Zepherina Smith

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Zepherina Smith in January 1894

Zepherina Philadelphia Smith (born Veitch , born April 1, 1836 in Sopley , Hampshire , † February 8, 1894 in Horsell , Surrey ) was a British nurse and social reformer who campaigned for the improved training of midwives .

Early life

Smith was born in Sopley, New Forest, to a vicar's daughter. As a young woman she visited Palestine . Her parents were very interested in working class affairs , a quality she later inherited from her parents. In 1867 she trained as a nurse at University College London .

Career

In her early days as a nurse, she was entrusted with directing surgery at King's College Hospital . She was later appointed as the Nursing Supervisor at St George's Hospital in Wandsworth . In 1870 she worked as a nurse in Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War . There she became known for her ability to improvise when she lacked the resources of a hospital. That year she also wrote the Handbook for nurses for the sick , which was well received by other nurses. In 1873 she was authorized to work as a midwife. Dismayed at the lack of education other midwives were getting at the time, she worked with feminist writer Louisa Hubbard to found the Trained Midwives Registration Society , which pioneered the Royal College of Midwives , the UK's only midwives union . was and, in addition to improved training, also campaigned for state recognition of the profession of midwife.

She was the President of the Registration Society from 1890 until her death in 1894. During this time, she advised government agencies on draft laws to improve working conditions for midwives.

Personal life

In 1876 she married the surgeon Henry Smith. After the marriage she gave up the job of midwife and devoted herself to activism . She worked to improve the training required to become a certified midwife and tried to interest middle-class women in this profession.

Smith died in her home in Horsell, Surrey in 1894 after several months of illness. Her net worth at the time of her death was £ 473 .

Publications

  • Handbook for nurses for the sick. John Churchill and Sons. 1870.

literature

  • Volker Klimpel : Smith (nee Veitch), Zepherina . In: Hubert Kolling (Ed.): Biographical Lexicon for Nursing History - Who was Who in Nursing History , Volume nine, Hpsmedia GmbH Nidda, 2020, p. 229 f.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Junne Hannam. "Smith [née Veitch], Zepherina Philadelphia (1836-1894)" , Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
  2. ↑ Edwin Pratt. A woman's work for women: being the aims, efforts and aspirations of "LMH" , G. Newnes, Ltd. 1898.
  3. ↑ Sheena Byrom, Grace Edwards, Debra Bick. Essential Midwifery Practice: Postnatal Care . John Wiley & Sons, 2009. ISBN 1444315498 . Chapter 1. Page 10.
  4. ↑ Mary M. Lay. The Rhetoric of Midwifery: Gender, Knowledge, and Power . Rutgers University Press, 2000. ISBN 0813527791 . Page 59.
personal data
SURNAME Smith, Zepherina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zepherina Philadelphia Smith (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British nurse and social reformer
DATE OF BIRTH April 1, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH Sopley
DATE OF DEATH February 8, 1894
Place of death Horsell