Atlanta Daily World

GEORGIA MIDWIFE RECEIVES ROBERT FLAHERTY AWARD

A Georgia midwife, one of 1,322 who delivered 18,741 babies in 1951, was awarded the Robert Flaherty Award last night in New York City by the Screen Directors Guild for the best documentary movie of the year.

Mrs. Mary Coley, of Albany, Ga. was on hand to receive the award, along with George Stoney, producer-director of the film, All My Babies.

The film an educational tool designed to improve existing services to mothers and children, but not necessarily to approve or promote the particular type of care represented, was filmed in the vicinity of Albany.

Dr. W. A. Mason, formerly of Atlanta, served as technical advisor for the making of the picture.

The film, which is not open to public inspection, is described as showing clearly and simply the methods a midwife should follow from the time she takes a case until the baby is taken to its first Well Baby Clinic.

In Georgia because of the present shortage of doctors and nurses, there are many areas where local midwives are still essential. The staffs of local health departments are responsible for the supervision and certification of the 1,322 midwives who delivered 18,741 of the total of 95,161 live births in 1951.

Reports released said training, teaching and supervising these midwives is necessarily only a part of the work of the public health nurse, but it is an important part. All My Babies was made to aid the public health nurse in this work.

The film was produced under the auspices of the Medical Audio-Visual Institute of the Association of American Colleges by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

It will be particularly important in improving services to all mothers and babies, particularly to the 18,000 mothers for whom 1,300 Georgia local lay midwives are still responsible annually.