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Please Help Us Expand Professionally Skilled, Culturally Sensitive Midwifery in Mexico and Central America



  • INVEST in our public/private partnership to open 4 new midwifery schools in Mexico & Guatemala (i.e. build a school & dormitories for $150,000; equip & run a teaching clinic for $50,000 a year; sponsor an indigenous student - $3,500/per yr.)
  • EDUCATE the public, government officials and medical professionals through national education campaigns
  • DEVELOP an international midwifery research and training center to continue to improve skills and education for midwives

    With 4 new midwifery schools and our educational programs in place, we will improve the lives of 6 million people each year:

    • 300 new midwives will provide health services to 750,000 individuals annually
    • A second tier of 500 to 1,000 health providers and officials will also be trained
    • Over 5 million people will have access to information through health education radio programming



    • At the CASA midwifery-run Hospital, low birth weight rate stands at 4.6% compared to 10.9% across Mexico; low birth weight is associated with health, cognitive and behavioral problems in children. The rate of Caesarian births at the Hospital is 13% compared to 35% in the state of Guanajuato overall; vaginal birth is the best option for mother and infant and cost efficient.
    • Mexico’s National Institute of Public Health and UCSF Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science 2005/2006 evaluation of the curricula of medical & obstetric nursing schools in Mexico and CASA midwifery school has been published (Reprod Health Matters, Vol. 15, No. 30, 2007). CASA complies with 93% of internationally defined knowledge base for skilled birth attendant, as compared to 59% at nursing school and 60% at medical school. Only CASA requires clinical experience and proven competency for graduation.
    • The Public Health Department of the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi has hired CASA midwifery school graduates and deploys them in rural areas where maternal mortality rates run rampant and poor, indigenous populations dominate. In 2005, the state received a national prize for their dramatic reduction in maternal mortality rates.


    Contact: Nadine Goodman at tel. 212 234 7940 or 917 748 2563; nadinemexico@aol.com; www.casa.org.mx

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