Childbirth In Your Life and Around the World

Childbirth is one of the most remarkable experiences a women can endure and yet the outcome of the experience depends on a multitude of factors. The physical and emotional state of all parties involved including the mother, father, siblings, extended family, and even the new born child. The economic status of the family and the country that they live in can all contribute to the outcome of the birth.

I have not birthed any children and have never had the pleasure of being pregnant. I do not remember much of my childhood and certainly not the day I was born. I have a niece and nephew but did not experience their births either. So to reflect of my personal childbirth experience I had to refer to my mother to tell me about the day I was born.

As my mother always starts the story, "It was a cold winter's day on the sixth of February and I woke up feeling like I was in labor. I was already familiar with the pain from having your sister. I woke your dad up and told him that it was time. I got in the shower and got dress. Then I sat down to drink some tea.  I waited around a little bit until I felt like I was ready. After about an hour, your Dad rushed me hospital.  We had planned to drop your sister off at grandma's house first but I told him that you were coming too fast and that we needed to go straight to the hospital. Once we arrived at the hospital, your father left to drop your sister off and your grandmother's house which was only ten minutes away. You were coming so quick that I could not even get any medicine and about two minutes after getting placed in a bed I was pushing and out you came as fast as can be. I was so tired and drained afterwards. I started bleeding and I lost a lot of blood so the doctors had to work on me a bit. When your dad came he busted in the room trying to make sure he didn't miss anything. The doctor nicely informed him that it was over. After about 30 minutes, I finally asked the doctor, "So what did I have?" and he said, "It's a girl!"."

After listening to her story about the day I was born, I realized a variety of factors:

• My mother and father were a married happy couple who loved each other and was excited about expecting a child.
• Both of my parents worked and were consider middle-class.
• My mother received prenatal care and participated in a healthy life style.
• 30 years ago when I was born there were no sonogram so my mother did know what the sex of the baby was going to be before birth.

Childbirth Around the World

I wanted to compare my childbirth to another child in another country. For this comparison I chose Kenya, Africa in the slum village of West Java. West Java is a poor village in east Africa. Most of the women there are abandoned by their husbands and are left to care for their child on their own. Work is hard to come by and food is scarce. Women often are left to birth their children on their own without any medical assistance. Most pregnant mothers do not have the luxury of prenatal care and must rely on any assistance that can be provided by neighbors in the community. I was able to find a video of a women who had 7 children and was giving birth to her 8th that lives in the Java village. Her husband has abandoned her and their children. He visited from time to time but does not show interests in establishing a relationship with his children or providing long-term care for the family he has created. The mother worries about feeding her children; most days she has no clue where the next meal comes from. She works an illegal bootlegging job just to feed her children. In the video, the mother is seen giving birth in her home, which is the common in Java, she has a neighbor assist her in delivering the baby. The woman stands and pushes through contractions and delivers the child quickly without the use of any medication. She recovers quickly and continues to care for the newborn child even giving him a bath. She is up and walking and even says, "Giving birth is the easy part; it's feeding them thats difficult."       

When comparing this birth experience to my own I was able to recognize the following similarities and differences.

Similarities

• We were born quickly
• Both of our fathers were not there for delivery
• Both mothers did not use any medication
• Both mothers did not know the sex of the child before birth

Differences

• My mother received prenatal care
• My parents are together and my father is and has always been in my life
• Economical status were different
• I was delivered in a hospital
• My mother felt tired and sluggish after delivering and the other mother was up and moving around afterwards
• The other mother delivered standing up

  I was shocked to find out that people in the world are suffering in this way. I was hard for me to watch the video and my heart was saddened for the children. It made me appreciate the life I have been able to live and motivated to figure out what I can do to help struggles mothers and their children. 

Please watch 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XKrIeMRNAA