A group of indigenous women in Paraguay has requested official recognition from the State for traditional midwives and respect for their ancestral knowledge.
[Indigenous Leader Killed in Peru After Confronting Copaiba Resin Intruders: Paraguayan Indigenous Women Call for Midwives Recognition](https://www.telesurenglish.net/paraguayan-indigenous-women-call-for-midwives-recognition/)
They argue that this knowledge is crucial for assisting pregnant women in communities with limited access to public health services.
This petition emerged during a week of activities and forums in Asunción, commemorating the International Day of Indigenous Women.
Tina Alvarenga, executive secretary of the Articulation of Indigenous Women of Paraguay (MIPY), emphasized the relevance of ancestral knowledge and the vital role of indigenous midwives in preserving lives within their communities.
Alvarenga urged full recognition of this essential service, while also denouncing the scarcity of health services in these populations and the discrimination and obstetric violence faced by indigenous women in public hospitals. This situation leads many women to choose to give birth with midwives from their community.
5 de setiembre Día Internacional de la Mujer Indígena
Las mujeres indígenas defendemos nuestros territorios, nuestras culturas, nuestras lenguas, nuestras semillas y nuestros saberes. Pronunciamiento por el Día Internacional de las Mujeres Indígenas
Sábado 5
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— FAPI (@fapi_paraguay) September 5, 2026
“Traditional midwives continue to be the executive arm in the absence of a public policy of quality and warmth in the care of women who are pregnant or giving birth,” she emphasized.
Dominga Maciel, a nurse with 29 years of experience and from the Angaité indigenous community, emphasizes that indigenous midwives not only provide medical assistance but also offer comprehensive support to women throughout the pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum process, even involving husbands.
She highlights the vital importance of these midwives as “givers of life” and connoisseurs of traditional medicine, advocating for the recognition and respect of their ancestral knowledge and histories.
As an example, he mentioned the case of a 75-year-old midwife, originally from the city of Pedro Juan Caballero, in the department of Amambay (north), who during her life has attended 2,001 births.
For Maciel, indigenous women should have the option of choosing to give birth with a traditional midwife, after accessing “basic services” in their communities such as ultrasounds or pregnancy control check-ups.
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