Stories From a Mexican American Partera

Abstract

This is a case study about an 87-year-old Mexican American partera and her stories about her life and practice on the Texas–Mexico border from the 1930s until 1995. These stories describe strong and competent women who rode horses to remote areas to help with many deliveries of babies throughout their lives. Sra. B, the lay midwife agreed to be interviewed so that her work could be shared with others. The stories discussed told part of what she lived. These stories included clinical pearls that told about how to use “a few drops of oregano . . . and salt,” and how to handle situations in which “the Lord was the only one who could help us,” among others. These interviews tell part of the story about how Sra. B learned, lived, and practiced as a partera and how she is remembered by the families throughout the area.