Indigenous midwifery photo series takes prestigious women’s photojournalism crown

Midwife rubs belly of pregnant woman. — Maria Tapuy, midwife of AMUPAKIN, Association of Kichwa Women Midwives of the Upper Napo, massages the belly to accommodate the baby's position Violeta Tapuy (32), who is expecting her sixth childbirth. (Image credit: Johanna Alarcón)

An Ecuadorian photographer has been named as the recipient of the 2026 Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award for a series documenting indigenous maternal healthcare in her native country’s Amazonian and Andean regions.

When the Earth Gives Birth tells the story of AMUPAKIN and Partera de Anaku, the first Indigenous midwifery schools and hospitals in the Amazon and Andes.

Assuming the eyes of midwives, apprentices, and patients, the series sheds light on these women-led initiatives which, for more than thirty years, have provided obstetric healthcare in a part of the world where indigenous women face disproportionately high maternal mortality rates.

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Portrait of Johanna Alarc&oacute;n. — Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award 2026 winner Johanna Alarcón (Image credit: Johanna Alarcón)

Johanna Alarcón is the photojournalist behind the project. A Magnum Foundation Member and winner of numerous photography accolades, her work focuses on themes of collective memory, spirituality, and the relationship between community and territory across the Latin American region.

“I receive this award with the deep joy of knowing that what I love most co-exists - photography, motherhood, and spirituality - coming together in this project to give birth to an intimate story about the work of women and Indigenous peoples to sustain life in a context that destroys it,” she said.

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Indigenous Latin American woman shrouded in smoke. — Olga Chungo, an Amazonian midwife and member of AMAPUKIN, prepares guayusa (Amazonian medicinal plant) in the kitchen of her home while waiting for a patient who will visit her for a prenatal check-up. "For me, being a midwife means taking care of pregnant mothers," says Olga, "knowing about medicinal plants for childbirth and prenatal control to give life. / Archidona, Ecuador. August 2022. (Image credit: Johanna Alarcón)

Women congregated around a bed. — Olga Chungo and Ofelia Salazar, AMUPAKIN midwives, conduct a community prenatal check-up visit to pregnant women in the Kichwa Amazonian Sinchiwarmi community. Comprehensive intercultural maternal health care includes prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum. The check-ups performed by the mothers are visits to the women's homes, in the traditional midwifery hospital. Napo, Ecuador. August 2022.(Image credit: Johanna Alarcón)

Woman sat on bed in dark room. — Edith Yumbo (34) waits for prenatal care from the midwife at her home in the community of Santa Rita. She is six months pregnant with her fifth baby. Edith has never had a medical check-up because of the distance from her community and the mobilization resources involved in going to the Hospital. The community visits made by the midwives free of charge are fundamental for the maternal health of indigenous women in the region. Archidona, Ecuador. August 2022. (Image credit: Johanna Alarcón)

The Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award is an annual competition. Named after Marilyn Stafford, the renowned woman 20th century US photojournalist, and facilitated by FotoDocument, an arts social enterprise, it celebrates professional female photographers documenting social, environmental, economic, or cultural issues.

Alarcón received the £4,000 (approximately $5,300 / AU$7,700) award and will gain widespread recognition for her winning series. For more information on the award, and to see this year’s shortlist from which When the Earth Gives Birth was crowned, head to the Marilyn Stafford Photography website.

Jodi Windvogel won the 2025 Marilyn Stafford FotoReportage Award for work on Cape Town housing occupation.

I’m a writer, journalist and photographer who joined Digital Camera World in 2026. I started out in editorial in 2021 and my words have spanned sustainability, careers advice, travel and tourism, and photography – the latter two being my passions.

I first picked up a camera in my early twenties having had an interest in photography from a young age. Since then, I’ve worked on a freelance basis, mostly internationally in the travel and tourism sector. You’ll usually find me out on a hike shooting landscapes and adventure shots in my free time.

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