Appalachian Collection

Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service

 

 

Scope

In 1925, Mary Breckinridge founded the Frontier Nursing Service in eastern Kentucky . As one of the first programs of its kind in the nation, the Frontier Nursing Service was designed to provide prenatal child care and professional midwifery services to the people of Leslie County, Kentucky where the infant mortality rate was extremely high. Still in existence today, the Frontier Nursing Service has continued to be on the forefront of midwifery education and practices. This pathfinder serves as a beginning guide to resources concerning Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service, including their impact and implications for the Appalachian region (and beyond), midwifery, public nursing, and child healthcare issues.

 

A good Introduction to Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service is found in:

Carraco, Carol C. "Mary Breckinridge." The Kentucky Encyclopedia. John E. Kleber, ed. Lexington , KY : University of Kentucky Press, 1992. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F451 .K413 1992. See pp. 119-20.

 

Some relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings

(Search by "Subject" in the online catalog using these headings):

Highly Relevant:

  • Kentucky -- History -- 1865-
  • Nursing
  • Midwifery / Midwives

Also Relevant:

  • Child Health Services -- Kentucky
  • Maternal and Infant Welfare -- Kentucky
  • Maternal Health Services -- Kentucky
  • Medical Care -- Kentucky
  • Midwives -- Kentucky
  • Rural Health Services -- Kentucky
  • Women in Medicine

 

Frequently used Library of Congress Call Number ranges:

  • F 106 R 692 RT 34
  • F 216.2 RA 771-771.7 RT 37 .B72
  • F 446 .K43 RG 950 RT 98
  • F 452 RG 960

 

More information can be found in the Appalachian Collection Clippings File under the following subject headings:

  • Medical Care
  • Midwives/Midwifery
  • Kentucky
  • Women

 

Books

Some Frequently Cited or Relevant Books include the following:

Barney, Sandra. Authorized to Heal: Gender, Class, and the Transformation of Medicine in Appalachia , 1880-1930. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 222 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: R692 .B67 2000.

Breckinridge, Mary. Wide Neighborhoods: A Story of the Frontier Nursing Service. New York : Harper & Brothers, 1952. 366 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: RT37 .B72 A3.

Dammann, Nancy. A Social History of the Frontier Nursing Service. Sun City , AZ : Social Change Press. 164 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: RT98 .D35 1982.

Gardner, Caroline. Clever Country: Kentucky Mountain Trails. New York : Fleming H. Revell, Co., 1931. 159 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F452 .G25.

Poole, Ernest. Nurses On Horseback. New York : Macmillan, 1932. 168 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: RT37 .P75.

Wilkie, Katharine Elliott and Elizabeth R. Moseley. Frontier Nurse; Mary Breckinridge. New York : Messner, 1969. 195 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: RT37 .B72 W5.

 

Journals

Relevant Journals in the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection:

Appalachia : Journal of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Washington , DC : Appalachian Regional Commission. v.1, 1967 to present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: HC107 .A137 A3. Online Index, May 1996 to present: http://www.arc.gov/infopubs/appalach/magindex.htm.

Appalachian Heritage. Hindman , KY : Appalachian Heritage, Inc. Vol. 1, 1973 -- present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F106 .A137 A6.

Appalachian Journal: A Regional Studies Review. Boone , NC : Appalachian State University . v. 1, 1972 to present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F216.2 .A66. Indexed in vols. 7, 18, and 23.

Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletin. Lexington , KY. v.65, 1989-1990 only. ASU APP COLL STACKS: RT1 .F76.

Journal of Appalachian Studies. Morganton , WV : West Virginia University for the Appalachian Studies Associaiton. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F106 .J74 (bound issues). Check current issues section for other issues.

Mountain Life & Work. Berea , KY : Berea College . v. 1 - 64, 1925 - 1988. ASU APP COLL STACKS: GR103 .M5.

Now and Then. Johnson City , TN : Center for Appalachian Studies and Services. Vol. 1, 1984 -- present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F217.A65 N68.

