PERSONAL BIRTHING EXPERIENCE

BIRTH OF MY SON

My husband came home at around 4:30 PM and we immediately drove about 50 minutes to the hospital.  The delivery lasted over four (4) hours.

I was admitted due to mild contractions, but soon then my water broke.  I was examined once, twice, three times, and was asked to rest. By then the pain was unbearable, I threw up once, twice, asked for water, but did not get it. Then another examination by another nurse, and shots pushed through my thigh. Not long after, my doctor came, examined and said, “The baby is not turned, the face is facing up.” My husband asked, “Is there a problem with that?”  “Well if the baby didn’t turn face down in about half hour we would have to give a caesarian.” The doctor responded.  My husband held my hand and squeezed it tightly. The pain worsened, I could have felt the baby’s head pushing down. My husband’s hands were shaking, and wet, and I was screaming.  I heard the doctor saying to my husband, “You would have to leave for a while.”   The doctor gave another examination and asked the nurse to prepare me up for caesarian. I was hooked up to the oxygen tank and different wires all over my body.  The doctor then made a final examination and said, “The baby’s head is almost out with face up.” “Let’s help her!” One of the nurses said. So they asked me to push.   I pushed, and pushed. I felt weak and couldn’t push again. This time my husband came back into the room. He held my hands and pleaded saying, “Just make a bigger push honey and he’ll be out.”  The doctor monitored every step of his delivery because he did not want water and blood from the delivery to enter my son’s nostrils. With a deep breath I made a stronger push and there he was with face up.  The doctor picked him up immediately and wiped his face. He was placed on my chest immediately, and I was so exhausted all I could do was placed my hands on his little warm body. He was a healthy baby having all the physical parts noticed. Then the nurse took my son to bathe him while another nurse helped clean up getting the placenta out and giving me a change of clothing. I was bleeding a lot and so I was given some pills.  At this point I could not care less; I just wanted to go rest. The nurse and my husband held my hand and walked me to my room where my son was waiting.  I placed my body very close to him and put the breast into his mouth. He sucked and sucked until both my son and I fell asleep.

I promised myself this was the last pregnancy and there was no denying because after twelve (12) years my son still remains my last baby. 

I chose this example because of my four deliveries; the last one was the most horrific, frightening, and most lengthy.  According to the saying, “Who feels it, knows it!”

Choose a region of the world or country, other than the USA and find out how births happen there

GRENADA

Throughout Grenada’s history, the birth of a child has been attended by certain rituals. Today, with most children born in hospitals and prenatal and post-partum activities conforming to western medical guidelines, many birth rituals have disappeared. Their replacements include the use of incubators, catheters and the calculation of Apgar scores.

Not so long ago, many Grenadian children were born at home and subject to a number of different actions, none of which included scores of any kind. Some of them were similar, however, to those found in other cultures. In Grenada birth rituals were overseen by midwives, and varied from place to place, depending on race and class. All, however, reflected a deep sense of connection to, and respect for, the spirit world. Today, retentions are strongest in rural areas.

In preparation for the birth the room had to have a Rosary or the Bible opened at the bed’s head. A bottle of castor oil, and a candy or sweetie as we called it was placed on the dresser for the mother to drink as soon as the delivery occurred. This was used as a laxative to cleanse the inside. A scissors to cut the navel string or umbilical cord, and a piece of white torn sheet to band, or tie the mother’s belly, and a  pail of hot steaming bush water for mother to sit on to help with the pain after birth and to help the healing of the uterus.

During delivery the midwife will be in control and take care of the mother. As the baby is born the mother is encouraged by the midwife to start breastfeeding. Then she will press down over and over again on the mother’s belly to get the afterbirth out. Once it was out it was buried immediately to avoid stinky smells in and around the house. The baby’s navel string was cut and it was buried in a special location and the navel was then dressed with grated nutmeg. Not only was that, but a tree was planted on that spot which became the child’s property. I remember planting a plum tree on my first child’s navel string a few days after delivery. This symbolizes a spiritual attachment to a place, comes from. The tree became the child's property and that of his/her future progeny. This is said to have helped to reinforce the concept of 'family land' that is passed down from generation to generation. After birth  the mother was asked to sit on the pail of hot bush water (Poor thing) for a few minutes at a time. Then a plate of bluggoe, (that is similar to green bananas) was served with salted fish and coconut oil, tomatoes and some homemade lime juice. This was a meal that contained iron minerals to help replace the iron lost during birth.

There are more differences than similarities. Most of the differences are based on the cultural backgrounds, and traditions of different villages. For one thing most of the rituals might seem weird and some of the processes might seem dangerous to the people in the U S A.  I can tell you it might seem complicated and scary, but it was done with care and caution. My mom went through it with my delivery in the home.

The similarities might seem few, however what is common is the idea that mothers are encouraged to breast fed the babies which is a good thing for the baby’s development and bonding.

What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience ondevelopment, did you gain from this comparison?

There are cultural differences as it relates to birth and childhood development and childbirth practices reflect traditional ideologies.