Helena Malheim (1716–1795) was a Swedish midwife. She became a midwife in around 1751 and worked in
Vänersborg.
Life and career
Malheim was born in 1716 in
Uppland
Uppland () is a historical province or ' on the eastern coast of Sweden, just north of Stockholm, the capital. It borders Södermanland, Västmanland and Gästrikland. It is also bounded by lake Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. On the small uninhab ...
. Her father, Justus Andreas (1689-1731), was a field surgeon, and her mother, Helena Tolstadia, was the daughter of a clergyman. She lived with her mother and maternal grandparents while her father was on active service for King
Karl XII
Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII ( sv, Karl XII) or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 O.S.), was King of Sweden (including current Finland) from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of t ...
until he returned in 1718. He then retired from the army and the family moved to S:t Johannesgatan 5,
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
, near the location of present day
Uplands nation
Uplands nation (the ''Uppland Nation'') is a student society and one of thirteen nations at Uppsala University. It has traditionally recruited its members from the province of Uppland, which surrounds and includes Uppsala and stretches down sou ...
. Her mother died when she was 14 years old and her father died 10 months later. In 1739, she married Anders Ekström, an iron merchant, and they moved close to
Uppsala Castle, near Trädgårdsgatan 5A. They had at least 9 children, the first of which was born in 1741.
She trained to be a midwife around 1751 and became a municipal midwife in
Vänersborg. She had an annual salary of 100 daler silver coins along with her rent. In 1756, she made a complaint to the town council about the untrained women who assisted childbirth as all midwives had to pass an exam.
In the same year, she wrote a manuscript on childbirth and midwifery and sent it to the medical college but it was turned down.
She also asked permission from the college to train women so that each parish of the
Älvsborg and
Dalsland
Dalsland () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Götaland in southern Sweden. Lying to the west of Lake Vänern, it is bordered by Värmland to the north, Västergötland to the southeast, Bohuslän to the west, and ...
had a midwife.
She attended a gathering at the Stockholm medical college on 12 July 1758. She also attended a meeting on 24 July where the college granted permission to teach women about midwifery however they could not take the midwives oath as women were only allowed to become midwives at the Stockholm medical college. They also declined to publish her writing as they viewed it as unfinished.
She wrote several letters to the Vänersborg council requesting an increase in pay and threatened to move to
Uddevalla where she would receive higher wages. Despite Malheim having the backing of the mayor and town doctor, the council refused to increase her salary and instead gave her husband, who was an unwaged councilor, an annual salary instead. She petitioned the council again in 1759 to wage increase and promised that she would treat the poor free of charge and the council agreed.
Her husband died in 1773. When a fire broke out in the town in 1777 she was living with her daughter, Ulrika. Their home, along with two-thirds of the town, was destroyed. She lived with her daughter until 1784. In 1795, she died in Vänersborg poorhouse.
Further reading
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malheim, Helena
1716 births
1795 deaths
Swedish midwives
18th-century Swedish people
People from Uppland