Paper Short Abstract:

Amongst indigenous peoples of the Andes, the postpartum period takes a lot of patience and precaution. Women are advised by traditional midwives to strictly rest and avoid air and cold by staying at home. It contrasts with Western medicine and public hospitals where women must recover quickly.

Paper Abstract:

In the Andean world, the postpartum period is crucial for the new mother's recovery. The postpartum period is generally considered to last 40 days.

Right after childbirth, the woman's body is seen as open and dislocated (LA RIVA GONZALEZ, 2000). The mother and her baby are particularly prone to illness and must be extra vigilant. They have to follow a special diet, be well surrounded and protect themselves from air and cold. During the first 8 days after giving birth, she must absolutely avoid going out and physical exertion. The newborn is often wrapped in a cloth called aguayo or chumpi until he no longer feels the need to and is strong enough to be on his own.

Those practices contrast with public hospitals' care system built on the European obstetrics model in the 19th century. At Lima's maternity ward created in 1826 for example, the medical staff is proud to be able to let women go home quickly the day after birth as proof of modernization and advances in medicine. Postpartum care is not really taken into account especially when the birth was "easy".

Those differences can be explained by the influence of European obstetrics where the woman must recover quickly, the ignorance of the needs of parturients due to their class and their race but also because of understaffing and poor investment in healthcare. What can the postpartum period experienced by Andean indigenous women tell us about the peruvian healthcare system on a global scale ?