This collection includes records of patients who gave birth at the New York Asylum for Lying-In Women. The 1854-1879 medical records are entirely handwritten in free form text. They usually include name and age of the patient, residence and nativity, date of admission to the institution, date of confinement, notes on delivery (duration of labor, presentation and position of the new-born), status of the new-born (sex, condition), name of attending physician, and remarks. These records are now loose but appear to have been originally bound.

The Indoor Birth Register, 1893-1899, is a bound volume with pre-printed charts for staff to fill out information. Information included is the name of the patient, date and time of birth, sex and race of the child, and the condition of child (mainly whether the child was alive or stillborn). Starting on December 24, 1893, and continuing until the end of the volume, the child’s name is almost always given.

The Admission Book, 1893-1899, is a pre-printed bound volume. Information included is name and address of the patient, date of admission and discharge of the patient, and date of birth and discharge of the child. The number of days in the institution is given for both the parent and the child. The “Remarks” column originally notes the condition of the parent and child upon discharge in general terms. Starting in early 1894, the column is used to note type of birth and any unusual conditions that may have attended it.