page_title: History of medicine in the United States
section_title: Women
hierarchical_section_title: History of medicine in the United States / Women
caption_attribution_description: English: The Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary. [Announcement, 1868-69] New York, 1868 National Library of Medicine.
context_page_description: The history of medicine in the United States encompasses a variety of periods and approaches to health care in the United States from colonial days to the present, ranging from early folk remedies to the increasing professionalization and managed care of modern medicine.
context_section_description: In the colonial era, women played a major role in terms of healthcare, especially regarding midwives and childbirth. Local healers used herbal and folk remedies to treat friends and neighbors.  Published housekeeping guides included instructions in medical care and the preparation of common remedies.  Nursing was considered a female role. Babies were delivered at home without the services of a physician well into the 20th century, making the midwife a central figure in healthcare.
  The professionalization of medicine, starting slowly in the early 19th century, included systematic efforts to minimize the role of untrained uncertified women and keep them out of new institutions such as hospitals and medical schools.
caption: The Woman's Medical College of the New York Infirmary. [Announcement, 1868-69].
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