Birth a New World

During a prenatal appointment, I put the doppler against the mother’s round belly to hear the baby’s heartbeat, and I thought to myself, “How did I get here? Ecuador! ”

Every experience is connected to the subsequent one as we follow the ceaseless impulse deep in our heart that tells us where to go next. In my final year at Bennington College, I applied and was granted the Fulbright scholarship. I ventured to Ecuador to explore how the indigenous communities were being affected by the petroleum industry and impact of globalization. My journey began as I travelled to the Amazon jungle to live one year with the Waorani tribe alongside the Repsol petroleum company in Yasuni.

During my time in the community, I witnessed the ruthless prostitution of young girls, high rates of teenage pregnancies and unnecessary cesarean sections, not to mention the destruction of the Amazon rainforest, and I met the amazing midwives. I observed how the midwives healed their people with the plants that surrounded them. They taught me that in times of war or no war, pandemic or no pandemic, collapsed economy or thriving economy, the next generation always wants to be born.

One day, the local traditional midwives asked me if I wanted to go to a birth with them. I said, “Sure, why not?!” I jumped into the canoe and we headed down the river carrying baskets filled with herbs. We were 5 hours away from the closest hospital. I walked down the dirt path into the bamboo house to find the mother on her hands and knees next to the fire. Monkeys and toucans witnessed her strength as the mother roared her baby into her arms.

In that moment, I heard my calling: to be a midwife, to accompany and empower women as they birth the next generation. The way we enter the world matters. Birth matters! I began working as a volunteer doula in the public healthcare systems in Quito, Ecuador, and realized the beautiful ritual I witnessed in the jungle was not the same reality here in the hospitals. I was shocked to observe the obstetric violence and violation of basic human rights. Hospitals lack medical supplies, have overworked staff, and mothers and babies are dying from preventable conditions. I craved to have more medical training, so I returned to California where I studied to become a licensed midwife and served the Latina migrant communities there for more than 5 years. However, I could never get Ecuador out of my mind, and I felt a deep desire to return. My internal compass said, “Head south.”

After talking with our team of local midwives, pediatricians, and obstetricians, we decided to collaborate and create our Ecuadorian non-profit foundation and midwifery center called Uma Shungo. “Uma Shungo” is a common kichwa phrase that means "Heart-Mind Connection." We are determined to change the world one birth at a time! Our midwifery center is located at the foothills of the Ilalo volcano in Tumbaco, Ecuador. We are dedicated to serving families and making quality healthcare more accessible to all people. The center weaves together modern medicine and ancient midwifery traditions.