Irma Lopez Aurelio, a 28-year-old Mazatec woman who lives in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, went into labor on October 2.
She and her husband walked for an hour to get to the nearest medical clinic, located in the village of San Felipe Jalapa de Díaz. When they got there, though, they were denied help.
Two hours later, Irma gave birth on the clinic’s lawn.
A witness snapped a picture of Lopez and her baby boy seconds after birth, and the photo ended up on the front page of the newspaper La Razón de México, along with the headline “Hospital de Oaxaca obliga a indígena a dar a luz en el pasto” (Oaxaca hospital forces indigenous woman to give birth in the grass).
What did Irma decide to name her baby boy?
Lopez said she named her son Salvador, which means “Savior” in English.
“He really saved himself,” she said.
After the birth, Irma and the baby were admitted to the clinic (finally). They were released the same day.
The director of the clinic, Dr. Adrian Cruz, has since been suspended.