Records of Lamaze International, 1849-2006 (inclusive), 1951-2001 (bulk)

Records of Lamaze International include correspondence; meeting minutes; annual conference programs; some membership records; publications and publicity; photographs and slides depicting childbirth classes and the birth process; conferences; and biographical material about Lamaze co-founder Elisabeth Bing. Arrangement and folder titles were created by the archivist. Original titles appear in quotations. ASPO produced myriad newsletters of different titles, a list of which appears at the end of this finding aid. They have been removed from this collection and transferred for individual cataloging. Audiovisual material was removed and cataloged separately; see Audio Collection of Lamaze International, 1956-2004 (T-297, Phon-33 ) and Lamaze International Moving image collection, 1956-2010 (Vt-112, MP-47, DVD-3). Most of the photographs in this collection are or will be cataloged in VIA, Harvard University's Visual Information Access database. Others, referred to as "uncataloged" photographs, are not of sufficient research interest to warrant cataloging and are simply treated as part of the documents they accompany; they are marked on the back with an asterisk in square brackets [*].

Series I, ADMINISTRATION AND HISTORY, 1951-2001, n.d. (#1.1-7.10, 13FB.1m-13FB.2m, OD.1, SD.1, PD.1-PD.5, E.1), contains correspondence; reports; interviews; memos; meeting minutes; membership and financial records; guidelines and policies; publications and publicity materials; etc., relating to the formation and administrative functions of the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics (ASPO)/Lamaze International. Incorporated in 1960 as the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics (ASPO) within a decade the group modified its name to ASPO/Lamaze International. This series is divided into two subseries.

Subseries A, Administrative, 1951-2001, n.d. (#1.1-4.21, 13FB.1m-13FB.2m, OD.1, SD.1, PD.1), contains correspondence; reports; interviews; minutes; membership and financial records; guidelines and policies; publications and publicity materials; and other records that document the formation and operation of ASPO/Lamaze. Founded in New York City in 1960, the national headquarters were later relocated to Washington, D.C. Correspondence in this subseries discusses power dynamics and occasional tensions between chapters and the national organization. It also includes detailed records about the requirements for accreditation and teacher certification. This subseries was created from records received from several members of ASPO's national staff as well as teachers and physicians, nurses, and administrators from chapters. It includes administrative records and papers created and kept by some of the pioneering members of ASPO, including Heinz Luschinsky, Deborah Tanzer, Gary Hickernell, and "Sunnye" [Esta Ruth] Strickland, who were instrumental in ASPO's early history. Very little material by or about co-founder Marjorie Karmel exists within this collection, the exception being correspondence with Sunnye Strickland (#4.11) and some education material. The papers of ASPO co-founder Elisabeth Bing appear in subseries B. Birth reports collected by Strickland (#4.16) are closed until January 1, 2048 through January 1, 2052, as marked. Strickland's correspondence contains many letters detailing women's birth experience; personal names and identifications were redacted.

Files pertaining to the board of directors shed light on many projects undertaken by ASPO, including the establishment of protocols for using films to educate. Correspondence and meeting minutes of the Board frankly discuss tensions in the organization (among divisions and between the local chapters and national administration) and the development of organizational policy. The subseries includes information about French obstetrician, Pierre Vellay, who wrote Childbirth without Pain. A pioneer in the movement of psychoprophylaxis in labor and the active participation of in the delivery process, Vellay visited America in 1963 at the invitation of the ASPO. Psychoprophylaxis in delivery and the Lamaze method, however, met with fierce criticism from some physicians and the general public; this subseries documents the animosity expressed toward ASPO in its formative years. Materials related to the policies, formation, and regulation of state chapters are also found in this subseries. Records created by those chapters (correspondence, publicity, publications) are located in Series III. This subseries is arranged alphabetically.

