Traditional midwives from 38 municipalities in the state, are supported by Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal with the delivery of medical kits so they can perform their work and continue preserving the ancient knowledge that these women possess and represent of great importance to their communities.
In total, there are more than 100 traditional Yucatecan midwives from the municipalities of Cuncunul, Chichimilá, Kaua, Xocchel, Hocabá, Valladolid, Chemax, Acanceh, Cuzamá, Homún, Tecoh, Mayapán, Mama, Chumayel, Ticul, Tekax, Tixméhuac, Chacsinkín, Opichén, Umán, Maxcanú, Halachó, Peto, Tzucacab, Progreso, Chicxulub Pueblo, Baca, Sotuta, Motul, Suma, Tixkokob, Yobaín, Dzidzantún, Tunkás, Espita, Oxkutzcab, Izamal and Sudzal, which were supported with this delivery consisting of cotton packs, surgical gowns, mouth covers, bandages, examination gloves, glass milk syringe, rubber syringe, medical tapes, among other medical instruments.
From the esplanade of the Maternity Hospital and on behalf of the Governor, the head of the Secretariat of Social Development (Sedesol), Roger Torres Peniche, sent on behalf of Vila Dosal congratulations and recognition to the important work of these women and assured that any support they can provide will be given because, although it is an activity they perform routinely, it is an extraordinary job.
“You are an example of extraordinary people who turn such a common activity into something as beautiful as being able to generate light and life. It is a source of pride for me as a Yucatecan, as it is for the Governor, to contribute to preserve this activity, so we recognize and know how special you are, therefore, we must comply with what surely your mother and grandmother did with you: transmit this knowledge to the next generation because it is important that this work remains because it is part of what makes us as Yucatecans and makes us different from everyone else,” said the head of Sedesol.
Among them was María Canul Can, 53 years old, together with her mother, María Lucía Can Can Canché, 83 years old, who inherited this knowledge from her and thanks to this, in the most difficult moments of the pandemic, she received a baby for the first time in a community of Valladolid.
“I learned from my mother, since she received my children among the more than 100 babies she has received throughout her life, and it gives us great joy to be helped in this way and above all to know that we have the Governor because this type of support is very useful to continue helping mothers receive their babies,” said the midwife from Valladolid.
Canul Can pointed out that, at present, this work is still very necessary because every day up to 6 people come to seek their help and even from other parts of the country such as Veracruz, Oaxaca and Mexico City, which shows that Yucatán is recognized for its midwives and this great knowledge must be taken care of and preserved.
Carlos Isaac Hernandez Fuentes, Director of Prevention and Health Protection of the SSY, said that for the state agency it is important to share responsibility for the care of pregnant women, so he thanked the midwives for accepting the coordinated work with the State Government.
“We recognize the value of this traditional work that over the years has been able to bring children into the world and we are sure that, with your support, working together with you is a strengthening that comes to help us when you identify that something is not right and send the women to the Health Center, which strengthens the health system,” said the state official in the presence of the director of the Maternal and Child Hospital, Miguel Ángel Laviada Mier y Terán.
Before the Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Wildlife of Semarnat, José Salvador Canul Dzul, the director of the Institute for the Development of Maya Culture of the state (Indemaya), Erik Villanueva Mukul indicated that it is of vital importance to recognize one of the most important traditions of the Maya and Yucatecan people, despite the fact that attempts have been made throughout history to eradicate traditional medicine.
“We have more than 800 traditional doctors, more than 300 midwives in our state and this speaks to us of an impressive cultural wealth because Yucatan concentrates traditional knowledge like nowhere else and this is a wealth that we must take advantage of and this is what we are already doing by supporting them in their work,” he said to the Supervisor of IMSS Bienestar, Monica Portilla Gregorio.
After the delivery of the kits, the Mayan midwives received talks about the prevention of acute respiratory infections and vector-borne diseases to enrich and update their knowledge in a teamwork that the SSY carries out with these women of millenary knowledge.
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