Walton County, Florida (1924- 1999) `75 yrs

Gladys Nichols Milton, was a Florida midwife and advocate for women’s health.  Gladys Nichols Milton delivered at least 2000 babies (possibly as many as 3000) in her career as a midwife. She established the clinic now known as Eleanor Milton Memorial Birthing Center in Laurel Hill, Florida in 1976. In the 1980s, she was active in the effort to keep traditional midwifery legal in Florida. Due to her visibility, her clinic and home were the targets of arson. The state closed her clinic temporarily, and suspended her license in the 1980s, as health code standards changed. Milton wrote two published memoirs, Why Not Me? (1993, with Wendy Bovard), and Beyond the Storm (1997, with Christine Fulwylie-Banksto). In 1992, she was honored with the Sage Femme, an award of the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA). In 1994, she was inducted into the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame.  In 2001, she was inducted into the Okaloosa County Hall of Fame. Her daughter Maria Milton continued her work after she died.  In 2015 Gladys Milton was named a “Woman of Light” by the DeFuniak Springs Woman’s Club.  Milton was the mother of seven children.