MISSISSIPPI PUBLIC-HEALTH NURSES AND MIDWIVES - A PARTNERSHIP THAT WORKED

At the turn of the century maternal and infant mortality rates were hi gh in this southern state. Untrained midwives conducted many of the de liveries. Initial support for locating and training midwives by public health nurses was provided by the American Red Cross and the United S tates Public Health Services. Later, funding from a philanthropic orga nization (Rockefeller International Foundation) provided a mechanism t hat brought Mississippi public health nurses and midwives to a partner ship that endured for over a half a century, and contributed to better maternal-infant health care outcomes for that state.