Register of the Kentucky Historical Society. Louisville , KY : The Society. v.64:1, 3-4; v.66:2; v.70:3; v.71:1; v.79:4; v.80-82; v.93:2. ASU APP COLL STACKS: F446 .K43.

 

Bibliographies that contain materials on this topic include:

Appalachian Bibliography, 1980. Morgantown : West Virginia University Library. 2 vols. in one. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1251 .A7 A6 1980. See vol. 1, pp. 310, 370, 383, 385, 391, 407 and 637.

Appalachian Outlook. Morgantown West Virginia University Library. 1964 -- present. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1251 .A7 A55. (Another relevant bibliography for exhaustive searches using the subject headings Health, Medical Services, Midwifery, Nurses or Nursing.)

Bryant, Ron D. Kentucky History: An Annotated Bibliography. Westport , CT : Greenwood Press. 553 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1287 .B79 2000. See pages 68, 165-66, 304, and 396.

Edwards, Everett Eugene . References on the Mountaineers of the Southern Appalachians . Washington , DC : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Library. 148 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z1251 .A7 E28 1935a.

Farr, Sidney Saylor. Appalachian Women: An Annotated Bibliography. Lexington , KY : University of Kentucky Press, 1981. 187 pages. ASU APP COLL STACKS: Z7064 .A127 F37. See pages 23, 810-11, 821-22, 830-31, 839-41.

 

Abstracts and Indices helpful in an exhaustive search:

(Relevant search terms include "Mary Breckinridge" and "Frontier Nursing Service.")

America : History and Life. A guide to the periodical literature in the American Studies field, including History, Folklore, and the Humanities. Updated three times a year. http://serials.abc-clio.com/.

CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature). Dublin , OH : OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Updated monthly; database coverage: 1982 to present. This database contains nearly 900 nursing, allied health, biomedical and consumer health journals. References several journal articles, books and book reviews pertaining to the Frontier Nursing Service including locations of the FNS Quarterly Bulletin.

Print version:

Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Glendale , CA : Glendale Adventist Medical Center . v. 22, 1977 to present. ASU REFERENCE: RT1 .C82.

Dissertation Abstracts. Ph. D. dissertations and selected masters theses with abstracts from 1861 to the present. Updated monthly.

Social Sciences Citation Index. Philadelphia : Institute for Scientific Information. 1969, 1971- 1997. ASU REFERENCE: H1 .S65. An interdisciplinary index to literature of social and related sciences.

_____, CD-Rom edition. 1997 to present. ASU REF CDROMS. (Ask at Reference Desk).

Women's Resources International (Online). Baltimore , MD : National Information Services Corp., 1997 to present with semi-annual updates. This database contains an index of interdisciplinary journals which reference women's studies issues. Several articles are found on Mary Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service.

 

Encyclopedias and other relevant materials:

Encyclopedia of Southern Culture. Charles Reagan Wilson and William Ferris, coeditors. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina , 1989. 1634 pages. ASU APP COLL OVERSIZE: F209 .E53.

The Kentucky Encyclopedia. John E. Kleber, ed. Lexington , KY : University Press of Kentucky , 1992. 1045 pages. ASU APP COLL STACK: F451 .K413 1992.

 

Videos:

The Frontier Nursing Service. Whitesburg , KY : Appalshop, 1984. 1 videocassette, 29 mins. ASU APP COLL VIDEOS: VC 32.

 

Web Sites include:

Frontier Nursing Service. http://www.frontiernursing.org/. This site contains information about the history and current happenings of the FNS foundation, the Mary Breckinridge hospital, the Courier Program and the School of Midwifery .

Frontier Nursing Service Oral History Project. by Susan E. Allen and Terry Birdwhistell. http://www.uky.edu/Libraries/Special/oral_history/fns.html. This site contains an index of a collection of oral histories about the Frontier Nursing Service.

Leslie County , Kentucky . http://lesliecounty.net/. This site contains history of Leslie County, Kentucky the home site of the Frontier Nursing Service. It includes a brief history of the Frontier Nursing Service as well as maps of the county, local news and current events concerning the FNS. Try a "Mary Breckinridge" search.

Compiler: Amy Sparrow, 8 December 2000