Birthing Experience

·       Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child's birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development?
           
Elena Y. B. was born September 19, 2017. When asked what I remember about the event, I remember everything. I remember her being 41 weeks and having to be induced. I remember the pitocin beginning at 8:00am September 18^th and having a C-section the next day at 8:30 pm. I remember the nurses struggling to put the IV in my arm all the way up to holding my daughter close to me when being rolled out of the operating room. I remember the days following her birth, I could not sleep. I would sleep possibly 2 hours each day, but I was scared of SIDS and I would watch her sleep.

Being pregnant I remember hesitating with everything I would put in my body. I was so aware of the prenatal development that any shots that was recommended by the doctor, or any food that I would eat at restaurant, I had to look it up online, call my friends who has kids, or talk it over with my husband. I quit my job to reduce the stress it was causing me and assured the milk I would drink had DHA. I was a first-time mom aware and slightly paranoid of the impact prenatal development had on child development.  

When it came to the actual birth, and all the medication that went along with it, I knew that I would take what was recommended by the doctor to assure my daughter was safe and I too could manage the pain of labor. I also recall when others would mention getting an epidural they would say it as:

"If you are ready to tap out there is no shame in getting an epidural." or 

"Don't feel like your a bad mother if you chose to get an epidural."
or 

"Don't listen to everything they tell you about an epidural. Use what you need."

·       Choose a region of the world or a country, other than the U.S., and find out how births happen there. Write about what you learned, and the differences and similarities with your experience (in the personal example you provided). What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience on development, did you gain from this comparison?

Looking into research of birth in other countries, I came across a few interesting facts:
In Uganda,” Birth is everybody’s business, not a private family matter. The highest honor is reserved for women who deliver naturally and alone; a C-section is seen by the entire community as a failure. If a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, it’s viewed as her own fault, a result of her weakness.” (Davis, L. S. (n.d.))

In Korea, according to Lisa Selin Davis, “Koreans prize stoicism, and women are expected to withstand the sensations of childbirth and not express pain. Instead of pain medication, they tend to use methods like aromatherapy, acupressure and music to reduce both the pain and the anxiety about the pain. (Davis, L. S. (n.d.))

A lot of belief in other countries of medication, such as epidural, used in the birthing process connects to the view of strength in the women. In the USA there may be a slight stigma against mothers getting the epidural because of the long-term effect it may have on the child or on the mother. Today I see more and more births being performed at home and more natural births being performed in hospitals.

Reference
            Davis, L. S. (n.d.) Birth and Maternal Health Around the World. Retrieved from https://www.parenting.com/pregnancy/birth-maternal-health