The story of a midwife in rural Spain in the mid-twentieth Century

La historia que sigue es la de Petrina, una mujer que compaginó sus labores en el campo, costura y hogar con la de partera en su localidad, Alvares de la Ribera, un pequeño pueblo situado en la comarca leonesa del Bierzo. Desarrolló esta actividad durante las décadas de 1960 y 1970, hasta que las embarazadas comenzaron a ir a dar a luz a la Residencia pública de Ponferrada, en la capital de la comarca. Adoptando los enfoques y técnicas metodológicas propios de la historia oral y la historia social, a través de su testimonio hemos alcanzado el objetivo de conocer y reflexionar sobre la atención en el momento del parto en una zona rural en esos años de transición, hasta que se generalizó la asistencia a través de la Seguridad Social. Así mismo, hacer público el trascendental papel que mujeres como ella desempeñaron en ese primer tramo de la vida de muchas personas, y que por razones varias ha permanecido invisible.The story that follows is that of Petrina, a woman who combined her work in the farm, sewing and the housework with that of a midwife in her village, Alvares de la Ribera, a small town located in El Bierzo, in the province of Leon. She worked as a midwife during the 1960s and 1970s, until women started going to give birth to the public hospital in Ponferrada, the capital of the county. With the methodological techniques proper to oral and social history, her testimony has allowed us to understand the attention that expecting women of rural areas received in the period before the National Health Service generalized. Additionally, her story helps us also to raise aware of the important role that those women like her played in the first days of life of many people, a social concerned that has in many cases remained unknown

A participação doméstica na assistência ao parto em meados do século XX

Objective: to describe how the progressive creation of the Social Security (providing widespread health care) affected the birth assistance in Spain from the 1940s to the 1970s in a rural area. Method: historical ethnography. Twenty-seven people who lived at that time were selected and interviewed guided by a semistructured script. Based on their testimonies, a chart was built with the functional elements involved in birth assistance in this region. Results: three agents performed such care: traditional midwives, women of the family/neighbors and health workers. Conclusion: although birth assistance had been transferred to the hands of the health workers from the forties in this region, women in labor continued to count on the domestic resources until the early seventies, when births were compulsorily transferred to hospitals. This research brings to light the names and recognizes the work performed by these female characters of the popular sphere, who helped women in labor of that community to give birth, for at least three decades.Objetivo: describir cómo incidió la creación progresiva de la Seguridad Social (ofreciendo asistencia sanitaria generalizada) en la atención al parto en España durante las décadas de 1940 a 1970, en una zona rural. Método: etnografía histórica. Se seleccionaron 27 personas que habían vivido en esos años, y se las entrevistó apoyadas por un guión semiestructurado. A través de sus testimonios se construyó un mapa con los elementos funcionales implicados en los cuidados en el nacimiento en ese territorio. Resultado: tres actores desempeñaban dicha atención: parteras tradicionales, mujeres familiares/vecinas y personal sanitario. Conclusión: a pesar de que la asistencia en el momento del parto pasó a estar en manos de los sanitarios a partir de los años cuarenta, en esta zona las parturientas siguieron haciendo uso de los recursos domésticos hasta bien entradas los setenta, cuando los partos obligatoriamente fueron desplazados a los hospitales. Esta investigación saca a la luz el nombre y reconoce la labor de personajes femeninos que, desde la esfera popular, ayudaron a dar a luz a parturientas de esa comunidad durante, al menos, tres décadas.Objetivo: descrever como a criação progressiva da Seguridade Social (oferecendo assistência médica ampla) afetou a assistência ao parto na Espanha durante as décadas de 1940 a 1970, em uma região rural. Método: etnografia histórica. Foram selecionadas 27 pessoas que viveram nessa época, as quais foram entrevistadas com o auxílio de um roteiro semiestruturado. Através dos seus depoimentos, construiu-se um quadro com os elementos funcionais envolvidos na assistência ao nascimento nessa região. Resultado: três agentes desempenhavam tal assistência: parteiras tradicionais, mulheres da família/vizinhas e profissionais da saúde. Conclusão: apesar da assistência durante o parto ter sido transferida para a responsabilidade dos profissionais da saúde a partir dos anos quarenta, nesta região as parturientes continuaram utilizando os recursos domésticos até o início dos anos setenta, quando os partos foram obrigatoriamente transferidos para os hospitais. Esta pesquisa traz à tona os nomes e reconhece o trabalho de personagens femininas da classe popular, que ajudaram mulheres em trabalho de parto dessa comunidade a dar à luz, durante pelo menos três décadas

