Midwifery and Medicinal Plants in the Mazahua and Otomi Indigenous Group of the State of Mexico

Joel Rodríguez-Zúñiga, Dulce María Ávila-Nájera, Luz del Carmen Mora-Garduño, Rocío Tovar-Martínez, Horacio Bautista-Santos () and Fabiola Sánchez-Galván
Additional contact information
Joel Rodríguez-Zúñiga: Community Development Engineering Directorate, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Chicontepec, Barrio Dos Caminos No. 22, Chicontepec 92705, Veracruz, Mexico
Dulce María Ávila-Nájera: Research and Postgraduate Department, Universidad Intercultural del Estado de México, Lib. Francisco Villa S/N, San Felipe del Progreso 50640, Estado de México, Mexico
Luz del Carmen Mora-Garduño: Research and Postgraduate Department, Universidad Intercultural del Estado de México, Lib. Francisco Villa S/N, San Felipe del Progreso 50640, Estado de México, Mexico
Rocío Tovar-Martínez: Community Development Engineering Directorate, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Chicontepec, Barrio Dos Caminos No. 22, Chicontepec 92705, Veracruz, Mexico
Horacio Bautista-Santos: Community Development Engineering Directorate, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Chicontepec, Barrio Dos Caminos No. 22, Chicontepec 92705, Veracruz, Mexico
Fabiola Sánchez-Galván: Research and Postgraduate Department, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Tantoyuca, Desv. Lindero Tametate S/N, Colonia La Morita, Tantoyuca 92101, Veracruz, Mexico

Social Sciences, 2023, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to analyze midwifery practice in the Mazahua and Otomi (MO) indigenous community and its relationship with the persistence of the native language and the use of medicinal plants. A semi-structured survey with qualitative and quantitative information was designed and validated. Data were collected from the students enrolled in the Intercultural Health Degree at the Intercultural University of the State of Mexico, their parents, their grandparents, and people from their community of the MO ethnic group. The variables mother tongue and births attended by midwives among both MO and non-indigenous people were correlated with three generations (grandparents, parents, and grandchildren). In the MO indigenous group, births attended by midwives and mother tongue concerning the three generations were lost in proportions of 25.5% and 17.05%, respectively. There are 23% more midwife-attended births in the MO community than among non-ethnic people. The medicinal plants most used by the MO indigenous group are “too” ( Montanoa tomentosa Cerv.) and “lengua de vaca” ( Rumex crispus L.). As regards family economy, 79.3% of the adults surveyed consider that there is a saving of between 25% and 75% with midwifery practice in the MO community. There is a generational correspondence between the loss of native language and midwifery practice.

Keywords: high-priority development communities; family economy; indigenous traditional health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/10/542/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/10/542/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2023:i:10:p:542-:d:1248827

Access Statistics for this article

Social Sciences is currently edited by Ms. Yvonne Chu

More articles in Social Sciences from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().