This study examines participants' perceptions of the significant messages and meanings communicated to them through the ceremony of the Blessingway (a ritual titled after the Navajo Blessingway), a contemporary women's birth ritual performed by midwives. A narrative approach was used for data gathering based on Fisher's rationale that meaning emerges through narrative. Fifteen women participated in open-ended interviews. Thirteen of the women identified themselves as midwifes. Four major themes emerged from the data: (1) interconnectivity, (2) care, (3) change, and (4) power. The results of the study show the Blessingway's role in communicating a group's care during a time of transformation, usually birth. Adoption, marriage, and entry into midwifery were also mentioned in the study as occasions for a Blessingway ritual. During a Blessingway, many levels of relationship intersect and emphasize the "web of connectedness" the women consider part of their lives. The continuous, multidimensional, and overlapping nature of interconnectivity defines the places of connection highlighted during the Blessingway ceremony. The sense of connectedness generates bonds of care--cohesion, nurturance and safety--and provides a "cocoon-like" environment. Once nurtured and protected, the women feel the support of their community. The women then resolve and transform the contradictions and ambiguities of their liminal state, acknowledge their value of self, recognize their own power, the power of their community, the power of the circle of women and the power of the archetypal woman. / Graduation date: 1997

In this thesis I explore the circumstances in which pregnant Guatemalan Mayan women in South Florida communities found themselves. A local non-profit organization, the Guatemalan Maya Center (GMC), offered assistance to pregnant Mayan women to secure biomedical prenatal care, yet many continued to underutilize these services. The decision to utilize this form of care largely depended on whether a woman received care from a traditional midwife in the community. Women receiving care from a midwife generally did not seek biomedical care until late in their pregnancies. Women unable to locate a midwife often incorporated biomedical care once they suspected pregnancy. Due to the difficulties accessing the GMC's services prior to enrollment many of these women did not obtain "timely" care. A better understanding of the ways in which Guatemalan Mayan women incorporated biomedical prenatal care into their lives is the first step towards increasing their participation in these services. / by Colleen Supanich. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.