Support Our Project
The filmmakers are committed to screening THE LAST PARTERA around the world and using the film to stimulate important discussions about pregnancy, childbirth, midwifery, women’s health and women’s rights in general. The medical model of maternity care puts physicians in a hierarchical role and emphasizes invasive obstetric techniques, whereas the midwifery model is woman-centered and emphasizes the natural, inherently healthy process of birthing. Midwifery humanizes childbirth and demonstrates that empowering women as the primary agents in their healthcare decisions will enhance – rather than impede – modern medical practice.
THE LAST PARTERA is a distinctly feminist portrayal of midwifery as a woman-centered tradition fundamentally opposite the patriarchal model of standardized maternity care. Thus, through the stories of Doña Miriam, Rebecca and the Costa Rican women who have chosen home birth, THE LAST PARTERA artfully presents midwifery’s rootedness in women’s collective wisdom, thereby making an original contribution to the continued fight for women’s reproductive rights.
Join us in supporting this beautiful and important film and bringing it to local and global audiences. You can make a tax-deductible contribution to our project through the Southern Documentary Fund. Thank you for your support.
One of the protagonists and mentee of Doña Miriam Elizondo is Rebecca Turecky, C.N.M., N.D., a Costa Rican / U.S. dual citizen, who has been working in the field of Women's Health and Midwifery for 35 years. In the year 2000, she co-founded the Mamasol Association, a non-profit organization which promotes the "humanization of childbirth" (parto humanizado) in Costa Rica. More at www.mamasol.com.