We have one but she is drunk

Recently, I was meeting with the leadership of the women’s cooperative in San Andres.  My friend Elly, who speaks much better Spanish than I do, asked the women if they had a midwife in San Andrés.  I was wanting to know this bit of information.

Training women to be midwives is a huge need in Guatemala.  Most births are at home and there is usually not anyone present who has been trained to help deliver the baby.  One of the women responded that there was a midwife but no one wanted to use her because she was often drunk.  I thought, “Sad, but true.”

So, I made an addition to my list of things to do in the future.  There desperately needs to be several trained midwifes in that area.

For the record, Guatemala has one of the highest infant mortality rates in this hemisphere.  This is one huge way we can help make a difference in this region of Guatemala.