Jesusita Aragón

Jesusita Aragón (1908–2005) was an American midwife and from New Mexico. Known as Doña Jesusita, she delivered around 12,000 babies during her career. She was trained in midwifery by her grandmother and traveled by horseback to provide care to women in northeastern New Mexico. She earned her midwifery certification and moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico, where she built a house which she used as a maternity center. She was named a Santa Fe Living Treasure and received the Sage Femme Award of the Midwives Alliance of North America. The 1980 book La Partera: A Story About a Midwife is about her.

Early life and family Jesusita Aragón was born to a Hispanic New Mexican family in 1908 at a ranch named El Rancho Trujillo in Sapello, San Miguel County. She was one of eight daughters, only three of whom lived past the age of six. She attended Spanish-language school until the 8th grade.

Aragón's grandmother, Dolores "Lola" Gallegos, was a (midwife). She assisted her grandmother with births, delivering her first baby at the age of 14 and earning the title . She had two children

Midwifery career Aragon practiced midwifery in northeastern New Mexico under a teacher until she was 40 years old. She reached her clientele by horseback and was one of the only midwives active in her area. In early 20th-century New Mexico, parteras were the primary caregivers for pregnant women. She moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico in 1942. In the early 1950s,

Later life Aragón retired from midwifery in 1980. She was named a Santa Fe Living Treasure in 1987 and in 1989 was awarded the Sage Femme Award of the Midwives Alliance of North America.

Fran Leeper Buss wrote the 1980 book La Partera: A Story About a Midwife based on interviews with Aragón.