Women Who "Made Things Right": Midwife Healers in Canadian Mennonite Communities of the Past

Marlene Epp

This lecture by Dr. Marlene Epp will focus on the roll of midwives and healers in Canadian Mennonite communities of the past. For Mennonites who immigrated from Pennsylvania to upper Canada beginning the early 19th century and for those who arrived from the Russian Empire later that century and from the Soviet Union beginning in the 1920s, the community midwife served multiple purposes: not only did she assist at numerous births when hospital deliveraries and physicians were rare or inaccessible, but she also provided a wide range of essential health services that were crucial to individuals and families experiencing the trauma of uprooting and the challenges of rural settlement.

A reception and book launch of Marlene Epp's new book, Mennonite Women in Canada: a History will follow the lecture.

Marlene Epp is Associate Professor of History and Peace & Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College.