Delivering Health

This reading was an interesting examination of the role of midwifery in reproductive care in Mexico. Since reproductive health is a topic I was passionate about, I took greater care reading this. Dixon’s work was done using fieldwork in rural areas of Mexico. She specifically focuses on the role of midwives in reproductive care within indigenous communities. She learned that midwives are extremely important in settings with limited hospital care through her on-site work. As discussed in Dr. SBJ’s Reproductive Health course, midwives are frequently painted as unnecessary and non-medical. However, they are extremely important ways for families to gain emotional and social support throughout their pregnancy and the birthing process.
I enjoyed how Dixon was able to emphasize creating the cultural and historical context of midwives in Mexico, going back to colonial periods to set the stage for the emergence of midwifery. This reading truly broadened my perspective of what current initiatives meant to help these communities still need to be included. They need an appreciation for what already works for the communities and need to integrate cultural practices that involve the community in the population’s health, typically defaulting to more Eurocentric standards of care. One question I found myself asking was, “Why do the women go to overstaffed hospitals over midwives and how can we tip the balance back in favor of midwives so that more equitable care is available?”