On a serene morning, midwife Regina Llanes Granillo began a sobada, a traditional Mayan abdominal massage, on new mother Kay Nicte Cisneros García. Using warm lavender and lemon balm oil, Regina gently traced circles over Kay’s abdomen, guiding the intestines back into place and pausing at the bellybutton to seek a ‘heartbeat’—a subtle pulse believed to reveal the body’s energy balance. This ancient ritual celebrated not just the recent birth of Kay’s child but her profound transformation into motherhood. Following the massage, Kay was tenderly wrapped in shawls and guided to an herb-infused bath. This resurgence of Indigenous midwifery practices, deeply rooted in traditional knowledge, is drawing more and more women across Mexico, according to experts.
Kay Nicte Cisneros García, a new mother, was wrapped in shawls as part of a postpartum ritual.
Mirroring trends in the United States and Europe, where interest in midwives and doulas has grown significantly over the past decade, Mexico is also witnessing a surge in demand for these traditional birthing attendants, particularly in its bustling capital. For women experiencing the often solitary journey of new motherhood, these ancient traditions provide a deeply personal and enriching alternative to the more standardized care typically found in conventional hospitals and clinics.
Mexican parteras, or midwives, often express strong reservations about mainstream obstetric care. They contend that hospitals frequently impose rigid protocols and unnecessary interventions, diminishing a woman’s agency during childbirth and reducing a profound life event to a clinical procedure. In stark contrast, midwifery embraces an ancestral, holistic philosophy that prioritizes the birthing person’s unique choices, emotional well-being, and personal circumstances.
Moments from the massage and other rituals performed for Ms. Cisneros by midwives after the birth of her first child, a daughter, in Mexico City.
According to Ms. Cisneros, a midwife herself, the prevailing ‘medical model’ often reduces natural processes like pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause to mere physical conditions or illnesses needing a cure. She observes a growing trend among women seeking care that deeply considers not just the physical body, but also their emotional and spiritual dimensions, honoring childbirth and motherhood as multifaceted physical, cultural, social, and emotional experiences.
For a long time, Mexico’s modern medical system largely disregarded these ancient midwifery traditions. While some doctors raise concerns about potential dangers if these practices completely replace professional obstetric care, especially in complex pregnancies, even skeptical health professionals concede their vital role. In remote rural areas, where access to clinics, hospitals, and social services is sparse or non-existent, traditional midwives serve as crucial frontline caregivers. Government data indicates there are over 15,000 such midwives nationwide.
Dr. Alejandra Seligson, an OB-GYN in Mexico City, acknowledges the indispensable contribution of traditional midwives, particularly in rural regions. However, she cautions about the limitations of their care. Conditions like pre-eclampsia, for instance, demand rigorous hospital monitoring. She stresses the importance of thorough screening, advocating that midwifery should primarily focus on low-risk pregnancies to prevent jeopardizing mothers and infants during complications. In urban settings, where emergency transfers can be delayed by traffic, home births pose additional risks.
‘Every minute counts,’ Dr. Seligson emphasizes. ‘A rapid transfer to a hospital can be the deciding factor between a baby suffering permanent brain damage or not.’ Ultimately, she advocates for a collaborative approach, where conventional obstetric care and traditional midwifery work side-by-side, offering complementary benefits to expectant mothers.
Amparo Calderón, a 48-year-old traditional midwife of Mayan heritage residing near Mexico City, reflects on how global perception often narrowly portrays traditional midwifery solely through the image of Indigenous women assisting births. She asserts, ‘In truth it carries a far broader, ancestral worldview and philosophy.’ Ms. Calderón points out that the true number of traditional midwives is likely higher than official records, as many operate without government registration. Notably, the practice has experienced a significant revival in recent years, particularly in Mexico’s major cities, a trend accelerated by the unique circumstances of the pandemic.
A traditional midwife, Amparo Calderón, touching Ana López’s belly as they talk about a birth plan in Chimalhuacán, Mexico.
During the pandemic, concerns about overcrowded hospitals and contagion prompted many expectant mothers to seek alternatives. They increasingly turned to midwives, who typically operate from home or dedicated ‘casas de partería’ (midwife centers), offering what they considered a safer, more personalized experience, as Ms. Cisneros noted. Ms. Cisneros, 26, who underwent a four-year training program in Mexico City, believes midwifery provides a ‘more dignified, loving, and respectful’ path through pregnancy, birth, and motherhood, a stark contrast to conventional clinical environments.
In Ms. Cisneros’s own postpartum session, Mrs. Llanes, 29, performed a treatment using lit, cigar-shaped sticks of dried mugwort and charcoal, gently warming specific points on the skin—a technique with roots in various traditional healing systems. Mexican midwives commonly incorporate such heat therapies, sometimes utilizing warm, freshly pressed tortillas or volcanic rocks.
The ritual continued with ‘el abrazo del rebozo,’ or the ’embrace of the shawl,’ a profound ceremony designed to ‘close’ a woman’s spirit and energy after the immense opening of childbirth. Seven shawls were meticulously arranged, each carefully draped and tightened around a different part of Ms. Cisneros’s body. Mrs. Llanes explained that the hips were bound most tightly to aid in pelvic realignment, with each shawl holding symbolic significance. Ms. Cisneros, who welcomed her daughter Inti in June, beautifully described the wrapping: ‘It’s like an embrace that centers you and holds you. It closes everything that was opened to give way to your baby’s life.’ The midwives concluded by swaddling Ms. Cisneros across her chest, a symbolic self-hug that Mrs. Llanes referred to as ‘an act of return.’
The midwives said they offered a holistic approach to pregnancy and childbirth that contrasts with that of modern medicine.
Ms. Cisneros was given a massage as well as pressure-point treatments.
The “el abrazo del rebozo,” or embrace of the shawl, a ritual meant to close a woman’s spirit and energy after the opening of childbirth.
Finally, cocooned in layers of fabric, Ms. Cisneros slowly emerged, as if experiencing a rebirth herself. As Mrs. Llanes thoughtfully put it, ‘no woman is ever the same after giving birth.’ This transformative moment was followed by an anointing bath, infused with a blend of arnica, basil, lemon balm, calendula, rosemary, and other potent medicinal plants, intended to nourish both her body and spirit. Later, her newborn daughter gently joined her in the warm water, sharing a serene, quiet embrace.
These rituals—the ceremonial wrapping and the postpartum herbal bath—are just a glimpse into the diverse practices offered by parteras throughout Mexico and Latin America. Mexican midwives typically fall into three categories: those with formal university or institutional training; independent midwives, like Ms. Cisneros and Mrs. Llanes, who are trained through non-profit programs and casas de partería that merge modern obstetric knowledge with traditional methods; and traditional midwives, whose wisdom is passed down orally, often within Indigenous linguistic contexts.
A bath infused with arnica, basil, lemon balm, calendula, rosemary and other medicinal plants for Ms. Cisneros and her daughter.
The Mexican government has recently taken significant steps to formally acknowledge the critical role of midwifery in women’s health. In March, a decree was issued that officially recognized the immense value of midwives and outlined plans to establish criteria for their integration into national maternal health services.
Midwives emphasize that long before modern clinics and doctors existed, it was their hands and accumulated experience that guided women through labor, often saving lives. Before commencing the day’s rituals, Ms. Cisneros offered a heartfelt prayer, articulating her intentions for the sacred practices. She declared, ‘I invoke all this love and gratitude I feel, the knowing that I am not alone, that I do not have to be alone. And that the support of other women is what sustains me and has kept me afloat throughout this whole process.’”