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La Sage-femme | The Midwife  

The sage-femme (literal translation: “wise woman”), or midwife, supported women during childbirth, often travelling from house to house, sometimes from village to village. In 17th-century New France, a midwife could be found in most communities. She was generally older, often a widow and belonged to the mid- to-lower classes. Midwives learned their skills from oral tradition and personal experience, having witnessed childbirths within their families and communities from a young age. However, due to their limited medical knowledge and training, some midwives of the era could inadvertently complicate deliveries rather than facilitate them. Certain birthing techniques were questionable, and hygiene standards were not always a top priority. 

The Midwife and the Clergy

In theory, a woman aspiring to become a midwife needed to pass two examinations: one with a priest and the other with the king's surgeon. The priest wanted to ensure that the future midwife had the right moral framework to do the job, and that she had the ability to baptize a newborn in case of necessity. Midwives were permitted to baptize a newborn only when the child's life was in jeopardy and when no man, whether a priest or layman, was available for the task. The layman, if called upon, had to be knowledgeable in the procedures for administering baptism. As for the examination by the king's surgeon, it was seldom required, particularly in rural areas.

The Rituel du Diocese, which provided the clergy with instructions on how to administer the sacraments, stated that:

“the Parish Priests will take care that no [midwife] interferes in this duty in the whole of the Parish, unless he has examined beforehand her faith, her good life, her capacity to administer Baptism to children in case of necessity, and that he has required the oath from her (…).”

The midwife’s oath read as follows:

“I [name] swear and promise to God the Creator in your presence, Sir, to live and die in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman faith, and to discharge with as much fidelity and diligence as I can the duty I undertake, to assist women in childbirth, and never to allow either the mother or the child to incur any harm through my fault, and with the help of Doctors, Surgeons, and other women whom I know to be experienced and knowledgeable in this function. I also promise not to reveal the secrets of the families, nor of the persons whom I will assist, and not to use any illicit means, under any colour, or pretext whatsoever, for revenge or ill affection, and not to omit anything that will be my duty towards anyone; but to procure with all my power the bodily and spiritual salvation, both of the mother and of the child.”

When a midwife died, the Rituel instructed that:

“the parish Priest will take care to assemble the most virtuous and honest women of the Parish, in order to elect as midwife in her place the one whom they believe in conscience to be the most faithful and the most suitable for this role, warning them to divest themselves of all feelings of hatred, love and favour.”

The Midwife's Daily Routine

Midwives were normally called upon during the last stages of the birthing process and could remain a few days after the birth. Most women either gave birth at home, or at their mother’s home. With the exception of higher-class women who could give birth in their bedrooms, childbirth happened in the main room of the house, where a large cauldron held warm water for cleaning purposes. The room would also hold a small cot, where the woman could rest between contractions, as well as a birthing chair and a conjugal bed where she could sleep after the delivery.

Midwives employed ergot, a fungus that grew on rye and other plants, to alleviate the pain of childbirth at a time when the Church argued that this pain was God’s just punishment for Eve’s original sin. The belladonna plant, an antispasmodic, was used to reduce uterine contractions to prevent miscarriage.

Following the delivery of the baby, the midwife would cut the umbilical cord and put the child’s head on the mother’s chest. This ritual was followed by grooming, in which fine salt was sprinkled on the newborn to remove the vernix caseosa, the greasy coating on the newborn. The midwife then bathed the baby in lukewarm water with a mixture of various infusions. Following the bath, the midwife would massage and knead the infant's body to give it the right shape, even holding the child upside down by the ankles to shape the spine into a "desirable" curve.

Subsequently, swaddling was employed to prevent deformities. The baby was first swathed in layers of clothes and bandages, held in place by splints to keep the legs straight while leaving the hands free. The ankles were also bound, and two additional strips were wrapped around to keep the baby warm. Occasionally, the newborn was released and rubbed with oil or butter before being swaddled again. The midwife would then prepare a meal for the mother and tidy up the room. She returned in the days that followed to provide postnatal care and assist with household chores, offering crucial female support during the challenging childbirth process.

