So what am I doing in Brazil?

So I realize that I have been writing about my time here in Brazil, but I haven’t mentioned more about the organization I’m working with and explained what they actually do here. The name of the NGO is Instituto Nômades, a fairly small Brazilian organization that exists to advocate the ´humanization of birth´ here in Brazil. This consists of raising awareness and helping educate women on their choices in childbirth—largely due to the fact that in Recife (the city I am in, in the Northeast corner of Brazil) there is a 91-96% cesarean section rate in private hospitals, and up to a 60% c-section rate in public ones. The incredible thing about this reality is that women are routinely coerced into having c-sections when they are not necessary and a c-section increases maternal morbidity five-fold! Apart from that, the treatment women receive when they have vaginal births is not impressive—with the overuse of medical procedures including episiotomies, enemas, constant (and uncomfortable) monitoring, and a lack of support in comfort measures. All that said, maybe this gives a clearer picture of why feminist advocacy and education is so important—that even choices in childbirth, such a personal experience for women, are being denied and ignored.

One of the ways the organization educates women is by having a group of pregnant women that meet weekly to share experiences and information. Every Monday night they get together for 2-3 hours and sit and talk mostly about the procedures mentioned above, and alternatives—such as natural birth, assistance by a doula (who offer non-medical support, with comfort measures and emotional support during birth), coping techniques during birth, etc. I’ve been attending this group and truly find it so amazing to share this information with women and allow them to think through and shape what they want their birth experience to be like. I would really love to be able to start and help lead a group like this in the future, whether that be in the US or elsewhere. Also, I can’t tell you how many videos I’ve recently watched of at home births, births in water, births assisted by midwives, etc! Haha, it has been fun to learn so much. The other task that the organization has sought to undertake is research on the knowledge and practice of traditional midwives that practice mostly in poorer communities. This research is deeply based in anthropology as well, as these midwives represent an important Brazilian heritage throughout the past generations. Therefore, the research seeks to document and respect the cultural aspects that these midwives represent, while also investigating their knowledge and practice in the physical act of childbirth. Although most of these women do not have hospital-based (or academic-based) training, they are what I would maybe call ´vocationally´ trained by grandmothers, mothers, and/or other traditional midwifes. Anyway, this is research that I am really excited to take part in because who better understands community needs than women who dedicate their lives (with little monetary reward) to serving their community? I think I have a lot to learn from them! This research starts next week, so I’ll get back to yall on what I learn… besides that, this week I also got to attend a professional conference on pregnancy and birth and really enjoyed the presentations.

On another note, I just found a wonderful Brazilian family I will be living with for the next 6 weeks! I’ve been living with an anthropologist from Instituto Nômades until I found a more permanent homestay, and yesterday I met the family I’ll be living with. Their youngest daughter is my age and we really hit it off— and she speaks English and Spanish so can help me a long with my Portuguese, but everyone else only speaks Portuguese so I must learn more! Plus when I was over there they were all laughing and joking around with each other—big family of 6. Move in tomorrow!

Ok, long-enough update. P.S. One more lesson—I eat WAY to fast. Maybe it is the college student inside of me always on the run, but every time I sit down to eat, I have to remind myself to look up and chew. I sat down with a couple of kids the other day, ate fast, and when I was done the 7 year old looked at me and said, WOW you eat fast—I hadn’t even realized I scarfed the food down. Here they enjoy their meals, and afterwards we all sit and have a cup of coffee, always. I love it. Much love to everyone... and take a slow lunch today! ;-)