essay

Mexican, Mexican American, and Chicana childbirth

twice a minority : mexican american women • St. Louis, Missouri • Published In 1980 • Pages: 52-65

By: Kay, Margarita A..

Abstract

In this article Kay describes the Mexican American culture of childbirth, the beliefs and practices of which can be correlated with how many generations a woman is removed from Mexico. The author discusses the manner in which Mexican American women are returning to their grandmother's custom of giving birth at home, but with the selectivity as to the precise practices they want to adopt. New migrants from Mexico, however, tend to choose hospital births when they can afford them because of the specific obstetrical care they believe they will obtain there. Kay notes that the support of female relatives is particularly important and functional during the period of childbirth for Mexican American women. The adoption of home births seems to provide an important motivation for the return to the family of the various functions which have been relegated to scientific medical personnel but were never adequately provided because of lack of appreciation for the individual's psychological, cultural, and social correlates of biological health.

HRAF PubDate

2002

Region

North America

Sub Region

Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Social Scientist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

John Beierle ; 2001

Field Date

no date

Coverage Date

not specified

Coverage Place

southwestern United States

Notes

Margarita A. Kay

Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-65)

LCCN

80011177

LCSH

Mexican Americans