Childbirth in Mexico

I chose to look at Mexico's childbirth statistics and practices. I chose Mexico because I have had many Hispanic children during my teaching, and I also love visiting and vacationing in Mexico.

Statistics

-        Mean age of mothers first child is 21.3 years which is one of the youngest mean ages in the world.

-        Cesarean sections are the second highest in the world- 40%

-        44% of indigenous women die during child birth- most gave birth alone or with one family member in attendance

-        64% of women who died during child birth had no prenatal care

-        In 1970 43% of births were attended by midwives. By the mid 90’s it was down to 17%

-        Midwifery is still vibrant in Mexico even though the tradition is diminishing

 

Beliefs/Practices

-        Women are seen as “hot” when they are pregnant- therefore should bathe in tepid water often and take long walks. If not then she will have a long and difficult labor.

-       Women should stop nursing a child at the onset of another pregnancy because they believe the milk will become weak and watery and will sicken the child.

-        If the mother is pregnant again, she cannot pick up, hug, or sleep with any other children because they view pregnancy as being “hot” Therefore the child is deprived of a familiar source of security.

-        Mayans believe that it is the father’s responsibility to bury the placenta to make sure the baby is healthy. Girl's placentas are buried under the hearth and boys are buried in the yard.

-        The "cuarentina” (40 day confinement) is the period following birth where dietary and activity restrictions are observed by the mother. This is a time of recovery from the birth and also a time to bond with the child.

-      It is tradition to close everything rather then open it. In Mexico doors and windows are closed and the slightest hole is blocked with cloths. It comes from the belief that when you give birth you are at risk of receiving evil forces, so the baby and mother need to be protected. 

 

 

-        Cultural tradition dictates that a husband not see his wife or child until the delivery is over and both have been cleaned and dressed. In general, Hispanic women prefer that their mothers attend them in labor.

 Implications:

During my research of childbirth practices in Mexico it is very apparent that prenatal care is not as prevalent as it is in the United States. Many times this is due to the women living in such rural areas, that going to a doctor is out of the question. Another aspect of Mexico's practices that is different then the United States is the use of midwives. In many rural/indigenous areas, midwives are the primary attendant in a birth. Mexico is rich in traditional aspects of life due to the Mayan/Aztecs. Because of these traditions, Mexico practices many more "folklore" beliefs when it comes to childbirth. When reading over some of the traditional practices, I questioned how they impacted the children. For example, not encouraging women to pick up and hug their children if they are pregnant again because they are viewed as being "hot." I cannot support this practice because of the bonding children need to have with their mothers. The lack of prenatal care is also questionable in my mind. The Mexican government is trying to put more prenatal care into their health system, but it is more about the local availability then the health care system.

 

http://www.instituteofmidwifery.org/MSFinalProj.nsf/a9ee58d7a82396768525684f0056be8d/a66f5bafd9f749918525699d007bdc6d?OpenDocument

http://www.culturediversity.org/hisp.htm

http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/SF2.3%20Mean%20age%20of%20mother%20at%20first%20childbirth%20-%20updated%20240212.pdf