'Bringin' in da Spirit': a film history of African-American midwives: the story told in this film is of two intertwining pathways along which the African-American midwives are travelling--with goals yet to be reached.

Representatives from ICM attended the UK premiere screening of Bringin' in da Spirit, an innovative film charting the history of African-American midwives in the USA. The film's director, Rhonda L Haynes, was inspired by her own knowledge of contemporary, midwives working in New York's Harlem district.

The story begins with the African slave trade, the brutal process through which many African people were captured in west Africa, mainly during the 18th and early 19th centuries, and transported in appalling conditions to central and north America, where they were forced to work on the plantations where cotton, sugar cane and tobacco were grown. The plantation owners often made fortunes out of the valuable crops, but the slave workers lived in poverty and had no fights or freedom. Nevertheless, the women were encouraged to have babies as this in due course expanded the workforce. As there was no access to healthcare from outside, the women had to look after each other during pregnancy and childbirth, and they brought to their practice the knowledge and methods remembered from their African communities.

Slavery ended in the latter part of the 19th century. The African-Americans gamed their independence, but many, along with white people in rural areas, still lived in extremely poor conditions, and there was little healthcare available for either black or white families. Those with midwifery, skills not only continued their work with childbearing women but often extended care to sick children and the elderly.

After some decades, and reflecting similar happenings in other parts of the world, public health authorities eventually turned their attention to the problem of maternal and infant mortality. These figures were high in the remote rural areas, not surprisingly as many families suffered from poverty, poor diet and a lack of education. Instead of addressing these problems, the authorities decided to blame the practices of the 'granny midwives', many of them from the African American communities. Again, in a familiar process, these traditional midwives were forced to stop their work unless they achieved a certificate to practise. They were then supervised by public health nurses, most of whom had been trained in city hospitals. There were strict regulations as to what the midwives were allowed to carry in their bags, and what they were allowed...