The Busniess of Being Born-Response

(I really liked this snapshot of the scene)
Through out most of the American Way of Birth unit in history class, before watching the movie Business of Being born I was kind of stuck between the two ideas of Natural birth versus the normal American way of birth. I felt that I did not known enough about everything and the facts to convince me of which makes more sense. What was really so bad about hospital births? And if it was so bad then why is it so common? These were the questions I had in my mind. We had many class discussions and lectures but I felt like it was still mainly ideas or assumptions. After watching the Business of Being Born I think I've finally found what mind set I have towards the American Way of Birth. It really opened my eyes to the possibilities of a natural home birth. It makes me wonder that if I have never been taught this process of having a midwife or if I have never watched the movie, I would have most likely (if every gotten pregnant) go through with the common American birth. I would have sucked it up and dealt with the uncomfortable, costly, and risky process of a birth in a hospital, most likely leading to a C-section. While watching The Bushiness of Being born and gather facts from the movie it really geared my mind set towards a natural and home births. It amazed me how blind some people can be to the processes of the hospital and the way it works. the first thing that really caught my attention is what Susan Hodges in the movie mentioned "Very few doctors have ever observed a natural birth in medical school." It surprised me because as a doctor in a birth procedure you would think that the doctor would know every single full detail bout a natural birth as well as all the drugs such as the epidermal, etc. It would really turn me off to have someone be in charge of my birth when they don't even know what the natural birth looks like or have ever experienced one.

The second thing that really stood out to me was the concept of how there are so many C-sections yet so little home births/ births with midwives. Also the fact that a hospital is like a billion dollar business.Someone in the movie (I've forgotten who) mentioned that "Hospitals are like businesses, get in and get out". I really thought about the whole process and it made so much sense to me, they want to get the women out of the hospital as soon as possible with the baby so they can have the next pregnant women come in a fill your bed. This is one of the reasons mentioned why there are so many C-sections and births during the day. Doctors want to get the mother out and be done with your birth so 1) they can get their money and 2) so they can go home in time. The facts that were mentioned in the movie by mainly professionals really shocked me. One comment mentioned from Marsden Wagner M.D., a former director of Woman's and Children Health Org. that I actually never thought could be true: "Everyone else in the world have midwives" and as the picture of the US shows up alone he says "The United States Stands alone". Another fact that reminded me of this comment was that Europe and Japan have 70 percent of midwives to attend as United States at 8 percent, followed by the fact that the death rate of births in the US are higher than some of the third world countries. These are some of the facts and comments from the movie I found interesting because American who is usually thought to be the land of freedom, hope, 'the future country' is going so downhill with the birthing process. To think that compared to third world countries America having one of the worst birth rates is surprising. It really makes a person wonder why? In my opinion it is most likely because of the process of the normal way of birth in America. The fact that it seems that the death rate in other countries is not as high, maybe it is the fact that most other countries have births with midwives. It makes me question, how come people don't know this stuff? I think it has to do with how over the years the natural birth has been so neglected and alienated that most people are in a way brain washed to think that the normal birth is the best way to go since its common and involves technology, machines, and magical drugs that let you skip out on the pains of birth.

Another topic that was brought up about why home births may be better because of the fact that it gives the women their own power. In a hospital you are forced to sit on the bed, legs spread wide open and it gives the mother a feeling as if she is not in control of her own birth but the doctor is the one with the power. It gives people the idea that since the doctors are so certified and so professional that they know more about the process of what a pregnant woman's body feels like the goes through in the process of labor. As I watched the video I compared the scenes of a women giving birth in a hospital to scenes of a women giving birth at home. One of the pictures that really stood out to me is of a doctor grasping on to the woman's feet and opening her legs wide apart. It really made me think how bad and uncomfortable it must feel being forced into that position, even made me feel disgusted in some ways. As when I saw the home birth the women was comfortable and was able to sit and stand as she pleased, she was able to be comfortable, move her body in what way will make her in control of her process and labor, in the end she will feel accomplished and have more of a life altering experience as it was all her hard work and determination that made such a beautiful baby. Letting the doctors be in control is, personally is not how it should be. It should be about the mother and as mentioned in the movie the birthing process should be about the needs of the mothers, not about the needs and perspective of the doctors.

