The Midwife
Lennart Nilsson’s photographs and story about Siri Sundström, the midwife in the Swedish wilderness, attracted widespread attention. Beyond the mountains lay a Sweden that even Swedes hardly knew existed. The photo essay became something of a national breakthrough for the young photographer
We lived through the events of a single day—a gripping story and, like so many others, an example of admirable courage and great achievement, carried out in silence.
Lennart Nilsson
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On the way from Arjeplog to the Öhlund farm in Forsnäs, where the family is waiting. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Seven miles from the Öhlund farm, Siri straps on her skis. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Forsnäs farm. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Siri fetches water from the well, as the farm has no running water. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
To prevent infections, Siri maintains strict personal hygiene. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
The instruments are sterilized. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
The instruments are prepared. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Father Uno and daughter Ulla waiting. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Siri Sundström weighs the newborn Hans. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
The Öhlund family with their new member, Hans. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL
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On the way from Arjeplog to the Öhlund farm in Forsnäs, where the family is waiting. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Seven miles from the Öhlund farm, Siri straps on her skis. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Forsnäs farm. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Siri fetches water from the well, as the farm has no running water. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
To prevent infections, Siri maintains strict personal hygiene. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
The instruments are sterilized. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL
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The instruments are prepared. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Father Uno and daughter Ulla waiting. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
Siri Sundström weighs the newborn Hans. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
©Lennart Nilsson/SPL -
The Öhlund family with their new member, Hans. ©Lennart Nilsson/SPL
“In 1945 I did a photo feature on the midwife Siri Sundström in Arjeplog, following a tip from the Lapland doctor Einar Wallquist. Siri Sundström was a remarkable woman; she had delivered around 2,000 babies in and around Arjeplog.
We were allowed to accompany her on one of her winter journeys. A birth had been reported at a farm in Forsnäs, about fifteen kilometers from her home. The snow had already covered the plain, where the spruce forests still formed a dark border. At first, it felt like a pleasure trip. The car rolled cautiously through the dazzling winter landscape. But soon we reached roads that could no longer be traveled by car, as the wheels sank into the snow. Now we had to find another way forward.
When the midwife strapped on her skis, we saw a dark, moving dot appear in the distance. It looked like a plow cutting through the snow… It was the sled that the expectant father had sent out to meet her. We placed the bag containing everything needed for the delivery onto the sled. And the journey continued—though not easily, to tell the truth, as the horse kept sinking into the snow up to its chest.
She left in the morning, yet it was not until evening that she reached the small farm. And she would not leave the house until she had made sure that everything was in order and the child in good health.”
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