1. Hospital Obstétrico de Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
Alejandra Vega

2. Real del Monte, Hidalgo, Mexico

3. Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
Pachuca is a city in the state of Hidalgo
Pachuca has a population of 256,584 (2010)
Hospital Obstétrico has about 15 OB/Gyn physicians
They have two rooms for outpatient services, an ER, one operating room, two delivery rooms, a postpartum unit, and a NICU
Entrance to Hospital Obstétrico

4. Exam table in Hospital Obstétrico
Clinic room in Hospital Obstétrico

5. Topics of Interest Primary
To learn the differences in labor and delivery practices in Mexico vs U.S.
Secondary
To understand the influences of Mexican culture on laboring practices
Rationale:
My goal is to work with immigrant Latino populations in the U.S. as an OB/Gyn
I believe that learning what these women expect in Mexico will help me better treat them in the U.S.

6. Primary Topic of Interest
To learn the differences in labor and delivery practices in Mexico vs U.S.
The doctors were laborists, meaning they had shifts where they worked the labor and delivery unit
None of the patients knew the doctors that were going to deliver their baby and they were perfectly fine with that
There were no epidurals because the hospital couldn’t afford to have those supplies available

7. Primary Topic of Interest
To learn the differences in labor and delivery practices in Mexico vs U.S.
Patients were laboring in a room with 8 beds (which had other laboring women), and had the nurses and doctors for company
Patients were separated from their families and were reunited once in the postpartum unit
An attending told me that the only women that had a doctor oversee their entire pregnancy and delivery were women with “money”

8. Secondary Topic of Interest
To understand the influences of Mexican culture on laboring practices
In the U.S. Mexican women tend to not get epidurals (according to attendings and residents that I worked with and my personal experience)
In Mexico, these women couldn’t receive an epidural because there weren’t any available
The women couldn’t cry out in pain during contractions because they were in a room full of other laboring women, nurses, and doctors.

9. Secondary Topic of Interest
To understand the influences of Mexican culture on laboring practices
If a woman did cry out in pain they were made fun of and asked to stop
Labor is supposed to be something a woman does on her own and she is separated from her family
This seemed very lonely to me, but the women didn’t complain or see it as strange

10. Conclusions/Suggestions
I am unsure of the generalizability of the laboring practices that I witnessed, since this hospital was a community hospital with low resources
An attending assured me that having funds changed your pregnancy experience in that you were able to afford a private OB/Gyn that oversaw your entire pregnancy
It is unfair to judge Mexico’s laboring practices as harsh or calloused based on this hospital because these physicians had very few resources
Mexican women that travel to the U.S. might not receive epidurals because they are used to laboring practices like the ones I witnessed

11. Most Profound Clinical Experience
My most profound clinical experience was a woman who had a miscarriage
Up until witnessing this miscarriage I had only seen the fact that women were not allowed to labor loudly and they were isolated from their family members during labor
I was instantly afraid because I thought the doctor was going to be calloused with the patient
I was very wrong. He called in her family that had accompanied her and he told her the bad news in a very empathetic way
This was one of the moments that helped me realize that the medical practices I was witnessing were the result of poor funds, and not the fault of the physicians

12. Most Profound Cultural Experience
My most profound cultural experience was visiting the ancient temples of Teotihuacan
The guide told us that many people only think of the Aztecs when they think of ancient civilizations in Mexico, and I was one of those people
I learned that day that the Teotihuacanes were one of the most ancient civilizations in the world and that they had created the pyramids that the Aztecs had named
This experience taught me that regardless of the fact that I have a Mexican father, I can also still learn more about Mexican culture

13. Teotihuacan On top of Templo de la Luna in Teotihuacan
On top of Templo del Sol in Teotihuacan

14. Thank You
At the University of Hidalgo president’s breakfast