March 06, 2009, cont. from front page

cont. from front page,

On February 19, representatives of CASA and Guanajuato health authorities met with authorities from Guatemala to christen the project. The ceremony began with the native tradition of blessings to the four winds, performed by Antonia, a traditional native midwife.

The school for midwives

Midwifery is the oldest helping profession in the world. Since ancient times, midwives have assisted women during pregnancy and childbirth. Coronado said that midwives believe childbirth is a natural process and that each woman has the right to give birth with dignity and respect. “That is why we defend and are experts in natural childbirth,” she said. “Our midwives are able to assist with any birth unless there are complications.

In such cases, the women are referred to a gynecologist,” said Coronado. “We assist women from the prenatal period through the first weeks after birth, which is the period during which babies are most at risk.” According to Coronado, the midwives from CASA have reduced mortality rates for women in several states. “In the rural communities, midwifery is widely accepted,” she said.

Students from the CASA school for midwives

The CASA School for midwives is certified by the Secretaría de Salud (Federal Health Department) and by the CIFRHS, the Comisión Interinstitucional para la Formación de los Recursos Humanos para la Salud (Interdisciplinary Commission for the Formation of Human Resources for Health), which allows them to practice professionally in any part of the country.

The midwives from CASA adhere to the requirements established by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to Coronado, the rate for caesarean births in CASA’s hospital is between 9 and 15 percent, which is within WHO standards, whereas the national caesarean rate in Mexico is 35 percent. Since its opening, CASA’s hospital has assisted more than 500,000 women with a wide range of services, including midwifery, medical testing, ultrasound, general medicine, odontology, gynecology, colposcopy, densitometry and menopause consultation.

CASA in Guatemala

“In its twelfth year, the CASA midwives’ school has a structured study program that includes subjects such as anatomy, obstetrics, gynecology, aromatherapy, homeopathy and pharmacology, and it has been evaluated and approved by the National Institute of Public Health, according to WHO standards,” said Coronado. “We are trying to share all this experience with other cities or towns that want to open their own schools for midwives, providing them technical assistance as well as a clinic director, so that they can follow the same model.”

Coronado said that last year Nadine Goodman, founder and current councilor of CASA, invited eight states in Mexico (among them Oaxaca, Guerrero, Nayarit, Chiapas and San Luis Potosí) to open a school for midwives; she made the proposal to the Public Health Ministry of Guatemala as well. “So far, we have only had an affirmative answer from the Public Health Ministry of Guatemala; unfortunately, the Mexican states have not responded. However, there are possibilities that Chiapas and San Luis Potosí might be interested,” she said.

On September 16, 2008, Ludwig Werner Ovalle Cabrera, the Guatemalan vice minister of public health, wrote to Goodman accepting her proposal for opening a school for midwives in Guatemala and indicating the intention of the ministry to “support the project, as well as establish a link of assistance and work.” He added that he intends to develop schools in three different poor areas in his country, with native women from those specific places, so that they can develop their professional skills in their birthplace. He said that the project includes training 150 professional midwives, whose scholarships will be awarded by the ministry (US$350 per month for each student). The cost of each school is expected to be US$1 million.

CASA

Founded in 1981 at the initiative of Nadine Goodman, CASA supports mothers who are single, do not have a source of income or have been abandoned by their partners. They are generally young girls finishing junior high or in high school, between 16 and 23 years old. Daycare services and kindergartens with very low fees are among the services offered.

One of CASA’s main programs, sex education outreach, affords single, young mothers the opportunity to work and earn a salary. These young women—and some young men—are trained in sex education and travel to rural communities to talk on this topic and distribute free condoms. They currently visit 21 communities, mainly working with women and young people.