An interview with Viviana of Mamás y Bebés

I am a HUGE fan of getting to know offbeat parents around the globe, and was delighted when I discovered the Spanish-written Mamás y Bebés. Being the email-addicted person I am, I sent Viviana, the woman behind the site, a message asking if she’d be interested in contributing to Offbeat Mama. This interview is part of our exchange! (note: some translations might be shaky — Viviana’s English is better than my Spanish, but both of us definitely use both friends and online translators to commuicate!)

What is Mamás y Bebés all about?
Mamás y Bebés is an online community dedicated to mothers who speak Spanish. After registering, you can find articles about maternity and, more importantly, find a community of other mothers to share with, learn from, and entertain!

Why did you start the website?
To create a community online for mothers who speak my language, and hopefully this site and the community can discuss respect during labor, for prolonged breastfeeding, and a general respect for parenthood.

What have you learned through the community at Mamás y Bebés?
First: that we, as women, need to be listened to! Second: we all love to share our pregnancy experiences.

What do you think is most different between North American birthing experiences and Central & South American birthing experiences? What is similar?
When talking about birthing experiences, I do not believe there are differences. In the past, it may have seemed so, but now I think the Internet has shown that we all have many similar experiences, go through similar stages, and ultimately want to raise our children in a happy, healthy family environment.

How do you think North American parents and Central & South American parents differ? How are they the same?
I am sure that we are all the same — we may seem different, but we aren’t really. We all want to raise our children so that they are not lacking in emotional or economic needs.

What are your personal goals as a parent?
I hope that my daughters are happy and healthy — that they become good women and leave a gift to this world.

FYI: If you’re not familiar with Spanish, you can use a browser with a Translator plug-in (get ’em: Google Chrome, Mozilla, Internet Explorer — sorry, Mac users, I couldn’t find one for Safari!), which is how I happily read Mamás y Bebés and a whole host of websites not written in English.