By interviewing midwives, observing CASA home visits and meetings, and gathering data, Dr. Dixon nicely conveys how Mexico’s infrastructure is creating inequalities for those who become pregnant in Mexico. Through a process called maternal conditioning, people are making decisions based on what states want them to do. An example of this conditioning is the overcrowding of public hospitals. According to the author, Mexican women are conditioned to believe that they have to get to a state clinic or hospital for their care even if the state hospitals are less than ideal. As a result, those who could afford private hospitals are utilizing beds that people who can only go to public hospitals could use. Furthermore, statistics of healthcare insurance may be misleading as people may have multiple types of insurance which makes it seem like more people have insurance than not. Additionally, uneven access to state healthcare facilities, poor road conditions, lack of radio or cellular communication, and inconsistent emergency transportation all contributed to making it harder for some women to get care.
Dr. Dixon’s work nicely summarizes the experiences of people who become pregnant in Mexico by focusing on both upstream and downstream sources of health. At times, I was unsure of where the author was obtaining her sources, however, Dr. Dixon’s interviews and observations took us behind the stats of reproductive healthcare and exposed the understandable distrust of community members and hospitals. The author expands on how these already bad conditions are even worse for Indigenous people and those in marginalized places. Furthermore, the author doesn’t completely abandon statistics. Instead, Dr. Dixon nicely infuses statistics such as the .63 beds per 1,000 for people who don’t have health insurance. Additionally, she delivers this information in a well-organized and clear manner.