• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Spanish by Doc Molly

Interactive audio Spanish lessons for learning medical Spanish and Spanish grammar on the go.

Practical Spanish for
Healthcare & Elsewhere

  • Home
  • Medical Spanish
  • Spanish Grammar
  • Sign Up
  • About
  • Help
  • Courses
    • History and Exam
    • Spanish for Abdominal Pain
    • Spanish for Emergencies
    • Spanish for Dentistry
    • Spanish for Cancer Care
    • Spanish for COPD
    • Spanish for Vertigo
  • Members
    • Login
    • Member Home
    • Course Dashboard
    • Redeem Points
    • Bonus Content

Comadronas Are Essential to Healthcare in Guatemala – Interview

By Doc Molly on June 10, 2019 3

Dr. Mendez and I at his hospital in San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala.While studying at the San Pedro Spanish School, my friend Sonja and I interviewed a family practice doctor from San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. Dr. Francisco Méndez tells us about perinatal care in Guatemala and the essential role played by las comadronas (midwives.) Without the comadronas, he says Guatemala’s health care system would collapse.

We interviewed him at his new 10-bed hospital where he hosts foreign students from Canada and the United States, to volunteer through the San Pedro Comprehensive Health Project. During their time at the hospital, volunteers learn about the culture, health care system and traditional medicine of Guatemala.

LEVEL -INTERMEDIATE

Table of Contents

  • 0:51 Learn About Culture and Healthcare in Guatemala
  • 4:08 The Essential Role of las Comadronas
  • 7:43 Working Collaboratively with las Comadronas

Learn About Culture and Healthcare in Guatemala

0:51

Vocabulary

los estudiantes extranjeros
foreign students

los voluntarios médicos
medical volunteers

los voluntarios no médicos
non-medical volunteers

el sistema de salud
healthcare system

la medicina tradicional
traditional medicine

la comadrona, partera
midwife

el parto
birth, delivery

2:57

Entrevista

>>>
Access the full transcripts and the interactive audio member lessons that accompany each free lesson. Login or click here to become a premium member.
<<<

The Essential Role of las Comadronas

4:08

Vocabulario

los controles prenatales
prenatal visits or check-ups

colapsar
to collapse

el sistema de salud colapsaría
the healthcare system would collapse

proveedor
provider

las mujeres embarazadas
pregnant women

el cuidado
care

el cuidado de mujeres embarazadas
the care of pregnant women

cubrir
to cover

cubrir el noventa porciento de los controles prenatales
to cover 90% of prenatal visits

atender
to take care of

atender el parto
to deliver a baby

6:24

Entrevista

>>>
Access the full transcripts and the interactive audio member lessons that accompany each free lesson. Login or click here to become a premium member.
<<<

Working Collaboratively with las Comadronas

7:43

Vocabulario

colaborar
to collaborate

el conocimiento
knowledge

efectivo
effective

la episiotomía
episiotomy

de forma colaborativa
in a collaborative manner

el respeto
respect

el personal
staff, personnel

9:19

Entrevista

>>>
Access the full transcripts and the interactive audio member lessons that accompany each free lesson. Login or click here to become a premium member.
<<<

¡Gracias por escuchar!

As you heard, las comadronas play an essential role in the healthcare system of Guatemala and Dr. Méndez has great respect for the work they do. To learn more about the work of a comadrona, check out the interview with la comadrona Ester.

We’ll be back soon for the second part of this interview, where we ask Dr. Mendez more specific questions about prenatal care in Guatemala and review some very useful vocabulary.

More Interviews from Guatemala

  • Names from the Spanish-Speaking World
  • Chikungunya and Zika: Patient Interviews in Spanish
  • Curanderismo (Folk Medicine)
  • Interview with a Comadrona

¡Hasta pronto!

The lessons offered at docmolly.com are a fun way to practice medical Spanish. They are not intended to teach medicine or provide medical advice. These lessons are intended to improve communication with Spanish-speaking patients, but they are not intended to substitute for a qualified medical interpreter.

Podcast: Download

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nanyi Mateo says

    January 25, 2020 at 10:02 am

    Hi. I cannot see the complete Women’s Health podcast, but I’m already a premium member. I do not have access to this content?

    Reply
  2. Rose says

    March 31, 2021 at 9:30 pm

    Hello,
    Thanks for these great podcasts!

    I am a volunteer nurse at the nonprofit Health & Help clinic near Momostenango, Guatemala, where we provide affordable health care to the rural K’iche’ population. We’d love to connect with Dr. Mendez and learn more about his program. Maybe we could collaborate in some ways, and it would be great if we could give patient referrals to his facility. Can you share any more information about the program, or provide any contact information?

    Also, feel free to spread the word about the Health&Help clinic, we are always looking for more medical volunteers! And it provides a great opportunity to quickly improve your medical Spanish!

    Reply
    • Doc Molly says

      April 5, 2021 at 8:12 pm

      Hola Rose,
      You are welcome. I am glad you like the podcasts. I recommend trying to contact Dr. Méndez through his program’s Facebook page.
      Saludos,
      Molly

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Doc Molly

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2022 · Doc Molly On Genesis Framework · WordPress

Manage Cookie Consent

¡Hola! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience at docmolly.com.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}