Geographic assignment of seabirds to their origin: combining morphology, genetics and biogeochemical analyses

Longline fisheries, oil spills, and offshore wind farms are some of the major threats increasing seabird mortality at sea, but the impact of these threats on specific populations has been difficult to determine so far. We tested the use of molecular markers, morphometric measures, and stable isotope (δ15N and δ13C) and trace element concentrations in the first primary feather (grown at the end of the breeding period) to assign the geographic origin of Calonectris shearwaters. Overall, we sampled birds from three taxa: 13 Mediterranean Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea diomedea) breeding sites, 10 Atlantic Cory's Shearwater (Calonectris diomedea borealis) breeding sites, and one Cape Verde Shearwater (C. edwardsii) breeding site. Assignment rates were investigated at three spatial scales: breeding colony, breeding archipelago, and taxa levels. Genetic analyses based on the mitochondrial control region (198 birds from 21 breeding colonies) correctly assigned 100% of birds to the three main taxa but failed in detecting geographic structuring at lower scales. Discriminant analyses based on trace elements composition achieved the best rate of correct assignment to colony (77.5%). Body measurements or stable isotopes mainly succeeded in assigning individuals among taxa (87.9% and 89.9%, respectively) but failed at the colony level (27.1% and 38.0%, respectively). Combining all three approaches (morphometrics, isotopes, and trace elements on 186 birds from 15 breeding colonies) substantially improved correct classifications (86.0%, 90.7%, and 100% among colonies, archipelagos, and taxa, respectively). Validations using two independent data sets and jackknife cross-validation confirmed the robustness of the combined approach in the colony assignment (62.5%, 58.8%, and 69.8% for each validation test, respectively). A preliminary application of the discriminant model based on stable isotope δ15N and δ13C values and trace elements (219 birds from 17 breeding sites) showed that 41 Cory's Shearwaters caught by western Mediterranean long-liners came mainly from breeding colonies in Menorca (48.8%), Ibiza (14.6%), and Crete (31.7%). Our findings show that combining analyses of trace elements and stable isotopes on feathers can achieve high rates of correct geographic assignment of birds in the marine environment, opening new prospects for the study of seabird mortality at sea

The domestic participation in birth assistance in the mid-twentieth century

[EN] Objective: to describe how the progressive creation of the Social Security (providing widespread health care) affected the birth assistance in Spain from the 1940s to the 1970s in a rural area. Method: historical ethnography. Twenty-seven people who lived at that time were selected and interviewed guided by a semistructured script. Based on their testimonies, a chart was built with the functional elements involved in birth assistance in this region. Results: three agents performed such care: traditional midwives, women of the family/neighbors and health workers. Conclusion: although birth assistance had been transferred to the hands of the health workers from the forties in this region, women in labor continued to count on the domestic resources until the early seventies, when births were compulsorily transferred to hospitals. This research brings to light the names and recognizes the work performed by these female characters of the popular sphere, who helped women in labor of that community to give birth, for at least three decades.S

