The following excerpt is from a May 24, 2010 article published by Eurasia Review. To read the article in its entirety, please click here.
By Louisa Reynolds
Indigenous midwives are estimated to attend almost two-thirds of the births in Guatemala, and their work has proved vital in the recognition of indigenous peoples´ medicine. But while they play a key part of the process of coordination between the networks of traditional health care and the official health system currently taking place throughout the country, the Western system has yet to fully adjust to including these ancient and respected traditions.
Juana Ajquejay Batz, 45, is a midwife, or comadrona, who has spent over 15 years helping to give birth to children in the municipality of Patzicia, in Guatemala´s central highland department of Chimaltenango. She says that as long as there are no complications, home is the most appropriate place to receive a new member of the family…
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