Midwives for midwives. Protecting the sacred circle.

María Catalina lives in a small village called Áto, about an hour and a half walk from Antigua, a colonial city in the Guatemalan highlands. The region is surrounded by volcanoes, and is an agricultural center for the production of corn and coffee. Catalina looks much older than her 38 years, and is plagued by chronic health problems stemming from a life of poverty and hard physical labor. She is married, and is the mother of eight children. Her oldest child is 18. The youngest was born recently in Áto with the help of traditional midwife María Fermina. Immediately after the birth of her eighth child, Catalina was weak and unable to sit or walk without fainting. Fermina transported her to Clínica Ixmucané in Antigua, a women’s health and birth center staffed by North American midwives. At Ixmucané, Catalina was given a thorough exam, IV fluids and a nourishing meal. The family stayed the night in the birth center accompanied by their midwife. They left the clinic to return in one week for a postpartum mother/baby visit which included family planning counseling. The care Catalina received was provided at no cost to the family, making this collaboration between professional midwives and traditional midwives and their clients more accessible.