Delivering Babies in Peru: My Midwifery Internship

The technology and culture of the United States has led to the virtually complete medicalization of childbirth. As a midwifery student through the Klemm Fellowship, I worked with midwives and general practitioners to witness a completely different way of providing care to women and newborns in Cusco, Peru. I furthered both my medical and Spanish skills by observing live births, helping conduct ultrasounds, rounding with the doctors and nurses, and aiding in pre and post natal consults. When not in the government clinic, I furthered my cultural understanding and language skills by volunteering at neighboring villages, touring the city, taking salsa classes, and visiting historic sites. I exchanged knowledge and culture with my host sisters over traditional Peruvian dishes and discussed differences between American and Peruvian life with my host mother. After my three-week experience, I have gotten a glimpse of how Peruvian societal structure, religion, perspective of medicine, and physical environment gave rise to and maintained the art of midwifery.