# Midwives in Mexico?



## Lsanchez124

Does anyone know if there are still midwives, parteras, in Jalisco?? I just found out I'm pregnant, and would like to find a midwife in puerto Vallarta. 

My in-laws tell me there arnt any anymore, and I don't think they will ask around for me.

Does anyone have any info on this (in pv)?


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## Lsanchez124

Lsanchez124 said:


> Does anyone know if there are still midwives, parteras, in Jalisco?? I just found out I'm pregnant, and would like to find a midwife in puerto Vallarta.
> 
> My in-laws tell me there arnt any anymore, and I don't think they will ask around for me.
> 
> Does anyone have any info on this (in pv)?


I won't be in pv until September 3rd, or I'd ask


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## johnmex

Why wouldn't you get a MD to attend you? All doctors in Mexico, even specialists, are licensed first as a _medico general y partero_. I believe you would be in much better hands than with a midwife.


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## maesonna

Try starting with this search. I have read from other sources (I don't know how general this is) that traditional midwivery has been denigrated by the medical profession in Mexico and many (most) physicians and obstetricians will refuse to work as a team with a midwife. The caesarian rate is very high, and I was shocked to hear a pediatrician acquaintance mention that “a caesarian is better for the mother and the baby anyway.” She didn't mean just in complicated cases, but across the board. This is what they are teaching doctors in medical schools?

I think you will have to not rely on your in-laws to find the kind of care you need, but do some looking around and asking directly yourself. An expat couple I know in Mexico City did a lot of searching and interviewing of obstetricians and hospitals, and finally found one hospital that would support them in their desire for a birth as natural as circumstances would permit. I don't know what you'll be able to find in PV.


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## Lsanchez124

johnmex said:


> Why wouldn't you get a MD to attend you? All doctors in Mexico, even specialists, are licensed first as a medico general y partero. I believe you would be in much better hands than with a midwife.


It's because I want a natural birth, at home if possible. Much that I have read regarding dr's in Mexico is that they are fond of c-sections. Which I am completely against unless absolutely necessary.

With a midwife I feel I would be better connected with the birth, and more relaxed in my own environment. I was not happy about my first birth, and that was in the US in a hospital.


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## Lsanchez124

maesonna said:


> Try starting with this search. I have read from other sources (I don't know how general this is) that traditional midwivery has been denigrated by the medical profession in Mexico and many (most) physicians and obstetricians will refuse to work as a team with a midwife. The caesarian rate is very high, and I was shocked to hear a pediatrician acquaintance mention that “a caesarian is better for the mother and the baby anyway.” She didn't mean just in complicated cases, but across the board. This is what they are teaching doctors in medical schools?
> 
> I think you will have to not rely on your in-laws to find the kind of care you need, but do some looking around and asking directly yourself. An expat couple I know in Mexico City did a lot of searching and interviewing of obstetricians and hospitals, and finally found one hospital that would support them in their desire for a birth as natural as circumstances would permit. I don't know what you'll be able to find in PV.


That's a lot of the information I was coming across, about the high cesareans rates. And I'm hoping to find someone/ somewhere I can have my baby naturally and where I can keep my baby with me.
Thank you for your response


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## maesonna

I did some more searching and found these PV-related links.


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## joebetoblame

Interesting, I just saw an interesting Documentary on midwives etc... 
it was called the business of being born...saw it on Netflix


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## DNP

joebetoblame said:


> Interesting, I just saw an interesting Documentary on midwives etc...
> it was called the business of being born...saw it on Netflix


Another good program on midwives (in the U.S.) was on the Diane Rehm show on NPR today. I think the podcast can be downloaded from the Internet, if interested.

WashDC/SMA


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## joebetoblame

I'll definitely check it out


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## Lsanchez124

joebetoblame said:


> Interesting, I just saw an interesting Documentary on midwives etc...
> it was called the business of being born...saw it on Netflix


Great documentary, thanks for sharing


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## Lsanchez124

What about if I give birth unassisted with a doula present? Will I be able to register the baby if I do this?


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## DNP

Lsanchez124 said:


> What about if I give birth unassisted with a doula present? Will I be able to register the baby if I do this?


Ask the Doula, then verify. I would think so.

WashDC/SMA


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## Dionnedeann

*Midwife close to you.*



Lsanchez124 said:


> Does anyone know if there are still midwives, parteras, in Jalisco?? I just found out I'm pregnant, and would like to find a midwife in puerto Vallarta.
> 
> My in-laws tell me there arnt any anymore, and I don't think they will ask around for me.
> 
> Does anyone have any info on this (in pv)?


Don't know if you have found a midwife. I just found out I was pregnant and will have a homebirth as well. My friend that lives in Vallarta said that there is a midwife in San Pancho. She is in the process of trying to connect me with a woman that knows her. Other than that I was also told there is another much older midwife in Vallarta but she only does births for the Native Mexicans there. When I get the info I can pass it on to you if you are still looking. Birth Blessings to you. Dionne


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## Lsanchez124

Dionnedeann said:


> Don't know if you have found a midwife. I just found out I was pregnant and will have a homebirth as well. My friend that lives in Vallarta said that there is a midwife in San Pancho. She is in the process of trying to connect me with a woman that knows her. Other than that I was also told there is another much older midwife in Vallarta but she only does births for the Native Mexicans there. When I get the info I can pass it on to you if you are still looking. Birth Blessings to you. Dionne


Yes thank you!  I will be moving to Vallarta this Saturday. Due to some health related issues I am no longer pregnant (ectopic pregnancy), but I still plan on a homebirth for any baby(ies) I may have while in Vallarta. So any information you could give me would be very helpful. For the much older midwife you had mentioned, do you think she would be my midwife since my husband is a Mexican native and I'm Hispanic? 
Thanks again; congrats on your pregnancy and wishing you the best! 
Tosha


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## RVGRINGO

If the OP doesn't want a C-section, she should discuss that with her OB/GYN. She is in control; not him, to the extent that, with severe complications, she could refuse the scalpel and just die, if she chose to go to that extreme.
In any event, complications arising at a home birth could produce the same result.


