant she felt a spiritual calling to help with births. She also learned her skills by working with an older midwife.

Mary Coley's Busy Practice

Mary Coley built a very busy practice. She helped more than half of the families in her area. She charged $30 for her services, which was more than other midwives. Her successful business allowed her to own a home, a car, and a telephone. She also had an assistant and plenty of supplies for emergencies.

She understood that many families had to save money to pay her. She also knew which families could afford more or less. Sometimes, she would accept payment in other ways, like goods or services.

Home visits by nurses, like this one, were important services. They were funded by the Children's Bureau's Maternity and Infancy program from 1921–1929. (National Library of Medicine)

Mary Coley became a midwife when the government started to watch and regulate midwives more closely. Laws like the Sheppard–Towner Act (1921) and the Hill–Burton Act (1946) changed how healthcare was given. These laws focused on building hospitals and expanding doctor-led care. This was different from the traditional midwife model.

Even with these changes, Mary Coley continued her work. The number of midwives dropped by half between 1930 and 1950. But Coley kept providing birth and family services across Georgia for over 30 years.

As an African American woman, she worked hard for the health of Black people in Georgia. She was also known for helping women of all races, even during a time of segregation. It is thought that she delivered over 3,000 babies in her career. She also offered other services to families. These included cooking, cleaning, childcare, and helping new parents with official forms like birth certificates. Her patients lovingly called her "Miss Mary."

Mary Coley was also the President of the Women's Auxiliary in the Church of the Kingdom of God. She taught Sunday school classes too. She passed away in Albany in March 1966, after more than 30 years as a midwife.

Midwives in the United States

In the 1920s, midwives helped with almost half of all births in the United States. The Sheppard-Towner Act became law in 1921. It aimed to improve hygiene and infant care. It also focused on licensing midwives. This law required nurses to supervise and train midwives.

By 1929, the Sheppard-Towner Act was no longer in effect. The use of midwives then dropped to about 10% of births in the U.S. More than half of the women who still used midwives were African American.

Some people unfairly criticized Black midwives. They were sometimes seen as unclean or untrained. However, many midwives attended classes and learned proper ways to create a safe birthing environment.

The Hill-Burton Act, passed in 1946, provided money to build hospitals. These hospitals were often built in areas where midwives were commonly used. This encouraged many pregnant women to go to a hospital instead of having a home birth. By 1960, hospital births increased from 27% to 96%.

All My Babies Documentary

In 1952, filmmaker George C. Stoney was asked by the Georgia Health Department to make a training film. This film was for midwives who were learning their skills. Stoney and a local Black doctor, Dr. Mason, interviewed over 20 midwives in Georgia. They chose Mary Coley because she was so skilled.

Stoney was careful about how Black women were shown in movies. He worried that Mary Coley's image might be misunderstood. But Coley was chosen because she showed excellent and clean medical practices. Her work could be shared worldwide as an example of good American medicine. In the film, Mary Coley showed she was trustworthy in many ways. She was a mother, a spiritual leader, and a health professional who used science.

For four months, Stoney followed Mary Coley as she worked. He filmed her visiting women and delivering babies in the Albany area. Coley not only acted in the film but also helped write the script. Her sons and three grandchildren also appeared in the movie. The film focused on two women, Ida and Marybelle. It showed both easy and difficult birth situations. It even included a live birth scene.

Stoney was very impressed by Mary Coley's skills and high standards for cleanliness. He also saw how much influence she had with her patients and their families.

The movie, called All My Babies: A Midwife's Own Story, showed Coley helping with two births. In one scene, a doctor confirmed Coley's concern about a patient's high blood pressure. The patient then chose to have the doctor deliver the baby. Another scene showed the sad death of a newborn. It also showed ways the midwife had made mistakes. These two very different scenes showed that midwives were skilled healthcare providers, but also that they had limits.

All My Babies became very important for training midwives and doctors. Medical students watched the film to understand the birthing experience. It helped them learn about different types of care, as doctors would work with midwives and other birth attendants.

The film was used to train midwives in Georgia and other parts of the American South. Eventually, it was used around the world by UNESCO and the World Health Organization. The film was highly praised as a documentary. In 1953, it won a special Robert J. Flaherty Award for documentary film. In 2002, the Library of Congress chose it for preservation in the National Film Registry. They called it a "landmark" film. A review of George Stoney's work in 1999 said that All My Babies made Mary Coley "one of the towering figures of the documentary tradition."

In 2007, Stoney made a second film about Coley. It showed a reunion of 150 people whom Coley had delivered as a midwife.

Mary Coley's Legacy

Mary Francis Coley helped deliver over 3,000 babies during her career. Her work has been honored in several ways.

In 2005, she was featured in an exhibition called "Reclaiming Midwives: Pillars of Community Support." This was at the Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum. She was also part of a traveling photo and film exhibit. This exhibit, called "Reclaiming Midwives: Stills from All My Babies," ran from November 2006 to April 2007.

Also in 2005, she was featured in exhibitions at the Columbia University School of Nursing and the Mailman School of Public Health. In 2011, she was added to the list of Georgia Women of Achievement.

See also

• Onnie Lee Logan