Along with the barber-surgeon and the doctor, the midwife was one of only three medical professions in New France. Nevertheless, the care of pregnant women was predominantly considered women's work, as the church and strict societal norms precluded men from involvement.

In extraordinary cases, midwives were asked to provide testimony before the court or a notary. She could be confirming the pregnancy of a woman, the birth of a child, its paternity or its abandonment by the mother, for example.

The sage-femme was also called a matrone, an accoucheuse or a basle.

Known women who had this occupation: Madeleine Bailly, Étiennette Banliac, Marguerite Banliac, Marie Beaudoin, Aurore Bégin, Marie Élisabeth Bezeau, Marie Élisabeth Bisson, Madeleine Bouchette, Simone Buisson, Françoise Boulay, Marie Louise Boileau, Angélique Boisseau, Marie Bonhomme, Madeleine Boucher, Madeleine Bouchette, Catherine Bracquemard, Simone Buisson, Marie Caron, Françoise Chapelain, Catherine Charon, Jeanne Charpentier, Marie Madeleine Comeau, Anne Courtemanche, Élisabeth Couture, Élisabeth Dallaire/Allaire, Noëlle [Dalleux?], Marie de Lamarre, Marie-Anne de la Porte, Anne Madeleine [Dellehaxhe?], Martine Demers, Hélène Desportes, Marie Jeanne Droit, Anne Dufresne, Marie Jeanne Josèphe Forcier, Charlotte Führer, Marguerite Gagné, Thérèse Gagné, Cunégonde Gervaise, Marie Madeleine Gibault, Catherine Guertin, Françoise Hébert, Marie Madeleine Hébert, Marie Jamin, Catherine Jérémy, Marie Joly, Marie Joyal, Marie Gertrude Joyal, Anna Laberge, (prénom inconnu) Lancoignée, Marguerite Langloise, Louise Thérèse Marie Lebreuil, Marie Renée Lefevre, Anne Lemaître, Marie Leneuf, Denise Lemaître, Élisabeth Lemieux, Madeleine Lemire, Simone Lereu, Marie Thérèse Levasseur, Marie Liardin, Denise Marié, Marie Claude Miville dite Deschênes, Marie Charlotte Montrais, Gertrude Moral, Louise Morin, Gertrude Niquet, Anne Pastorel, Marie Péré, Michelle Perrin, Jeanne Petitclerc, Marie Anne Rabady, Françoise Raclos, Marie Madeleine Rapin, Anne Renaud, Jeanne Richecourt dite Malteau, Marie Rollet, Gabrielle Rosty, Marie Simard, Madeleine Tapin, Geneviève Tessier/Terion, Marie [Thonnon?], Marie Catherine Tremblay, Marie Madeleine Viel, Adèle Vignola.

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Sources and further reading:

• Église catholique, Diocèse de Québec, Rituel du diocèse de Québec : publié par l’ordre de Mgr de Saint Valier (sic), évêque de Québec (Paris, S. Langlois, 1703), digitized by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2036228). 

• Robert Gagné, Historique de nos racines Gagné ou Petites histoires de nos ancêtres en Nouvelle France (Brossard : Robert Gagné, 2016), digitized by Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://collections.banq.qc.ca/ark:/52327/2711786).

• André Lachance, Vivre, aimer et mourir en Nouvelle-France; Juger et punir en Nouvelle-France: la vie quotidienne aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Montréal : Éditions Libre Expression, 2004), 23-30.

• Hélène Laforce, “L’univers de la sage-femme aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècle”, Cap-aux-Diamants, 1985, 1 (3), 3–6, digitized by Érudit (https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cd/1985-v1-n3-cd1040841/6382ac.pdf).

• Hélène Laforce, “Les sages-femmes (première mention dans les registres : 1703)”, in Ces femmes qui ont bâti Montréal (Éditions du Remue-ménage, 1992), 45-47, digitized by Histoire des femmes au Québec (https://histoiredesfemmes.quebec/pdf/SagesFemmes.pdf).