Born out of necessity during the Salvadoran Civil War, midwives provided essential reproductive care to women in guerrilla camps during this 12-year period and continued to attend births for women in rural communities who do not have readily available access to doctors and hospitals. During the Salvadoran Civil War, those in rural communities and in guerilla camps had limited access to medical care.
The lack of healthcare options became clear to many of the women in this film who received limited training from doctors on delivering babies; however, they were forced into service to ensure the health of mothers in these communities. Through their experience during this period and their humane treatment of these mothers, the practice of midwives attending births continued and even expanded in some cases to provide healthcare to other members of the community because of the awareness of the care they provided as part of their services.
In an attempt to reduce inequities in the healthcare system, the El Salvadoran government effectively outlawed home births and requires women to deliver in hospitals often a far distance from the woman’s home and in conditions that are less than humane. This film captures the struggle of these midwives to preserve their role in the reproductive health of women by providing a safe and compassionate environment. Given the threat to this practice within El Salvador and the fear the knowledge and skills will not be passed on to the future generation, these women are now organizing to fight back against the elimination of home births attended by midwives. While the threat to this profession was touched on at the end of this short film, it could and should be explored further.
This film is well-produced and tells the story of these women through interviews conducted in Spanish with English subtitles and archival footage to provide context to the period during the Salvadoran Civil War. At times the subtitles are washed out because of the background on the screen; however, this does not distract from the message in this film. This film is recommended for any collection but especially for those supporting healthcare programs with an international focus. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P.