Giving Compass' Take:

• Antonia Batz is helping indigenous women in Guatemala have safe and healthy childbirths.   Since indigenous women in Guatemala face discrimination, poverty, and other barriers toward healthy family planning and reproductive health, they do not have access to health clinics. 

• Are there organizations in Guatemala that can offer support for Batz and her services? Are there international NGOs that focus on helping indigenous populations? 

• Read about the indigenous women in Guatemala who are fighting the mining industry by teaching their daughters traditional farming practices. 

Señora Antonia Batz leads a community of midwives in the San Carlos community outside of Tecpán, Guatemala, where she provides pre- and post-natal health care and ensures safe childbirth for local women who have little access to a health clinic.

About 43% of the population in Guatemala is indigenous, and girls and women who are indigenous face intense discrimination.

These girls and women have the cards stacked against them from the very beginning: They are more likely to be married and pregnant at a young age and are more than twice as likely as non-indigenous women to die during childbirth.

And for indigenous women who want to avoid or delay pregnancy, many are not using an effective form of contraception for a variety of reasons –  discrimination, poverty, geography, language barriers, lack of education, and religious and cultural expectations all play a role. In many rural areas of the country, a safe pregnancy and childbirth, let alone access to family planning, is just not a reality.

That’s where midwives like Antonia come in. Most Guatemalan women give birth at home, with midwives attending 60%-75% of all births (up to 90% in rural areas).  Antonia helps support San Carlos women before, during and after birth, from healthy eating and nutrition during pregnancy to a safe delivery and health services for the child. She also helps advise on family planning options.

Read the full article about empowering communities by Seema Jalan at United Nations Foundation