Subseries B. Elisabeth Bing and Benjamin Segal, 1960-2001 (#5.1-7.10, PD.2-PD.5), contains correspondence, clippings, interviews, speeches, writings, and photographs of ASPO/Lamaze co-founder, Elizabeth Bing and the correspondence, notes, obstetrician reports, and writings of physician Benjamin Segal. A trained physical therapist, Bing became a champion of the Lamaze method in 1960. After helping Marjorie Karmel officially assemble the group, Bing began teaching the Lamaze method of prepared childbirth to pregnant women at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She worked tirelessly to promote the Lamaze method and maintained an active leadership role in the ASPO's New York City chapter throughout her career. In 1978 she founded the Elisabeth Bing Center for Parents in New York City. The Center taught tens of thousands of women the Lamaze method. Bing has helped educate women beyond New York by lecturing at colleges, hospitals and communities across the United States and abroad as well as by publishing several books. Some of Bing's shorter writings, (articles, essays, and letters to the editor) as well as transcripts of some speeches and interviews with Bing appear in this subseries.

One of the initial and most influential members of ASPO's organizing committee, Dr. Benjamin Segal helped shape the organization and often mediated disputes that arose in the group's early history, when full membership was open only to physicians. The tiered structured of the newly-founded organization resulted in some tension and disagreement among the unequal members; Segal's correspondence (as well as the early meeting minutes) indicate that he sought to ameliorate conflict. Obstetrician reports (#6.12-7.4) are closed as marked. This subseries is arranged alphabetically, then chronologically.

Series II, CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS, 1967-2002 (#7.11-9.5, PD.6), contains notes, publicity materials, some papers, and official programs pertaining to the operation and outcome of ASPO/Lamaze's annual national conference. Correspondence related to planning meeting locations is located in Series I, Subseries B. Material related to the policies, formation, and regulation of state chapters are found in this Series I, Subseries A. This subseries is arranged chronologically, then alphabetically.

Series III, CHAPTERS, 1967- 2006 (#9.6-11.10, FD.2, PD.7-PD.8), contains correspondence; meeting minutes; notes; publicity and promotional materials; schedules; events; and lists created by ASPO/Lamaze chapters throughout the United States. Subject to authorization of the national Board of Directors, members of the ASPO could join together to form a chapter for the purpose of providing childbirth education services to the community and raising awareness of and enlisting support for the national organization. Newsletters produced by chapters were transferred to the Women's Newsletter Collection; titles of these publications are listed at the end of this finding aid. The quantity of chapter records varies greatly; records of some chapters, such as New York City and West Chester, New York and Los Angeles, are detailed and copious for periods of time. Others, such as Nashville, contain sparse records. This subseries is arranged alphabetically, then chronologically.

Series IV, SUBJECT FILES, 1849, 1962-2001 (#11.11-12.6, FD.3, PD.9), contains press releases, announcements, programs and publicity materials, and reports dedicated to childbirth education, gestation, prenatal nutrition, pain, childbirth without medication, breast feeding, and other maternity topics, in the United States and abroad. Folders containing files that arrived labeled appear in quotation marks. This subseries is arranged alphabetically.

Series V, PHOTOGRAPHS, 1960-2000, n.d. (#PD.10-PD.39sl), contains loose photographs and slides documenting Elisabeth Bing, childbirth classes, the ASPO national headquarters and staff (primarily women), educational and promotional activities, group shots at conferences, publicity for the film Nan's Class, reunion classes, and photographs and slides used in some of ASPO's magazines, posters, and other promotional material. It also includes a number of photographs of women in labor, given with permission of the subject, for ASPO's use in classes. The majority of photographs and slides arrived loose and unordered. Folder titles in quotes reflect photographs found in labeled envelopes. Photographs and slides of women delivering their babies are closed as marked. This series arranged alphabetically.

Series VI, OVERSIZED, 1966-1995, n.d. (#13FB.1m-13.FB.2m, FD.1-FD.3, OD.1, SD.1), is the shelf list for oversized material found throughout this collection and listed in previous series.