Interview with Molly Lee, February 6, 1979
Project: Frontier Nursing Service Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Molly Lee came to the FNS from England as a nurse-midwife, having had experience in England, Scotland and Canada. Part of her district nursing experience as a Queen's Nurse had been learning to do without the usual supplies and to improvise in people's homes. She began work with the FNS in 1955, serving at Beech Fork and later at Confluence. Lee discusses Mary Breckinridge, in particular as a speaker at a fund raising dinner. Having left the FNS for a period, Lee returned in 1958 to teach at the hospital. She also performed most of the home deliveries in the Hyden area. Lee explains that the amended Kentucky law, as of the time of the interview, prevented nurse-midwives from being paid for deliveries if a doctor were not present, a circumstance that negated their purpose, and that outside Kentucky, midwives were recognized and paid. Lee's midwifery course in England is described in detail and compared to the curriculum in the U.S., the latter being more comprehensive. Lee discusses the birth control pill developed by Dr. John Rock and its reception in the FNS area. She goes on to detail the current operation of the FNS and the teaching program. Lee also specifies some innovative procedures used in delivery and comments upon midwifery examinations.Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview LC Subject
Breckinridge, Mary, 1881-1965 Frontier Nursing Service, Inc. Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing Medical care--Kentucky Medical education Midwifery--Appalachian Region Midwives--Appalachian Region Nurses Nursing--Study and teaching Rural conditions Rural health services Rural health--KentuckyInterview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s).
Lee, Molly Interview by Carol Crowe-Carraco. 06 Feb. 1979. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Lee, M. (1979, February 06). Interview by C. Crowe-Carraco. Frontier Nursing Service Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Lee, Molly, interview by Carol Crowe-Carraco. February 06, 1979, Frontier Nursing Service Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt70k649rq2q