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## toolstriss

*Your friends in Mexico City? re: natural birth*



maesonna said:


> ...An expat couple I know in Mexico City did a lot of searching and interviewing of obstetricians and hospitals, and finally found one hospital that would support them in their desire for a birth as natural as circumstances would permit.


I realize that this comment is a bit dated but I would be grateful if you could share any more info about how your friends had their natural-as-possible birth in Mexico City? I am a New Yorker expecting to have a baby in Mexico City in Jan. 2014 and when I probed a doctor in DF about midwives he said “only indigenous people do that!” Please help?  Thanks so much in advance...

-Suzanne


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## citlali

We live next door to a house where the whole family is delivering babies. The grand-mother was a midwife, so was ther daughter and now one grand-daughter is a nurser, one grand-sonson a doctor and one grand-daughter a midwife. It is a very reputable place where many people around were born and where many indigenous women come to have their baby. 
The place is always busy so the profession seems alive and doing well.
I heard that it was possible to come here and deliver a baby because there was a doctor on the premise.
There is another midwife on the street who seem to be working as well but on a much more discreet way and who goes to the women´s home.
It seems that the requirement is to have easy access to a hospital or a doctor in case of problems.
It is a good idea to have a back up in case of problems for the mother or baby,


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## toolstriss

*And where is it that you live? *



citlali said:


> We live next door to a house where the whole family is delivering babies. The grand-mother was a midwife, so was ther daughter and now one grand-daughter is a nurser, one grand-sonson a doctor and one grand-daughter a midwife. It is a very reputable place where many people around were born and where many indigenous women come to have their baby.
> The place is always busy so the profession seems alive and doing well.
> I heard that it was possible to come here and deliver a baby because there was a doctor on the premise.
> There is another midwife on the street who seem to be working as well but on a much more discreet way and who goes to the women´s home.
> It seems that the requirement is to have easy access to a hospital or a doctor in case of problems.
> It is a good idea to have a back up in case of problems for the mother or baby,


Sounds great. Where exactly are you and your neighbors located?


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## citlali

San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas


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## Hound Dog

... (I) would be grateful if you could share any more info about how your friends had their natural-as-possible birth in Mexico City? I am a New Yorker expecting to have a baby in Mexico City in Jan. 2014 and when I probed a doctor in DF about midwives he said “only indigenous people do that!” Please help?  Thanks so much in advance...

-Suzanne[/QUOTE]

Suzanne:

Just a point of clarification. My wife Citlali just posted a comment on this thread writing of a clinic next door to our house where midwifery is practiced routinely all the time and there is a medical doctor on duty there. Since we live in both Jalisco and Chiapas -areas of Mexico which are quite disparate from each other, please note that she is writing of our home in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, where a large proportion of the population in San Cristóbal proper is indigenous and in the surrounding indigenous mountainside communities virtually all residents are indigenous and many come to San Cristóbal to have babies using the services of midwives including the clinic adjacent to our home there. I don´t know whether or not those midwife services are available to local non-indigenous folks or foreigners or not but I do know that the birthing process among the Maya may have certain procedures with which you are probably unfamiliar - not better or worse - just unfamiliar to you in all probability. That doesn´t mean you shouldn´t try their services in Chiapas but that is a long way from Mexico City both in distance and culturally. 

Your Mexico City doctor´s comment that only indigenous people use midwives sounds a bit farfetched to me and, at times, physicians in Mexico City are not necessarily attuned to customs in the provinces. I can´t help you but wanted to be sure that you realized our home is in a region nowhere near Mexico City geographically or demographically but midwifery is routinely practiced there.

Good luck in your search.


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## maesonna

toolstriss said:


> I would be grateful if you could share any more info about how your friends had their natural-as-possible birth in Mexico City?
> 
> -Suzanne


I sent you a PM.


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## maesonna

I didn’t know whether there is any professional certification for midwives in Mexico, so I did this search and found some interesting information – I’m sure some of it will be useful to you as a starting point.


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## Lorij

I don't have any input to add, but would like to follow this thread. I am considering using a midwife as well, instead of a doctor, for several reasons.


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## citlali

In Oaxaca you should not have much poblems finding a traditional midwife. Most young women I know used a midwife but the village also has the back up of a hospital and doctors, make sure you do the same thing.


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## GARYJ65

Nowadays, what would be the reasons to use midwives services instead of a Doctor's?


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## maesonna

One could expect a midwife to be more experienced in managing the birth naturally, to reduce the chances of a Caesarian – to make it less likely that labour would stall and make a Caesarian necessary. Non-physician birth attendants (such as doulas and midwives) usually have a greater repertoire of techniques (and greater willingness to use them) such as position changes (for the labouring mother) and massage, that can help advance labour without resorting immediately to surgical interventions.


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## toolstriss

*Doula recommendation*

Thanks so much for your response. I actually found a wonderful doula an hour away from Mexico City (Alina Bishop) who speaks English, and a birthing center near the DF airport where I could have had a water birth. My baby showed up early and the delivery did not go as planned, but I was happy to have made those natural birth contacts here.


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