It was 1988 in Komiža, on the island of Vis. A stormy gale was blowing so strongly that no boat could set sail. That same night, in a family home, a four-kilogram girl was born three weeks before her due date. They named her Matijana.
That girl is now the chief midwife at the Split maternity ward, a woman who has participated in thousands of births, welcomed generations of children into her arms and shared moments of greatest joy and greatest pain with their mothers.
That night 38 years ago, her mother, carrying her third child, went into labour at home. At the time, it was impossible to sail any boat because the gale was too strong. Fortunately, a midwife lived in Komiža.
Thus, Matijana was born in the family home, three weeks before her due date, weighing four kilograms, on a night when the stormy gale closed the sea and prevented any departure by boat. Thanks to the fact that a midwife lived in Komiža, the girl came safely into the world.
Today, almost four decades later, Matijana is the chief midwife at the Split maternity ward. She has participated in thousands of births, welcomed generations of children into her arms and shared moments of greatest joy and greatest pain with their mothers. Her own story of birth in isolation, on a stormy night on the island, is rounded out by the profession to which she has dedicated her life.