After watching the movie it really gave me a good idea of where are stand on all of this. In the end of the movie the women who was the maker of the movie was going through labor early, her baby was premature and her birth was fallowed by some other complications so instead of a home birth that was originally the plan she ironically had to get a C-section as what the movie was kind of trying to contradict. A doctor that she had picked for the procedure in advanced in case of any problems was the one who did the C-section, he tried to tell her it'll be done quick and everything will be fine. As this process was shown on the screen on Andy's computer I heard a lot of fellow students mutter things like "shes having a C-section? That's to hypercritical of her". By the end she turned out with a perfectly normal and healthy baby. This really made me think about what I would want my experience to be like if I were to ever have birth one day. And through out everyone woman's experience, especially the filmmaker's experiences it really made me want to have the same sort of experience with a natural home birth and the hospital as a back up in case of complications. I don't think the filmmaker was hypocritical at all because she choose the hospital and the doctor as a last resort and if she did not go through with the C-section she most likely would have ended up with out a living child. I think that the American Way of Birth should be run similar to what the filmmaker's process of birth. Not for everyone to end up with a C-section because of premature babies, but that hospital births or a C-section should be the last resort and the back up to all births. Even though it it seen as something risky and dangerous and the doctor's easy and quick way, it does have it's benefits as sometimes there are complications that occur which can be life threatening to the mother or the baby. It really opened my eyes to the reasons behind the hospital births and how it may not be as great as some people say compared to home births. I think I would most want to do a home birth or at a birth center because not only is it cheaper but as Eugene Duclerq, professional maternal and fetal health mentioned that if the woman are close to a hospital, has a professional midwife, generally home births are much safe. I too in the end would want that 'drug' feeling as mentioned in the movie that gives me a special connection and bond between the baby and the mother.

Break Homework: Response/ Thoughts on Videos

(I usually write out my draft on paper first so this is basically my second/final draft)

So far in this unit of Birth I've learned more about the many different ways, choices, facts, and opinions about giving birth then I thought I already knew. Learning about all the methods of birth, I looked upon one main idea through out this unit which is of natural way of birth and the normal/American way of birth. I did not really make an opinion of which one is better but more of a reaction and idea on both methods. After watching many of the videos from animal labor to opinions I noticed that many of the ideas in the videos looked down on the normal way of birth I would have liked to have seen more on a doctor's perspective, I would have liked to have seen more of an argument from the perspective of the normal way of birth. Unfortunately my computer would of allow me to see the debate from Nation Public Radio on natural birth versus normal (It would not open up on my computer). If I was able to listen to this debate it would have broadened my idea on both perspectives but since I was not able to I can only respond to most of the ideas on natural way of birth and how unusual the normal way of birth can be. Most of the videos did not really give a wondrous feeling and gave me more of a reason to not really want to go through that process and have kids. It gave me a sense that normal labor is seen as ridiculous. There were some parts of certain videos that amused me and some that just caught me off guard which at first I did not know what to think.

The first video I watched was of the animals giving birth, the giraffe and the dolphin. I took more interest to the video of the giraffe giving birth rather then the dolphin because i felt that the dolphin's birth did not have much information and did not really spark any ideas on normal or natural way of birth. I could better compare/ contrast the giraffe's birth then the dolphins. The first thing i noticed was that they seemed to show how they tried to give comfort and make the giraffe's birth more natural (Although I don't really know what a giraffe's natural way of birth really is but by being logical I can get an idea). The video made the audience's have a sense of "cuteness" or a wonderful feeling by playing music that gave a sense of joy and happiness. The people in the video provided sand for the giraffe as a cushion for the baby and they even had another giraffe along side the mother giraffe to act as a midwife since the giraffe is naturally a herd animal. It surprised me on the similarities the giraffe's birthing process was to human birthing process. I thought that this compared more to a human's natural way of birth since there was a midwife as most natural home birth's have midwifes. The giraffe midwife is there for I never really thought a animal's way of birth can be similar to a human's way of birth. Although there was some similarities there were also obviously some differences, I am not sure if a human mother is really able to nurse the baby right after she gives labor but the giraffe mother nurses the baby to get up within the half an hour. In a normal way of birth the doctor usually takes the baby away not letting the mother really take the time to hold the baby.

