The birthing experience in three parts
The experience of birth is the culmination of a miracle to
many. I was a C-section baby, my own
children were born in a clinical setting two of them had a nurse mid-wife
deliver them the others a doctor. Some
of my friends had a home birth for some of their children. What I ask myself is why do we choose these various
methods of giving birth? As for my being
a C – Section baby the answer was that in the early 1950s 40 year old women did
not give birth the baby was scheduled and taken. The mother had little say in the how, when
and where of the birth process. In my
case I read everything I could about pregnancy and birth when I was pregnant with
my first child. We took birthing classes
and we thought we were prepared. But
there is always uniqueness about every birth and my first birthing experience was
not routine. My son was born in a small clinic in the mountain town we lived
in. The doctor was less than competent
and things did not go smoothly. Both my
son and I survived. My other four
birthing experiences were much calmer and better probably because I was in a
modern hospital and I knew now what to expect.
In many places in
the world the birth experience is more personal and some times much more life
threatening. In third world countries
women give birth without a doctor or nurse present. Many times they are in a village with no
medical care at all. Family members are
there to help but none is properly trained.
If the woman hemorrhages she dies, period. There is no one to help. Prenatal health care is also absent so
pre-born babies are at risk much of the time as well. The
lack of abortion services is also a problem.
As controversial the topic is here in the Western Word it is much more
so in third world countries. An
estimated 75,000 women die annually from
a self induced abortion. Sepis is also
another problem and a woman can contract sepis from any number of things that are
birth related such as piece of the placenta remaining in attached to the uterus
and becoming infected. All of these factors are a grave concern to women do not
live in a modern country.
Of course even in a modern country there are
places where third world or at least second world practices of birth
occur. One example of this is on the
Native American reservation. Medial and
prenatal treatment may be out of physical reach or financial reach in some
cases. Tradition and culture may take a
guiding role in the pre natal and birthing process as well. It is recognized that Native American women
live in two worlds and this can have a bearing on how, where, and when the
birth takes place. In the study I read
there were three main factors in a woman not receiving proper medial pre natal
care; the “Western model”, substance abuse and domestic violence. In the 1970’s I was driving to Ft. Worth
Texas via the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico.
I picked up a hitch hiking Navajo woman with a 5 day old baby. She was
going to see her mother in Window Rock, AZ.
I took her the entire way several 100 miles out of my way as I had
picked her up near Gallup, NM. I will
never forget the experience; she acted like everyone does this all the time. I was astonished at her pluckiness. I grew up in a household and during a time
where pregnancy and birth were shrouded in mystery and no one was supposed to
know much about it. The woman’s name was
Virginia Blue Eyes. The baby had not
been named yet. It certainly made an impression upon me.
References:
Cesario, S. K. (2001),Living
in two worlds. Retrieved January 8, 2014 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9601302
Maternal Health Issues: The biggest Threats to Maternal
Health in the Third World. (n.a.,n.d.) retrieved January 8, 2014 from http://www.developmentgoals.com/threats/maternal-health.html
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