After their presentations at the Universidad Intercultural Maya, the midwifery students went to study in Mayan villages. Ema, Angie, Carmen Susana, Abi, Lupita and Elisa stayed with traditional midwife Doña Elsa in the small town of Chunhuhub. These students range in age from 17 to 36, and come from varied backgrounds: a performance artist, a small-town high school graduate, a nurse, an artisan who spent years traveling through Latin America.

Doña Elsa practices several kinds of alternative medicine, including herbal baths, ceremonies, chiropractic adjustments, and emotional and spiritual counseling, as well as referring patients to the local health center at times. The students stayed in her medical facility, watching her attend patients with fevers, depression and high blood pressure. Meanwhile, they offered prenatal visits at the health center, gave talks on contraception, and showed traditional midwives how to use analog thermometers, plastic umbilical cord clamps, and other equipment in a kit provided by the school.

Next post: traditional Mayan abdominal massage.