Midwives

By Sarah and Jamil

On Monday the 16th we went to the Q´omaneel, the midwife center in San Juan. We went there to get a sense of what you do if you get sick, or having a baby. There's only one hospital in the whole province. The hospital is very expensive and inconvenient for some, so they have to rely on the midwives. The midwives in San Juan are the most organized and the most popular in all the area. The midwives have their own garden, where they grow all the herbs for making medicines and teas. The first time we went there they weren't expecting us. On the whim they led us around the garden explaining and showing what herbs were used for what. the smells were delicious it reminded us of tea. Then we came back later and one of the elder midwives was there she explained how they helped women give birth to children. She told us that midwifing was something you were born into they could tell from birth that you were a midwife, she told us that a women came to her in a dream and explain how to do certain things. She told us how it was normal for kids to get married around the age of 16 and that it was a problem because they would have kids and the men would leave and the woman would be left behind. She was very opinionated on this point. We asked if single mothers were excepted in the Guatemalan culture and she avoided that question each time we asked. Once she was done talking we went ad looked at the things they were selling. Some of us bought some shampoo or some soap and then we left. It as an extremely informing and interesting experience.