At Highest Risk

Just as the rivers of the Andes mountains twist and coil in a curious maze, so does the grave situation of Peruvian women’s health care. Through the compelling story of one Andean woman, Judyth Aguero Vega, we see the horrors and triumphs of Peru’s volatile health care situation. Inside a small adobe kitchen, Elsa Romero-Murrado, a midwife in the rural town of Capacmarca, takes us through rarely seen birthing ceremonies. Down the dirt path, her neighbor Judyth, 27, shares her fears of birth as she bestrides the lines of modern and traditional medicine. Their town sits seven hours from the nearest hospital. Cerlia Mendoza, president of the Mother’s Club, testifies to a list of 200 women who were bribed by doctors to undergo sterilization.