Honoring the influence of mothers and mother figures this month, we recognize the profound influence of mothering in shaping lives and driving the remarkable progress of women—progress that, in turn, has transformed the field of medicine. This impact and inspiration from mother figures has been a recurring theme evident in the voices and experiences of these trailblazers in medicine.

Mothering has:

Offered Wisdom:

Photo: CDC Public Health Image Library (PHIL), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Center for the History of Medicine. (n.d.). Oral history interview with Mary Guinan [Oral history interview]. OnView: Digital Collections & Exhibits, Harvard University. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/18059

Instilled Hope and Conviction:

Picture courtesy of: University of Arkansas Libraries. (n.d.). *Making a Difference: The M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D. Collection,* https://cdm17317.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p17317coll2

Szanton, A. (2025, November 16). Joycelyn Elders: A sharecropper’s daughter becomes Surgeon General. Medium. https://medium.com/@andrewszanton/joycelyn-elders-a-sharecroppers-daughter-becomes-surgeon-general-b7dce1047cf9

Embodied boundary-breaking:

Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (2024). Linda Fried. https://www.wimlf.org/blog/fried2024

Embraced Vulnerability:

Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Center for the History of Medicine. (n.d.). Oral history interview with Vivian W. Pinn [Oral history interview]. OnView: Digital Collections & Exhibits, Harvard University. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/26729

Modeled Compassion:

University of Houston Digital Library, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

TIME Staff. (2004, July 18). Heart and soul. TIME. https://time.co m/archive/6739015/heart-and-soul/

Displayed Tenacity:

Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine. (2008, June 17). Oral interview with Barbara Barlow [Oral history interview]. OnView: Digital Collections & Exhibits, Center for the History of Medicine, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard University. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/13401

Defined the Stakes:

Photo courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, *Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians*, National Institutes of Health.

U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Marilyn Hughes Gaston. In Changing the face of medicine: Celebrating America’s women physicians. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/changing-the-face-of-medicine/physicians/biography_marilyn_gaston.html

Identified the Problems:

Foundation for the History of Women in Medicine. (n.d.). Oral interview with Dr. JoAnn E. Manson [Oral history]. OnView: Digital Collections & Exhibits, Center for the History of Medicine, Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard University. https://coll ections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/26833

Provided care to the sick:

Crumpler, R. L. (1883). A book of medical discourses, in two parts. Cashman, Keating & Co. https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-67521160R-bk

Instilled Confidence and Value:

Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Center for the History of Medicine. (n.d.). Oral history interview with Deborah German [Oral history interview]. OnView: Digital Collections & Exhibits, Harvard University. https://collections.countway.harvard.edu/onview/items/show/26723

Shared their own struggles:

U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Dr. Helen Rodriguez Trias. In Changing the face of medicine: Celebrating America’s women physicians. National Institutes of Health. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/exhibition/changing-the-face-of-medicine/physicians/biography_helen_rodriguez_trias.html

Modeled Balance:

Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation. (n.d.). An interview with Dr. Margaret Hamburg. https://www.wimlf.org/blog/an-interview-with-dr-margaret-hamburg

The Work of Mothering: Shaping Lives of Impact