Day 7: Go Tell It on the Mountain

Our last full day today began at 6 a.m. Stephanie led the team on a three hour voyage to Solola to carry out her capstone project. In addition to our usual guide, Lorena, we were joined by José Luis, driver/bodyguard extraordinaire. We were a little green from the winding mountain roads when we arrived in Solola, a rural town quite different from Antigua. It was market day, and the city was alive with activity including men in traditional garb and women carrying live, flapping chickens.

After a couple of wrong turns, we found the restaurant where we were to meet the comadronas (midwives). Upstairs, thirteen midwives awaited our arrival. The meeting started with a lively discussion around the consent forms, created to protect their anonymity and allow our discussion to be recorded (those who could not write consented with their thumbprints).  We were surprised to learn that the midwives actually wanted their names recorded alongside their stories, in both Stephanie's capstone and this blog, to receive proper credit for their knowledge and wisdom.

After a brief description of GenetAssist, we opened the floor to the midwives. They were eager to discuss their organization and the current obstacles they face. We learned that the national association of midwives has representation from only five departments: Chimaltenango, Solola, Quetzaltenango, El Quiche, and Coban. Guatemala's remaining 17 departments go unrepresented at this time for financial reasons. They have been working with the Ministry of Health for the past two years to accomplish two main goals. One is to create a contract with the Ministry so that they can receive a stipend. The second goal is to designate a national comadrona day to celebrate the work of midwives and to dignify their profession. Interestingly, there is already such a day marked on the Mayan calendar.

The women passionately expressed their frustration with the health centers and the professionals working at them. They are trained to take certain high-risk pregnancies to hospitals. However, when they arrive, they are often dismissed, blamed for complications, and marginalized. According to them, some doctors will refuse to treat a woman if a comadrona is nearby. In some situations, they have been asked to complete janitorial tasks instead of assisting with the birth. For these reasons and others, many comadronas are hesitant to bring patients to hospitals. Patients also resist going due to language barriers and maltreatment.

Next, each woman had the opportunity to tell how she came to be a comadrona and to share a memorable experience from her years of practice. Rosa García's mother explained to her that being a comadrona was her calling, and a gift from God. She resisted, and went on to have seven children. After she had been sick for three months with no improvement in sight, she accepted her calling as a midwife and has been healthy since.

Rosa Garcia

María Cecilia described that comadronas are called-upon at all hours of the night to assist in childbirth. One night, when traveling to a distant location to deliver a baby, she was robbed alongside the road. When she arrived at her destination, she discovered that the husband of the woman giving birth was actually the man who robbed her. It is tradition for the husband to accompany the midwife home after a birth. María Cecilia declined.

Maria Cecilia

With all these difficulties that they shared with us, we asked what motivates them to keep doing their job. They clarified that being a midwife is not a job, but a destiny.

GenetAssist with: Magdalena, Febe, Dalila, Heleen, Micaela, Martina, Maria Cecilia, Rafaela, Vicenta, Rosa Garcia, Marta, Marilena and Angelina