A Good Position for Birth: Pregnancy, Risk, and Development in Southern Belize by Aminata Maraesa

Author:Aminata Maraesa [Maraesa, Aminata]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Medical, Caribbean & Latin American, Political Science, Public Health, World
ISBN: 9780826504128
Google: e7wpEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B07K8BMXPH
Goodreads: 44138721
Publisher: Vanderbilt University Press
Published: 2018-11-23T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 4.3. Full width of a Kekchi woman’s skirt, hanging to dry on the side of a house in Esperanza village.

We exchanged routine pleasantries with Lucia and Medina’s mother-in-law. I explained who I was and obtained consent to film the interaction, after which Lucia began the prenatal examination by taking a blood pressure reading. Lucia, however, did not discuss the reading (which she later told me rather vaguely was “bueno” [good]) and simply told Medina to “hilan” (lay down) on the twin bed made with a sheet of cardboard laid on top of a woven support of thick interlaced twine. As a young wife pregnant for the first time and living in her mother-in-law’s house, it was culturally understood that Medina’s mother-in-law made the decisions concerning her reproductive health. Thus, little conversation took place between Lucia and Medina, who tacitly deferred to her mother-in-law, who watched intently as Lucia conducted the prenatal examination. Listening through a manual fetoscope, Lucia asserted in Kekchi:

Lucia: Dio pe chi ekank. [The baby is moving.] (This was framed as a statement, not a question.)

Medina: Dyo ut. [Yes, it is.] (Uttered as confirmation, not a response.)

Lucia (turning her attention to Medina’s swollen ankles): Sipe pe ha kwak. [Your foot is swollen.]

Lucia asked Medina to straighten her legs (“Tutz ha na kwok”), and she again said, “Sip ut” (It is swollen). Then, sounding concerned, Lucia uttered, “Dios, oh dios” (God, oh God), as she pressed her index finger into Medina’s swollen ankles. “Sip ut has tzerek” (Even the legs [are swollen]).

Medina: Trakal mos sip. [It is swollen.]

Lucia: Pero caj cui ha cuok nak na qui. [But it seems to be just your feet.]

Lucia (addressing the mother-in-law): “Hain ha cue ha mas sip” [This is the part that is really swollen.] (Then to Medina): “Miga cha-aj?” [Is it hurting?]

Medina: Ga raj bi. [Not really.]

Lucia palpated Medina’s abdomen and discerned that the baby was in a breech position since the bottom of Medina’s abdomen was soft.

Lucia: Muca xjolan ta cachin hain. Muca xjolan ta. [This is not the baby’s head. No, not the head.]

Addressing the mother-in-law, Lucia instructed her to touch the abdomen: “Che.” [Touch it.]

Lucia: Ta cuil nak ta nak. Cham ruk hi cuib na ok sa. [Watch as I press it. My fingers go deep.]

Mother-in-law: Joka ta na. [Maybe so (that it is breech).]

Lucia: Ma-re muka ra raj tgul. Caj cuil dios naj nan. [Maybe she won’t experience such hardship (maybe the breech will turn). Only God knows.]

Lucia stopped palpating the fetus but continued to press her fingers into Medina’s abdomen saying, “Jo chill bot nacana. Cau xgebul ruquin ha sipul. Sipul a ini. Mas nujenaj ha rubel sa.” (It leaves a deep imprint. It is hard to touch [to do a proper fetal palpation] with the swelling. It is really full beneath the stomach.) Upon resuming the fetal palpation, Lucia explained to the mother-in-law, “Mucu mas nim ta ha chachin nak naquil. Siep rub b’el xish sa.” (The baby doesn’t seem to be all that big. Her belly is swollen.

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