Cultural Care of Pregnancy and Home Birth: An Application of the Sunrise Model

Background and Purpose: The role of older women close to the pregnant woman may be relevant when conveying information. The use of theories/models can guide the development of nursing practice. Purpose: To explore beliefs and practices related to pregnancy and childbirth from the perspective of older women who gave birth at home, applying Leininger’s Sunrise Model. Methods: Qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with 24 older women who gave birth at home (rural area, Spain). Manual content analysis of the data was used, and Sunrise Model guided to explore the role of culture and the factors affecting maternity care. Results: Two main categories emerged: beliefs/practices related to physiological aspects (subcategories: minimal intervention, hygiene, pain control, rest, feeding) and to psychosocial aspects (subcategories: spiritual well-being, company). Implications for Practice: The experiences of older women who gave birth at home helped us to understand some beliefs that survive in some pregnant women, similar in different cultures, and divided into physiological and psychosocial aspects. Older women have a relevant role as transmitters of information, and can provide some keys to plan health interventions, as companions or counselors. Applying the Sunrise Model, we verified the weight that culture has in maternal health care, and the multiple factors that interfere with the way of caring. The application of models helps us to improve nursing practice: not only should we focus on knowing the physical aspects, but also the social and cultural circumstances surrounding the pregnant woman

Cultural Care of Pregnancy and Home Birth: An Application of the Sunrise Model

[EN] Background and Purpose: The role of older women close to the pregnant woman may be relevant when conveying information. The use of theories/models can guide the development of nursing practice. Purpose: To explore beliefs and practices related to pregnancy and childbirth from the perspective of older women who gave birth at home, applying Leininger’s Sunrise Model. Methods: Qualitative approach, using semi-structured interviews with 24 older women who gave birth at home (rural area, Spain). Manual content analysis of the data was used, and Sunrise Model guided to explore the role of culture and the factors affecting maternity care. Results: Two main categories emerged: beliefs/practices related to physiological aspects (subcategories: minimal intervention, hygiene, pain control, rest, feeding) and to psychosocial aspects (subcategories: spiritual well-being, company). Implications for Practice: The experiences of older women who gave birth at home helped us to understand some beliefs that survive in some pregnant women, similar in different cultures, and divided into physiological and psychosocial aspects. An interesting fact to consider to provide cultural care. Older women have a relevant role as transmitters of information, and can provide some keys to plan health interventions, as companions or counselors. Applying the Sunrise Model, we verified the weight that culture has in maternal health care, and the multiple factors that interfere with the way of caring. The application of models helps us to improve nursing practice: not only should we focus on knowing the physical aspects, but also the social and cultural circumstances surrounding the pregnant woman.S

Effects of various types of virus on Vitis vinifera L cv Albariño cultivated in vitro

Research NoteThe shoot tips of grapevines (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Albarino), either healthy or infected with the grapevine leafroll disease type III (GLD-III), grapevine fleck disease + grapevine leafroll disease type I (GFD+GLD-I), and grapevine stem pitting (GSP) were cultivated in vitro. Multiplication and rooting, were best in healthy shoots and decreased according to the type of virus

Las ideas éticas del Che Guevara: su vigencia en el desarrollo social cubano / The Ethical Ideas of Che Guevara: its Validity on the Cuban Social Development

El presente artículo presenta una aproximación analítica a los valores que caracterizan dos modelos antropológicos contrapuestos: neoliberal (neo modernismo) y socialismo cubano, focalizando cómo permanecen en el desarrollo social cubano actual  las ideas éticas del Che Guevara. Para realizar el análisis se seleccionaron cuatro rasgos éticos que  caracterizan al modelo de la globalización neoliberal en la forma en que se desempeña actualmente, (neomodernismo). Así mismo se presenta la evolución de esos mismos rasgos en la sociedad cubana  y cómo en ellos están presentes las ideas del Che. This paper presents an analytical values that characterize two opposing models anthropological approach: neoliberal (neo modernism) and Cuban socialism, focusing on how to remain in the current Cuban social development ethical ideas of Che Guevara. For the analysis four ethical features characterizing the model of neoliberal globalization in the way it currently serves, (neomodernism) were selected. Likewise, the evolution of these same features is presented in Cuban society and how in them Che's ideas are present