A Mother's Loss and a Case of Failed Cultural Humility

Abstract

We describe a case of a 25-year-old Quiché (or K'iche') speaking G2P2022 (2 pregnancies, 2 term births, 2 live births) woman who was transferred from an outside hospital on postpartum day 3, to preserve mother-baby dyad while her infant required a higher level of care after suffering an apneic episode at 22 hours of life. Although the patient was a known Quiché speaker, lack of access to Quiché interpreters in the hospital led to the use of Spanish interpreters. Her treatment team subsequently described her affect as “flat” and reported “poor maternal care,” leading to a report to the Administration for Children's Services. As we analyze this case, we use person-centered maternity care as a framework to discuss areas for improvement in providing care to peripartum individuals, as well as cultural safety and humility as solutions to cultural gaps between patients and providers. [ Psychiatr Ann. 2022;52(12):500–503.]