Mary Carson Breckinridge

Mary Carson Breckinridge
Born	February 17, 1881 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	May 16, 1965(1965-05-16) (aged 84) Hyden, Kentucky, U.S.
Known for	Founding the Frontier Nursing Service
Spouses	Henry Ruffner Morrison ​ ​ (m. 1904; died 1906)​ Richard Ryan Thompson ​ ​ (m. 1912; div. 1920)​
Children	2
Medical career
Profession	Nurse midwife

Mary Carson Breckinridge (February 17, 1881 – May 16, 1965) was an American nurse midwife and the founder of the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS), which provided comprehensive family medical care to the mountain people of rural Kentucky. FNS served remote and impoverished areas off the road and rail system but accessible by horseback. She modeled her services on European practices and sought to professionalize American nurse-midwives to practice autonomously in homes and decentralized clinics. Although Breckinridge's work demonstrated efficacy by dramatically reducing infant and maternal mortality in Appalachia, at a comparatively low cost, her model of nurse-midwifery never took root in the United States.^{[1]: 501–02}