Margaret Charles Smith

Margaret Charles Smith (September 12, 1906–November 12, 2004) was an African-American midwife, who became known for her extraordinary skill over a long career, spanning over thirty years. Despite working primarily in rural areas with women who were often in poor health, she lost very few of the more than 3000 babies she delivered, and none of the mothers in childbirth. In 1949, she became one of the first official midwives in Green County, Alabama, and she was still practicing in 1976, when the state passed a law outlawing traditional midwifery. In the 1990s, she cowrote a book about her career, Listen to Me Good: The Life Story of an Alabama Midwife, and in 2010 she was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame.

Early life Margaret Charles was born in Eutaw, Alabama on September 12, 1906. About 3 weeks later her mother, Bueha Sanders, died. Charles was raised by her grandparents on their farm. She was named after her grandmother, also Margaret Charles, who was a former slave and midwife. Published by Ohio State University Press, it won the press's Helen Hooven Santmyer prize. The couple resided on Smith's grandmother's farm where Randolph Smith ended up taking on hog farming, which led to being the main source of income for the Smith family. She also served as the midwife for the first born daughter of her son Spencer and his wife Betty. The tradition continued with her being present at the birth of her granddaughter's first child.

Later life and death Smith and her family continued to live and work on the farm in Eutaw, Alabama throughout Smith's life until just before her death.