Puerto Escondido

By boyfriend Hunter arrived on tuesday of my third week in Puerto.  I picked him up from the airport, introduced him to my host family, and let him settle in while I went ti Spanish class.  The same day, Sol had planned a trip to meet a traditional Mexican midwife, a partera.  On our way, we found Hunter visiting our friend Mario and had him join our adventure.  It was great that he joined us because political turmoil in Puerto made the trip difficult.  Protestors had barricaded the highway and trapped travelers on the road for hours.  Sol was able to to find an alternate route while Hunter cleared the dirt path of logs and brush.

The partera livs in a very rural barrio. She has been practicing since she was 20 years old and is now 82. She used to travel to her patients but now has them come to her. She showed us te room she uses for deliveries. It is the most humble structure I have ever seen and the walls are covered with posters on how to give birth.

She told us that with the new insurance, Segura Popular, every woman can deliver in the hospital for free and tat his business is dwindling. She still performs deliveries for women that live in her remote barrio, and close to her or her family, or have special religious circumstances. In 62 years as a midwife, she has delivered every person in her barrio and never experienced a maternal or infant death. For living in a region with the highest maternal death rate in the world and having acces to only a straw bed and traditional herbs, I was amazed!

She also told us that she was her own midwife for the births of all of her 11 children.  Her husband assisted her with 8 but 3 she delivered all on her own!  Unfortunately, with the dwindling number of patients and lack of interest from young Mexican women in the profession, she is one of Oaxaca’s last parteras.

I spent my third week in Puerto working in labor and delivery in the hospital.  The hospital is only one year with up-to-date equipment.  My first day there I watched a cesarean.  It was harder to watch than I had anticipated but the mother said she felt no pain and the baby girl was healthy.  Throughout the week I observed 4 cesareans.  I was only able to assist with measuring and holding the babies after the surgeries were completed.  

I also was able to help in the natural labor of 3 more babies.  Again, they were all born healthy.  I was amazed how young the mother were.  One mother was only 14.  She seemed to be in the most pain of all the patients.  She never received an epidural and started vomiting after her water was broken.  I held hold her legs because the were violently shaking.  After the baby was born and he had received his first checkup, all the nurses and doctors left the room exceptthe one passing the placenta and stichting the mother.  The mother was stillshaking violently and crying.  It hurt me to see the young mother in pain and I was upset that the hospital staff did not show her more compassion.  I stayed with her and held her hand until she was reading to leave delivery.  

While at the hospital, I toured the blood bank. It had almost no blood.  Since my last day was Christmas Eve, I decided to donate blood as my Christmas present.  I’m a big baby so it was a big gift :)

Hi All.  So, more about life in Puerto.  When I’m not in clinic or eating Marisela’s wonderful food, I get to spend time in this really amazing place.  It’s been 70-80F all month and beaches run all along the SW side of town.  At first there was hardly ever anyone else around.  Christmas and New Years are supposed to be high season and I’ve heard the beaches will be packed.  I’ve started to notice a bit but it’s still really comfortable.

I went surfing again this last weekend.  I caught a few waves on my own which was really exciting.  The waves were small at Zicatela (the main surfing beach that world famos for huge waves) and our instructor was going to take us there.  He said it would be our one and only chance to say we surfed Zicatela.  We ended up not being able to go because even the small waves were so powerful.  Maybe with some more practice :)

Puerto also has a stone path along the rocks that connects some of the beaches.  It is beautiful.  My friend Jessica and I walked it last weekend at sunset and then went up the light house.

We also went to a few fiesta with my host family.  The video below is from the festival for Soledad.  After they did the bull fights and lit each other on fire, the lit a giant firework castel.  I’ll post the video above.  I didn’t catch the finaly on film.  It end with spiral fireworks spurting out the top and then huge fireworks going off from the building-tops surrounding us.

The next day, the festival culminated with a fisherman’s send off.  All the fishermen at the main fishing beach decorated their boats and filled them with as many people as posible. Then they boated in a giant loop around in the ocean.  It was really fun to watch.  Next time I’ll make sure and jump in one of the boats too.  

There seems to always be a fiesta in town.  And, my host family has their fare share of fiestas too.  Last week, I helped my host mom make a few hundred sandwiches and set up pinadas for the local kids.  Cavi (the little baby boy) came and so did his girlfriend.  I took a few pictures of them together a few days before too.  He follows her around and hugs and kisses her.  He loves her. 

Also, my friends from the futbol team won their tournament last week!  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to go because I had a Spanish lesson.  Hopefully they will play again before I go.  Hunter just got here yesterday!!  He is really excited to pay some futbol so we’ll be out at the escuela de cruz azul tonight.  Probably all night.

Hunter also got his first look at the mercado her in Puerto today.  It’s really cool.  They have it sectioned off by type of good.  There is a huge section for meat (where my host mom shops every morning), a section for fish, cheese, chapolinas, flowers,shoes, jewelry, juices, and pretty much anything else you can think of.  It’s remarkable.

Apparently Christmas is right around the corner.  It’s hard to remember down here.  Decorated palm trees don’t seem to do it for me.  I am excited though because every family has really big christmas parties.  Supposedly it is just like new years.  We are going to two fiestas, one at nine pm and one at MIDNIGHT.  My friends are planning on taking Christmas eve off of work and going surfing.  I think I’ll work Christmas eve (hopefully deliver another baby) and surf Christmas day.  We’ll see though.  No need to rush :)  

Check in again soon.  I already have a lot more to share.  Especially if you are interested in the happenings at the hospital!

Take care and happy holidays!

I helped deliver another baby today!  Another boy.  That makes three boys and one girl so far.  All healthy and perfect.  Pictures and a video to come!

-Last week I was at a public health clinic in a colonia within Puerto Escondido.  The doctor (Dr. Pablo) sees pacients from oportunidades and seguro popular (medical insurance for which everyone qualifies and provides doctor visits for 10 pesos and free maternity coverage).  I saw a lot of pregnant women (not as many as in Chila though):

lots of infections and colds (lots of kids):

and few case out of the normal.  One woman had a case of shingles that caused an infection of the nerve is her arms.  She was in more pain than I have ever seen.  The doctor sent her to Oaxaca to have a neurologist perform a nerve block and control the pain.  That means she has to pay for a relatively expensive plane ticket or suffer through an eight-hour ride on that terrible road. 

-On the last day, the doctor and I went to two colonias within Puerto with poor access to health coverage.  The people were poor and many didn’t have shoes.  One of the meetings was in the middle of the road

while the other was in front of the schoolhouse. The school didn’t really have walls.

Almost all of the people in attendance were women because traditionally they look after the family.  Even in the clinic, men rarely come in with their children or to take care of their own health problems.  When a man does come in, his wife or mother is almost always with him.

-At the colonias the doctor informed everyone about the services available at the centro de salud and helped them register for opurtunidades.  He also saw a few patients that were worried about their health and helped them make appointments at the clinic. 

One woman had an infected bruise on her hand that looked like ink had spilled on it.  The doctor was really concerned and actually drove her back to the clinic to take care of it right away.  

The clinic at Lazaro is really clean and has pretty decent health supplies.  They have a separate room for the pharmacy

and an autoclave to sterilize supplies.

The doctor uses a typewriter to write out his notes about the patients.

Every Friday my host mom make chile relleno.  So delicious.  Last week I documented the fun.

I also took pictures of the food at the restaurant.  Enjoy.

Puerco:

Pollo:

Chile Relleno:

Arroz:

Ensalada:

Tacos:

Plátanos (mini):