OB/GYN: Mami

Once upon a time, mami was simply a pet name in my book - you know, something along the lines of hunny or sweetie that a guy calls his girl. It's cute, try it out. Next time your girlfriend calls, pick up the phone and say "Ay mami!" and listen to her smile.

So what does it really mean? I babelfished it and found no exact Spanish to English translation, but I'm pretty sure that it means mommy. Now you might be thinking, "What the hell? You want me to call my girlfriend mommy?" Because 1.) You're not interested in getting all Oedipus rex on anyone and 2.) You're not thrilled about knocking anyone up either. Yet in a typical day's work on this rotation, I often hear women being called mami or mamita.

Without having to look at the patient's chart, I already know a few things about her. She is a young Latina who speaks no English and is having her third or fourth child, has only had free clinic prenatal care (if at all), is simultaneously grateful for and terrified of medical attention, and she'll deliver vaginally without complications, and not complain about any discomfort. All this I know because med school trains us well in pattern recognition; she is another mamita.

And now that sweet title becomes bittersweet to me, because I wouldn't want that life for myself. But maybe I'm just being all judgey and ignorant. Who knows? She might see me as another medical student, which means that I'm a young adult who speaks no Spanish and is in my third or fourth year of school, has only had free time on weekends (if at all), is grateful for and terrified...wait no, I'm getting off track here.

All I'm trying to say is that I want to know that she chose this path for herself. And if she didn't, I want to know what she wants her life to be. And if we can, I want to know how we can help her. Most of all, I want for us to know her and her name, so that she is no longer just another mamita.