In the heart of the Amazon rainforest, a pregnant woman needs help. Her baby is about to be born, and a severe drought has dried up the rivers connecting her community to the nearest hospital. Enter Tabita dos Santos Moraes, one of the hundreds of traditional midwives who bring babies into the world in remote villages of the world’s largest tropical forest.
Although Tabita is passing down the ancient craft to her own daughter, many young women are choosing different paths. Amazonian midwives are aging and are often not being replaced. Many communities now lack midwives, but as hospitals become harder to reach, traditional midwives are in growing demand.
Midwife Tabita dos Santos Moraes, 51, touches the belly of Mayleane Melo, 22, to monitor the baby's position, at the Deus e Pai community in Tefe, Amazonas state, Brazil, October 24, 2024. REUTERS/Pilar Olivares - Pilar Olivares/REUTERS
Years of extreme droughts in the Amazon, which studies have linked to climate change, have made river travel to remote communities more dangerous and have increased the challenge of providing healthcare to riverside populations.
More than one in 15 women in the state of Amazonas give birth outside hospitals—about four times the national average, according to government statistics. Maternal mortality is also higher in the Amazon region.
Although public health officials have not analyzed how droughts or floods impact these statistics, midwives say that women have canceled trips to the city to give birth due to river conditions. One woman, Tabita recalled, had her baby on the way to the hospital because the journey took longer than expected. "That’s why having a midwife in the community is so important," she said.
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