Midwifery in Maya society facts for kids

Midwifery is a special job, mostly done by women, where they help other women from the time they are pregnant until after their baby is born. In some traditional Maya communities, people believe that a goddess of midwifery helps them. Midwives are often thought to get their job through special signs and visions. Long ago, in Yucatan before the Spanish arrived, the old midwife goddess was called Ixchel.

For Maya girls, giving birth is a very important step that shows they have become a woman. Many women in rural areas are helped by midwives who haven't been to a formal school. Instead, people in the Maya religion believe these midwives learn their skills through dreams. These traditional birth helpers are called comadronas or iyom kʼexelom. They are highly respected for their work.

In Maya society, midwives are in charge of the pregnant woman (called ajtuj) and her unborn baby throughout the pregnancy. They also help for a week after the birth while the new mother rests. Unlike other jobs where people choose what they want to do, the Maya people believe that God gives midwives a special calling through dreams. This calling shows them their true path. Because this calling is seen as divine, midwives are thought to be able to talk with the spirit world.

Even though midwives are highly respected for their important role, they sometimes face challenges. Their husbands and children might feel upset because the midwives have to spend a lot of time away from home helping others.

A Special Calling from Dreams

Saint Anne is considered to be a patron of midwives.

In Maya society, people believe that midwives receive their special calling from God through a series of dreams. These dreams often contain hints that a woman is meant to become a midwife. Sometimes, they might even see Saint Anne, who is known as the saint of all midwives.

According to the Maya religion, besides dreams and visions, women also tend to find small, unusual items on their paths. These objects are seen as symbols related to midwifery. They are often small, unique stones that look like faces, or sometimes shells, marbles, or broken pieces of old figurines. Stones are considered to have sacred powers in the Maya religion. People believe these stones are sent from the spirit world as a sign of their calling to be a midwife.

It's also thought that some objects found by a midwife might be tools they need for giving birth. For example, a penknife could be used to cut the umbilical cord. Women often talk to shamans (spiritual healers) who help them understand their calling. Once a woman accepts that she is meant to be a midwife, she is believed to receive more dreams and visions about how to help with births.

Besides these special objects and repeated dreams, it's believed that midwives might also be called to mountains or other sacred places. There, they might meet supernatural beings. Mayans believe that women who ignore their calling often get sick. If doctors can't find out why they are sick, it's thought they might even die. Midwives are also told in their dreams by spirits that they will receive gifts from the families of the babies they deliver. They are taught not to be greedy and to accept what is given with a good heart.

What Midwives Do

Midwives are responsible for pregnant women throughout their pregnancies. They don't have formal training from schools. Instead, they believe they learn everything they need from their dreams. These dreams are thought to show them how to properly check on women, how to massage them, how to feel the baby's position, and how to measure how ready the mother is for birth. They also learn how to cut the umbilical cord, how to pray, and how to guess a child's future by looking at markings on their umbilical cord.

Midwives believe that these visions also teach them to spot problems that could make a delivery difficult. If there's a problem, they learn to take the pregnant woman to a nearby clinic or hospital. Midwives are usually called around the third to fifth month of pregnancy. They visit once a month for prenatal care. In the last month of pregnancy, they start visiting every week. The care they provide includes regular massages, examinations, helping with the birth, and looking after both the new mother and baby during the week of rest after birth.

Signs at a Baby's Birth

The Maya people believe many things can be understood when a child is born. The Maya calendar is used for divination, which means telling the future. This "Sacred calendar" is thought to predict a child's future, as some days are considered luckier than others. The calendar is very important in Maya society for understanding and shaping children's lives.

Mayans also believe that midwives can guess a child's future life based on markings on the umbilical cord and the amniotic sac (the "water bag" around the baby). They think that based on the markings of the first child, they can even predict the gender, number, and timing of future births.

Some important markings include signs of a future shaman (like worms or flies held in a newborn's fist). A "white mantle" over the head (which comes from the amniotic membrane) is a sign of a future midwife. A baby born with a double whorl (a spiral pattern) in its hair is believed to be a sign that this child might cause problems for future brothers or sisters.

Important Rituals

The midwife is the first person to see the infant after birth. Before the mother can even hold her baby, the midwife carefully looks for signs on the child. She alone will interpret what job or path the child is meant to follow in life. She then carefully removes, dries, and keeps these signs safe. The maternal grandmother usually protects them.

Praying is very important during childbirth. As soon as the midwife hears about a birth, she starts praying. She is also expected to pray before entering the house and before touching the pregnant woman. She must also pray to each of the four corners of the room, as people believe invisible guardians live there.

At the end of the week of bed rest, the midwife performs her final cleansing rituals, which signals that her services are complete. The baby is bathed, and a new dress is placed on its belly button. The hammock where the baby will sleep is prayed over, asking for the baby to be protected. The mother also gets purified in a semi-public hair washing ceremony. The last ritual the midwife must do is sweep and clean the room before she leaves. She then prays one last time, thanking the spirits for a successful delivery.

Images for kids

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  Aged woman with child. Classic Period figurine. Baltimore Museum of Art.