Gladys Nichols Milton (1924 – 1999) was a Florida midwife and advocate for women's health. She was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1994.
Gladys Nichols Milton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Gladys Delores Nichols 1924 Walton County, Florida |
| Died | 1999 |
| Occupation | midwife |
Early life
editGladys Delores Nichols was born at Caney Creek in Walton County, Florida.[1] She was licensed to practice midwifery in 1959, after training with two doctors in Florala, Alabama; her training sponsored the Walton County Health Department.[2]
Career
editGladys Nichols Milton delivered at least 2000 babies (possibly as many as 3000) in her career as a midwife. She established the clinic now known as Eleanor Milton Memorial Birthing Center in Laurel Hill, Florida in 1976.[3] In the 1980s she was active in the effort to keep traditional midwifery legal in Florida; as a result of her visibility, her clinic and home were the targets of arson.[4] The state closed her clinic temporarily, and suspended her license in the 1980s, as health code standards changed.[5]
Milton was also interested in literacy in her community, and worked for years to have a library built in north Walton County. After her death, a branch of the county library was established in Paxton, and named for Milton in honor of her efforts.[2][6]
Milton wrote two published memoirs, Why Not Me? (1993, with Wendy Bovard),[7] and Beyond the Storm (1997, with Christine Fulwylie-Bankston).[8]
Personal life and legacy
editGladys Nichols Milton was herself the mother of seven children. She died in 1999, aged 75 years.[9]
In 1992, she was honored with the Sage Femme, an award of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA).[10] In 1994, she was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame.[1] In 2001, she was inducted into the Okaloosa County Hall of Fame. Her daughter Maria Milton continued her work after she died.[2][11] In 2015 Gladys Milton was named a “Woman of Light” by the DeFuniak Springs Woman’s Club.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b Gladys Nichols Milton, Florida Commission on the Status of Women.
- ^ a b c Gladys Milton, Founder; Milton Memorial Birthing Center.
- ^ Mike Gurspan, "Milton Birthing Center 40th Anniversary" WTVY.com (August 15, 2016).
- ^ Gladys Milton, Florida Memory.
- ^ Melissa Denmark, "'The Governor's Full Support': Legalizing Direct-Entyr Midwifery in Florida", in Robbie Davis-Floyd and Christine Barber Johnson, eds., Mainstreaming Midwives: The Politics of Change (Routledge 2012): 228-230. ISBN 9781136059544
- ^ Carnley, Sam (September 2018). "Editorial Note" (PDF). Walton Relations & History. 9: 1.
- ^ Wendy Bovard and Gladys Milton, Why Not Me?: The Story of Gladys Milton, Midwife (Book Publishing Co. 1993).
- ^ Gladys Milton and Christine Fulwylie, Beyond the Storm (Boaz-Fulwylie Press 1997). ISBN 9781885742056
- ^ a b Reid Tucker, "DFS Woman's Club Honors Local Midwife Gladys Milton as 'Woman of Light'" Archived 2017-02-19 at the Wayback Machine DeFuniak Herald (May 15, 2015).
- ^ MANA.org, About Us, Honors, Awards, and Scholarships, Sage Femme.
- ^ Vasquez, Savannah. "A legacy of Laurel Hill midwives (PHOTOS)". Northwest Florida Daily News. Retrieved 2020-05-03.