The next video I watched was of the natural home birth. The first thing I thought in my mind was how awkward it seemed to me. In the home birth, although the women was obviously in some sort of pain, the whole mood seemed more calm (especially when comparing to normal births we seen on television today). There were many women around the mother encouraging her, whipping her sweat, comforting her. They even ha her squatting in the beginning of the video which was brought up in class as more effective then the lethotomy position. They also even showed the mother her vagina through the reflection of a mirror for a few seconds as the head of the baby began to be exposed. Personally before this unit on birth I never even knew there was such thing as a midwife or a home birthing process. Although this video did not really disturb me in disgust it struck me as being sort of odd and weird. I was never really taught or told of this type of birthing process so I was not quite as use to this as a normal birthing which is so commonly provoked in movies and birth stories. At first I was not really sure what to think of it. This most likely can be one of the reason why normal births at hospitals are more common than natural births, because this type of birth is not commonly provoked. I think because it is not as provoked or taught to us, most women who see/saw this video would most likely find it kind of odd as I did.

The next two videso I watched which i found some similarities is the video of the C-section and a really amusing and funny skit of a birth. I first made thoughts on the first video i watched of the C-section, as I watched the video I thought it went pretty quickly at the natural birth kind of took longer. It wasn't a very pleasant scene as the three doctor's used strange tools, plastic covers, weird water spraying devices, etc to eventually have the baby pop and be squeezed out of the belly. This didn't really spark any significant reactions besides from being grossed out until after the baby was tugged out. I wanted to see what they were doing with the bother's belly. it made me feel as if the baby was an object, they were so rough with everything, when dealing with babies I would think you need to do it with a delicate hand. It was as if they were flinging the baby around and I didn't like the way the doctor or nurse who was cleaning up the baby and cutting the umbilical cord because she was picking up the baby saying things like "isn't she gorgeous" and "Isn't she precious". It kind of irritated me because it made me feel like the baby was even more like an object, like a doll. She even at one point had the baby in one hand at the end of the video which really got me nervous. The thing that sparked my interest was some of the comment I read from under the video. Some people commented with "I find it completely repulsive", they also said things like the mother is lazy which is why women get C-sections. Some even responded, taking a fence to the "lazy" an "gross" comments saying things like "a women have no choice but to get C-sections. So there was two points of view from a lot of different people, they either thought that it was rough, cold, repulsive or they thought it was normal.It makes me wonder in response to all this is how am I suppose to know which side is right? I feel that I was never really taught or told the way a baby is suppose to be treated or standard procedures to known what is right. I personally would want to known all the risks and feelings from someone who has had experience and gone through a C-section because I am not really sure I can truly trust a doctor's words. I feel that maybe the doctors would suggest it because its quicker for their benefit and maybe because it costs more. It really changes my perspective of the whole C-section and vaginal birth process and which one I would prefer. I never really thought anything of C-sections and thought it was a lot less pain but after this video I don't really know what to think, I guess C-sections should be done unless absolutely necessary and if there was a health risk involved. It really makes me wonder if doctor's should be in charge and trusted.

After the C-section I watched the funny Monty Python video which was very amusing but ironically I can't help but feel it's true. As funny as it is if I was just watching the video for fun (not aware of the American Way of Life history class) I would have never really analyzed the real picture it is trying to tell the audience. The first thing I liked that it brought up was the man saying "and get the most expensive machine in case the administrator comes" and kept on emphasizing that they brought the most expensive machinery. This caught my attention because it makes me wonder if the doctor's basically put on a show, blinding us with the fancy machinery and tools it takes are attention away from the importance of child birth and the value of it. Maybe all the fancy technology drives many women away from natural birth because of course our generation sees technology as being advanced, sophisticated, and betters our world. Although is this really true? The fact that the doctors forgot about the actual patient shows the lack of care and understanding the doctors have for the patient. I'm sure if I ever went through labor I would want to be comfortable, treated with care and even with the pain have it be a really wonderful experience, being able to have that life changing moment between my new born child and I. I feel as if this skit shows the exact opposite of what hospitals give. What made me really laugh is when the baby came out and they roughly swindled the baby in the towel, gave a glimpse of the baby the the mother and left. Although it can be found as quite amusing, again it's kind of ironic because it may be true. It reminded me of how they treated the baby in the C-section video, how they basically fling the baby around, whipping it. It also kind of turns me off the whole subject is when the mother isn't able to really hold the baby and take care of it because I feel that would make it much more of a wonderful and life changing moment, the fact that the doctor's basically stripped that part of the birth away from the mother it really make a person think twice about normal birth. I want to know why they don't let the mother nurse the baby and always take the baby out of the room, what do they do to the baby? It makes me wonder the question of why they don't mention these things, in school we are never taught about birth and how to react to it so its hard to make an opinion about how you want you birth to be. The only thing a person can do is do whats normal and what is most common.

