摘要

The first part intertwines the documentary of a historian at work with the dramatic reenactment of the life of an 18th-century midwife. The midwife is Martha Ballard, whose diary is the story of a woman who delivered close to 1000 babies, raised a large family of her own, & lived through epidemics & her husband's stint in a debtor's prison. Provides insights into the social order & sexual mores of a small Maine community.