The Comadrona

While I was studying at the Mountain School, the local midwife (comadrona) came to speak to the students. I frantically scribbled notes while she spoke. As best as I can tell, this is what she told us...


“The first time it was because the real midwife was away. The man came running to my house and pounded on my door, begging for help. So I ran to his house and saw that his wife was in very bad shape. She was begging me to help and the husband was losing his mind. Of course the right answer was 'I can't, for heaven’s sake! I’ve never delivered a baby before!' But by that time the head of the baby was already coming and I couldn’t refuse to help.

“So, I just tried not to be afraid and did my best and then when the boy was out, I cut the cord with a knife.

“I suppose I’ve been a midwife now for almost 20 years. How many babies during that time? Oh, I would say between three and four hundred. I’ve lost count, honestly.

“Sometime I receive money for my work, and sometimes I don’t. Technically, I charge 150 quetzales [~ $18] for the whole process, including all the vitamins and nutrition and vaccine help I give and all the visits I make during the pregnancy. But a lot of times the family doesn’t have that kind of money so they don’t pay the full amount, if they pay at all.

“It drives me crazy when other family members are in the room during the birth. Especially the husbands who keep yelling at their wives to push every second. They always want to hurry the process. They can never figure out that the time for pushing will come and you just have to have patience.

“In the hospitals I think that they use other medicines, but out here we use herbs to speed the birth and ease the pain.

“Most of the women prefer to have their babies at home because it is more private, but when the birth is going to be very hard I make their husbands find a pickup to carry them to the hospital.

“Of course, sometimes you don’t know it’s going to be an emergency until it’s too late. One time I was helping a woman and the cord came out before the baby and I just knew it was wrapped around the baby's neck. So I held the cord in one hand with a towel soaked in warm water, while I reached inside with my other hand and finally moved the cord free. The boy was almost dead when he was born, but I massaged and exercised him for almost two hours until I knew he would survive.

“I knew some of those tricks just from experience and some were taught to me by medical officials. I have received a little bit of training from them, but not much because it costs too much for me to travel to the city for classes. And once they gave me some equipment, but that was nine years ago. Now I still have their scissors and forceps, but I have to buy the towels and gloves and sheets on my own.

“Other medical services? For this area, with about 20,000 people, we have 2 doctors (one is part time) and about 6 nurses.

“Before I was a midwife, I was often sick and in pain, but not anymore. We believe that when we are born, each person has a specific role to play. So my role is as a midwife and now that I’m doing that I feel very satisfied.

“My Grandma was the midwife at my birth and she always told me that I would be a midwife too, because I was born with tied hands - hands that were folded in front of my chest.

“And now I’m trying to find a girl to be my apprentice, but none of the girls want to do it. I think it’s because they’re afraid of the responsibility.”