A Day in the Life of a Mexican Midwife

I was gently awoken at 7am this morning to Angelina softly saying, "Parteras, hay un parto" (midwives, there is a labor). I slipped on my clothes, brushed my teeth, and came downstairs and over to the "casita" (little house) to find a 14 year old girl calmly relaxing in the bed, breathing nicely with each contraction. She was accomapied by her old brother and sister. She was 4 centimeters at this time. I left her for a short while to make some tea with one of the other Spanish midwives. While we waited for the girl to become in more active labor, we sat and drank some tea and had some toast with fresh avocado. It was going to be another beautiful day here - the birds were chirping, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining brightly.

About an hour later I checked in on the "joven" and found her to be still relaxing wonderfully. Sleeping between contractions and only awakening to have a contraction. They were palpating stronger now, her water had broken on its own, and she was 5-6 centimeters. At this time, some of the consultations were arriving - pregnant patients, patients seeking Angelina's special fertility treatments, and some for other complaints of general aches and pains. Angelina, me, and Eva were seeing these consults while periodically checking in on the young girl laboring.

At 10am, it became clear that things were becoming more active. She still slept between contractions and barely uttered a sound when she was contracting, but her uterus was palpating stronger and it looked like she was spontaneously pushing. She was 9 centimeters dilated.

At this time, the three of us focused all of our attention on her. Angelina was at her head, wiping the sweat from her brow and singing lovely songs in Spanish, Eva was at the other end awaiting the baby, and I was in the middle with my hand on her bell and my mouth to her ear, gently whispering words to help her relax. It was beautiful. At 10:10 am, a beautiful baby boy was born. He was placed onto his mother's chest and tears of joy and relief fell down her cheeks.

After delivering the placenta over an intact perineum, and assisting in breastfeeding, the mother was given hot chocolate to drink and breakfast of fresh papaya with granola and yogurt. It is tradition here in Mexico, that the women drink hot chocolate after having the baby. They prefer something warm to keep the body warm in preparation for the milk to flow. They even keep themselves under heavy blankets and their heads covered too in order to keep warmth in the body. Interesting...I need to get some hot chocolate packs for those postpartum Latinas at the hospital...

Once mom and baby were tucked in, we continued with the consultations. After they were finished, Angelina, myself, and the other Spanish midwife, Ane went to pay a home visit to a mother who had delivered at her home with her own mother midwifing last night. We were called to the home by the husband, because the mother was bleeding heavy. The property was about a mile down a dirt road. I entered the home which was about as large as my dining room. The walls and roof were made of sheet metal, the floor was dirt, and the door was a sheet blowing in the breeze. The bed took up half of the space in this home. Other than the bed, there was a small table, one chair, a stove, a small refrigerator, and a dresser for clothing. I was stunned. The mother lay in the bed with her baby. Her head covered and under lots of blankets. She complained of some pain but had the biggest smile on her face despite. We uncovered her and upon inspection found that part of the placenta was still inside of her. Very gently, Angelina coaxed out the placenta but had to go deeper inside for the rest. I held the woman close while Angelina did this. Afterwards, her bleeding lessened and all seemed OK. Next, Angelina filled out some paperwork for the birth certificate. While she was doing this, I went outside where I found three little girls, ages 2-4. All beautiful with big brown eyes and wide grins despite the dirt and grime all over their clothes, faces, and bare feet. Once we had this woman settled and were preparing to leave, the one youngest little girl ran up to me to say adios. She gave me a big hug and I wished that I could just scoop her up and take her home with me. Oh...if only I could....

The next house we visited was near to this one but a step up because the walls were concrete. In the yard was a really cute, friendly dog tied to short chain leash, two puppies in cages, and about 20 roosters, each in their own cage. I pet the puppies and filled the dog's bowl with my bottled water. We were greeted with big smiles and hugs by the family as we arrived to check in on a mom and baby. All was well. I did find out however, that these roosters are used for fighting and gambling - a way for these people to make money. When we got back in the car to leave, I felt emotions overwhelming me - the children, the living conditions, the animals - all of it and I broke down and sobbed. Angelina and Ane were great in comforting me and shared with me something that was very eye opening. Despite the living conditions of these people, they are happy in their hearts, they explained. They may not have much in the way of money and material things, but they have strong beliefs in God and family and for this reason, they are rich. Wow...so true.

Once we arrived home, we sat down to dinner together -Angelina's whole family, me, the Spanish midwives. And during dinner we were visited by Angelina's three sisters - a big family affair - the Mexican way. The tortilla soup and fresh salad was delicious, but now I am tired from the day. We'll see what tomorrow brings.