21.) Nuevo Madrina

Hey boys and girls. I haven´t been into town this weekend because I was witnessing a birth in my family. The 17 year old Erika had her baby, in the jungle, with no doctor or midwife around. It was amazing. She wanted me to be the godmother of the boy and I got to cut the naval cord (hope that is the right word).
It all started on Friday morning, when Angel and I were getting ready to go on our expedition in search of the forest demon. Erika was going into labor and I decided to stay because I really wanted to be there for that.
I have to tell you a bit about how pregnant women are here in general. Erika was working hard untill the day her labout started -and I mean hard physical work, with the machete in the Chacra, carrying 20 liter buckets of water for kilometers etc. I was telling Nilsa about the histery that European women have with being pregnant- they basically stop working two months before the baby is due (even if they feel well) and a lot of them are behaving like invalids, not moving too much, complaining and being sissies, mainly. Here the women, just ignore the fact that they carry a huge belly around, work and act as usual. In Erikas case it was also a bit complicated, because she got pregnant without being married.
Angel told me that the fathers child is a proper Gigolo and that they have warned her of him. She ignored the warning and obviously got laid.
Erika´s whole pregnancy was a taboo in the family and nobody talked about it. When I asked some questions, I realised very quickly, that nobody wanted to talk about it. The reason for that is of course that Erika has lost her honour. Angel told me later that the family has come to a compromise. They will allow her to stay in the house for two or three years - untill the baby is big enough to guarantee it´s safety. Angel said that most families would have chased Erika away, because it gives a bad reputation to the whole family and he (Angel) would have to care for the food of them both.
Erika will have a very hard time after these two or three years, because for her it is almost impossible to find a partner and without a man in the jungle life is pretty tough.
I hope she will find one..
So it all began on Friday and all through the day and the following day her labour continued, but nothing happened. She was in bad pain during the night, but hardly made any noise. I was sleeping next to her and could feel her cramping. The next morning Nilsa was getting worried and told me that she would do a cesarian, if the baby wouldn´t come soon. I don´t want to imagine how that would have turned out, with no sterile knives or anything at all.
Luckily by midday the baby was born naturally. I got to take pictures and cut the naval cord. I think it was a good thing I carry Alcohol and bandages with me..
As Nilsa tells me a lot of women and babies in the forest die at birth, because the cord is cut in a wrong way and things get infected. I don´t doubt that for a second.
So now I am oficially the new boy´s "Madrina" which is godmother and Nilsa explains to me, that that means, that I am like another child of the family now. I am honoured!
Erika wanted to name the baby after me, expecting it to be a girl. Now she called it "John, Aron" (they all have two names here). She asked me what my "husband´s" name is and called her baby after Tosh. She said she wanted the name of a good person, that is smart and has achieved great things in life like me. Not sure if Tosh is a cool as me, but I let her believe that ;)