The clinic is called ACAM (Associacion de Comadronas del Area Mam). The birthing center was built and created 12 years ago by a group of 35 traditional indigenous midwives who had come together in community. Their dream was to create a clinic for the women in their communities to have access to safe child birthing options that were culturally sensitive and in the women’s mother language of Mam. To this day, these 35 midwives continue to maintain this active (and successful) birthing center. In my time studying and living there, I witnessed many of the different cultural rituals that surround the birthing process in this area of Guatemala: the rituals of the laboring mother, rituals around the newborn baby, rituals performed by the laboring mother’s family, rituals that take place after the baby is born, as well as the rituals of the midwives themselves.

Rituals of the laboring mother

The mothers themselves labor very differently than any American mothers I have witnessed in Colorado. Unlike births in the US, where often time the mother is completely naked, Guatemalan mothers at ACAM give birth fully clothed. They do not take their shirts (traditional woven shirts called huipils) off at any point. During the labor they do not drink or eat much. If they do it is a watered down mashed corn drink (called pinol), a soup broth, or herbal teas. They labor very quietly. In all of my time at ACAM I heard no screaming. The women are very reserved in their laboring processes. One mother was so quiet the entire time that we had to ask her to tell us when she was having a contraction because she would show no other signs of physical discomfort that could show us she was contracting (and with her belly fully covered the whole time we couldn’t assess when her uterus was contracting).

All the mothers that come to ACAM birth in traditional clothing, no matter how messy it gets. Their families bring them new traditional clothing to wear after they have given birth, since their other skirts wear the remains of the whole birthing process. There is no skin-to-skin contact (pecho-a-pecho) following the birth. The mothers usually do no hold their babies until after many things have happened to the baby. It never goes directly to her chest, because her chest is always covered. Part of the reasoning behind staying fully clothed is because in the Mayan culture they believe that health is maintained by always preserving a balance of hot and cold. Pregnancy is seen as a “hot” process, but immediately after the placenta is born the woman’s body is thought to enter into a “cold” state, due to the uterus becoming empty quickly and any blood-loss that may have taken place. To mitigate disease that could arise from this quick shift from a hot state to a cold state in the woman’s body, she is kept fully wrapped immediately after the birth. For example, all of her clothing remains on her, she is covered in blankets, and often her head is wrapped in a scarf.

Rituals for the Baby

Just as important as maintaining the mother’s balance of hot and cold to prevent disease, the same goes for the baby. The baby is thought to enter into a “cold” state upon being born. Since the mother is fully clothed as well, the baby is dressed immediately after being born. It is the very first thing that happens after the cord is cut. Before the placenta is born the baby stays on the plastic sheeting at the mothers feet until he or she is detached from the placenta once the cord stops pulsing. The dressing of the baby is a very exciting event for the family. Often times the newborns are immediately dressed in full traditional clothing the moment they are born: woven shirt (huipil), wrap skirt (corte), a cloth belt (faja), all hand woven for this new child. An important aspect to the clothing of the newborn is the wrapping of the skirt (both baby boys and girls are wrapped in the cloth like a skirt). The cloth skirt is often much longer than the baby’s body. This (intentional) extra fabric is doubled at the bottom, under the baby’s feet, and is tucked back up into the belt around the baby’s waist. The idea of this doubling at the feet is thought to protect the baby’s feet from “falling” into bad or dangerous walks of life as she or he grows older. After the baby is clothed, the baby will be passed around the room to each person in the room and then all of the family members outside. The idea is for each person to touch the baby’s head and give the new life blessings (bediciones).

Another very interesting ritual that is performed on the newborn baby at ACAM happens just after the baby is out. If, when the baby is just born, she/he does not cry right away, an onion is cut and put right up by the baby’s face. The strong odor is thought to be pungent enough to shock the baby into the breathing. Every birthing room at ACAM is equipped with an onion, just in case.

Family rituals

At ACAM the family of the laboring mother accompany her to the clinic. This is not just the husband and immediate family, it is often many members of her the extended family as well (aunts, cousins, grandparents, etc). They come equipped with lots of food, and sometimes liquor. They almost always have a meal after the birth (or sometimes during the labor if it goes a long time) with everyone. The many family members that came in with the laboring woman wait outside of her birthing room. Usually the only people in the room with the laboring woman are her mother and her mother-in-law. The father of the baby is rarely in the room during the birth (though he is very welcome to enter). He often comes in once the baby is clothed and much has been cleaned up. Often times there will be prayers during the birth for the mother, from the family (usually the mother, grandmother, or mother-in-law). Occasionally, shots of whiskey will be passed around after the birth to be shared with everyone (including the midwives!). The family member recite prayers during difficult times of labor (when she is in transition or if there is any fearful moments) as well as immediately after the baby is born.

Mother’s rituals after the baby born

The temescal is an adobe or rock steam-room that is a part of every home in the highlands of Guatemala. It is made from rocks or cement or adobe and has a little fireplace in it. A little fire is built inside and rocks are placed above the fire. The fire burns for a while, and the rocks become very hot, and then water is thrown on the rocks in order to create vapor. The temescal is usually fairly small, big enough for three to four people. Traditionally these steam-rooms are used twice a week for each family member as a showering process. However, the temescal also plays a huge role in pregnancy. The mother enters the temescal throughout her whole pregnancy to held to maintain heat in her body and make her prepared for the intensity of labor. It also plays a very important role for the mother, post-partum. After the baby is born the mother enters into the temescal that same day (approximately six hours later). It is seen as a place of healing for the mother’s body and restoration of heat that was lost from her body during the birthing process. The steam and heat of the temescal are thought to help to heal her vagina (any tears) and any pains that may have arisen during the birth (in the pelvis, back, etc). The heat is said to be very good for her cleansing and healing.

Also, the baby enters into the temescal with the mom. This is the time where the skin-to-skin bonding takes place, as both mother and baby enter into the temescal naked. The temescal is especially helpful for premature babies. As they do not do incubators in the mam-speaking area, they have the mother enter into the temescal with the baby every single day, and that helps to heal the baby.

Midwife birth rituals

Midwives here are generally fairly hands-off. They allow the mothers to labor on their own, and check the pulse and heartbeat every so often. Many of the traditional midwives will go outside to the herb garden to pray when the women moves into more active labor. They create concoctions of herbs for various teas (to help with pain management, or bleeding, or advancing the labor). During stage two of the birth, the midwives do not touch the woman a lot. They do not manually open the vagina and help to pull the head out, they just let the mother push how she does, and occasionally rub olive oil on the perineum. They are quiet and give the woman her space. They will offer suggestions when they feel they are necessary or helpful, but usually they let the mother’s body and rhythm dictate the process of the birth.

In my time spent learning with the indigenous midwives at ACAM I witnessed rituals that were different from anywhere else I have seen. I also learned that every culture will greet birth—and all that goes along with birth–very differently. There are many ways to give birth, and there is no judgment about “better” or “worse,” it is simply different (and chances are there are deeply rooted cultural reasons for it). If you want to know the depth of the rituals in any culture then you should look at how they give birth! From what I have witnessed, the indigenous mam-speaking Mayan way is very grounded, deeply connected to nature and the natural world, and allows the mother and her body to reclaim agency over their specific birthing process.