Trans-Atlantic and Domestic Economies

I am reading for class a book called A Midwife's Tale about the life of Martha Ballard, a late 18th century midwife who did many things, including what was essentially empiric medicine as well as nursing. Her diary reveals the hidden work of women in the late 18th century, and shows how women took part in the economic life of the community in colonial New England. She was a seriously courageous woman, known to brave icy rivers to go deliver a baby.