In Mary's personal letters....

[L Verge]

There is a slight possibility that Lincoln was there at the moment of birth, but I seriously doubt it. I think this is likely a reference to him being with her until hard labor came - or lovingly smiling at her as the cleaned up and swaddled baby lay in her arms. That may sound romantic to us, but it was concern and then relief on the part of both husband and wife. It also allowed time to be cleaned up and the afterbirth discarded.

My daughter was born in 1973, and men were still not allowed in the delivery room. I was in labor from 10 am on a Monday until 12:38 on Wednesday. My nurses kept coming in on their new shifts and begging me to have the baby so that my husband would stop pestering them! When the contractions got to a certain point, he was escorted out and I did not see him again until the baby was in the nursery and I was semi-alive.

Does anyone know if a mid-wife attended Mary at any of her births? Do we know of a doctor who attended at any of them? Another thought, after Tad's hard birth (and he being her fourth delivery - and at age 35 -), Mary may have had a prolapsed uterus, which would have seriously affected her ability to get pregnant again.

Also, has anyone taken into account the times that Lincoln was away from the family from 1853 on? It takes two to tango. Also, the tango requires an agile partner. Lincoln was 44 when Tad was born. Some men do wear down after awhile... just sayin.