Customs and traditions of home labor in the andean communities of the Guaranda-Ecuador canton.

Abstract

This research was characterized by home delivery that is carried out in communities of Salinas, Cuatro Esquinas, Cachisagua, Santa Fe of the canton Guaranda, province of Bolívar- Ecuador, ancient practice of ancestral medicine, focusing on the indigenous worldview in which the birth is a unique ancestral ritual, which has allowed to know different techniques performed at the time of home delivery, actors and the causes of why some women prefer home delivery rather than hospital. Eleven community midwives were interviewed who play a fundamental role in this act. A narrative ethnographic study was carried out, according to their knowledge and traditions, describing the sociocultural behavior, to identify the possible risks and complications that mothers and children could present.