May 17, 2011
Tradition Versus Access: Midwives in Mexico
Lisa Mills’ academic life changed one morning as she picked up The Wall Street Journal. On the cover was a story about the challenges of being a midwife in central Mexico.
Intrigued, she wrote a letter to the director of the clinic mentioned in the article, expressing interest in visiting.
“I was interested in traditional midwifery and how was it possible to build a dialogue between rural midwives and the medical profession to get the best of both worlds,” said Mills, who researches in Carleton’s School of Policy and Public Administration.
It’s a story of progress tinged with frustration. Mexico has a segmented health care system where only 50 per cent of the population gets health care through the social security system, if they work in the formal sector.
People prefer to give birth with midwives because they think they will get better care
The other half had less support until 2004, when a new health insurance program was developed for the remainder of the population. The mortality rate among women giving birth fell to 55 from 67 per 100,000 in four years.
Then the financial crisis came in 2008, the program was cut back, and death rates increased.
“Having said that, the efforts to expand health care access to population were a significant improvement,” she said, adding that next time a focus on adding health care infrastructure could help when financial times get tough.
Still, from the states she has visited she can see midwives still have an important role, especially in indigenous cultures.
“People prefer to give birth with midwives because they think they will get better care, and they also want to be attended in their own language, with women who will support their birth practices” she says.
“Midwives can’t resolve major complications, but they still do good work and it’s important they be supported.”
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