Oaxaca, Mexico
About The Location & History
Thousands of people in the Oaxaca region remain isolated from medical care, and even those with access to government-staffed clinics often receive inadequate care. Women giving birth within the government medical system are often subjected to trauma through complete isolation from friends and loved ones, racial prejudice, overcrowded conditions, and highly interventionist obstetric policies. According to research published by the American National Library of Medicine, cesareans between 2008 and 2017 have increased in Oaxaca from 35.1% to 42.9%, comparable to the national average of 45.5% (Uribe-Leitz et al. 2019). Mexico has one of the highest cesarean delivery rates in the world, regardless of new government-published guidelines to reduce their frequency in 2014.
What Is The Initiative?
Casa Compasiva offers compassionate maternity care, providing a nurturing alternative for women in Oaxaca, Mexico. Since its inception in 2011, Casa Compasiva has dedicated itself to delivering holistic and evidence-based care to mothers and babies from pregnancy to post-delivery.
In 2009, a beautiful dream took root in Lila Quezada’s heart—a dream to create a place radiating God’s love to expectant mothers and families in Oaxaca, Mexico. This dream blossomed into Casa Compasiva, offering exceptional maternity care and birthing services while equipping Christian women as disciples of Jesus, doulas, and midwives. Over the past twelve years, Casa Compasiva has touched countless lives with the love of Jesus.
Their staff uses holistic, evidence-based practices to care for mothers and babies from pregnancy until one year after delivery. The center provides pre-natal, health, nutrition, and exercise classes to help expecting mothers make the right decisions for the delivery and care of their infants.
What Has Been Accomplished?
Casa Compasiva opened its doors on January 17th, 2011, after $25,000 was miraculously provided just three weeks prior. An American midwife working together with Casa’s local doctor trained seven women to become doulas in preparation for accepting patients. Just over a month later, the first of many babies was born at Casa! From the beginning, prayer has been a priority as Casa staff learned to depend upon God in faith to supply operational costs. With no backup cushion of funds, somehow the needed money always materialized on time to provide for the cost of caring for patients and staff salaries.
In 2015, they celebrated their first graduating class of three midwives. Since then, they have equipped many others to serve as doulas and monitrice. While celebrating milestones like graduating midwives, Casa has also reconstructed its midwifery training program for legal recognition. Besides births at Casa Compasiva, the staff has also accompanied many women in their labour and deliveries in other hospitals, offering emotional and spiritual support every hour and in every uterine contraction with comfort measures, words of affirmation, and prayer.
Seeds of Transition
In 2023, ImpactHope was approached to consider expanding our partnership with Casa Compasiva by supporting and funding their development towards self-sufficiency. After a period of reassessment and realignment, we are thrilled to share that our ministry is active again, serving families with renewed passion.
A devoted team is forming in Mexico to expand Casa’s vision nationally. Casa Compasiva aims not only to continue its compassionate maternity care but also to expand into ‘Centers of Service’ across Mexico. Oaxaca will serve as a model for other ‘Centers of Service,’ integrating several church communities in several locations in the country. These centers will support local churches and offer holistic care, encompassing nutrition, healing, education, economic development, and biblical truth.
A Renewed Vision
The vision for these centers is to provide not only the compassionate maternity/midwifery care that has become the hallmark of Casa but also to include holistic care and integral development for all family members. The services offered will include nutrition, healing, prayer, education, economic development, and, most importantly, the ministry of practical biblical truth. Much is happening to bring about a new expanded phase of ministry!
Chris Montealegre Erdman, a third-generation member of a missionary family with over fifty years of service in Oaxaca and Mexico, is joining Casa’s leadership, affirming a new direction for the ministry.
As we build infrastructure for this new phase, Casa Compasiva continues its vital maternal ministry. Eight births and 96 Women Care Consults have been administered in 2023 since it opened in August. (Please check RECENT UPDATES for recent numbers)
How can you partner?
Monthly Operations
Support for the operational budget of Casa Compasiva is needed. The majority of funds will be generated by the services that are provided, funding for extra expenses, promotion,and teaching/care in underfunded communities will be needed.
With such stability, we could spend more time and focus on developing various income-generating and ministry activities to become a self-sustaining, locally-managed ministry. This is our dream; help us work towards this!
Mothers Financial Aid Program
It has always been Casa’s heart to support all families that walk through their doors. By supporting Casa’s financial aid program, you ensure low-income expecting mothers seeking compassionate care will be welcomed without burdening the center’s expenses to serve them.
Our aim for 2024 will be to provide aid for up to 10 mothers with a fund of $3000! This would allow us to grow our partnerships with local community organizations that help impoverished women and girls and increase the overall yearly births here at Casa! If only ten people choose to donate $25 a month, we have accomplished our goal!!
Doula and Midwifery Education (Coming Soon!)
Casa Compasiva has trained women with a single purpose – to serve with love and compassion through midwifery and ministry.
Their vision is to create a Christ-Centered Midwifery Program to attain national and international recognition. This would allow the center to grow and train new staff aligned with our model of Christ-centered midwifery care and generate a new income stream, market the center’s services within surrounding communities, share the gospel, and change the narrative surrounding birth within Mexican culture. The new courses are in the preparation stages!
Expansion of Services (Coming Soon!)
We hope to expand the ministries and the services provided as God leads and as resources are provided!
Casa Compasiva is on the brink of something incredible! We’re thrilled about the changes ushered in by our new operating model. However, these changes also come with increased operating costs, and we urgently need funds. This is where your incredible support becomes paramount. Your generosity is crucial to help us sustain this essential initiative. Will you be part of something monumental that God has in store for the vulnerable women and babies in Oaxaca?
