Why Restoring Birth as Ceremony th Can Promote Health Equity

Carla Casteñada is an Indigenous woman, Motherland Activist, Board Member of NGO Niñas Sabias/Wise Girls, and certified Midwife and Instructor with years of involvement in
the Midwife Network of Mexico. Carla provides education, culture, and healthcare services based on the ancestral traditions of Mexico.

“The revitalization of birth as ceremony is a strategy to reclaim our humanity. Due to colonization of traditional Mexico, communities were separated from their culture, kinship,
ceremony, story, narrative, art, and music. As a result, their wellbeing, health and means of education where lost. Reproductive health care with a ritual basis, and the practice
of bringing birth home positively effects the early stages of a child's development.”