Random/ A Curious Thought

AMERICAN WAY OF BIRTH VS. NATURAL WAY OF BIRTH HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT IS UNDER THIS WRITTEN BLOG.
Cost of labor, pregnancies, etc.
Prenatal appointments- $100-$200 per visit (just for the doctor's fees) X 15-20 visits= $1500-$4000
Lab Work and fees- $200
Ultrasound- $300-$1000
Birth- vaginal- $2,000-$5,000
Birth- c-section- $3,000-$8,000
Total is over $150,000
(http://en.allexperts.com/q/Maternity-3496/Cost-Child-Birth.htm)

Cost of Abortions
Abortions cost $300 or more. The costs and health risks increase after the first 3 months of pregnancy. And it's harder to get an abortion after 3 months.
(http://www.positive.org/JustSayYes/abortion.html)

This sparked my curiosity because in class we spoke about if the government can interfere with our families or how much babies we have. I'm not really sure if the government has anything to do with it but i think its a way to get people to not have babies. You have to pay to give birth, you have to pay to get an abortion, might as well not have a kid at all. The thing that is noticed is that it cost WAY more for a women to actually give birth and less to get an abortion. So if a women gets pregnant, realize they really cant afford a child and pay the medical pregnancy bill will they have to result in an abortion because is more likely more affordable for them?

AWOB VS. NWOB

During the unit on the American way of birth we discussed many ideas of: Patterns of how birth is seen or done in America, more about the fact during a women giving labor, and why people have babies in the first place? We set on the ideas that people mainly have babies because of few reasons: people want a child for a sort of comfort, people want babies because it's whats expected, they want a babie to raise them and have a mini version of themselves, and most importantly that was brought up was that people mainly have babies because people like sex, the result from sex is the mistake of a baby. Today in class we first discuss about whether the government should be able to interfere with a family and how many children produced within a family. Personally in my own opinion yes, for one reason if we keep having babies at the rate that we do we'll become even more over populated then we already are in the world. Secondly because most of the time people have big families because of all the wrong reasons, I mean what real logical reason is there for someone to have like 20 kids, some of which usually can't afford to have one kid at all, this mainly effects the child the most. Secondly we discussed the topic of the American way of Birth vs. the Natural way of birth. In the American way of birth women are usually lying on there back in labor, there are many machines and monitors hooked up to the women, it involves cutting and many instruments, the women is advised to not move a lot, there are bright lights, strange people, photography, many drugs to alleviate pains of labor, a schedule that is set, and is expensive. In contrast the Natural way of birth involve the women squatting during labor, hanging on things to stay up, pain is part of the process and must be tolerated, there are usually many women helping, the women is advised to eat and drink, they give birth in a relaxing place, and is a lot more cheap. So why is it that the way of birth has change so drastically? One argument is that the process of birth has been so mechanical is because women over the years have become more fearful and cowardly to take the painful process of natural birth. Although I agree with this, that the natural way of birth has become so alienated because of fear of pain I don't necessarily find this a bad thing or I'd be a hypocrite. Yes it is a bad way of labor, drugs that can effect the baby, its uncomfortably awkward, there many cutting that can cause infections, etc. and can be extremely more expensive that natural birth I would most likely do it if I was pregnant one day. In class, when a fellow student (Margaux) was asked about this topic she responded with "Its not natural but its normal". Its seen as as a normal process in America and its common and more relieving for the women them selves since its the women who goes through all the pain not a man so a man's perspective should really be as significant as a woman's who is actually giving birth. I think later in the future they are going to come up with more ways then just nerve blocking, epidurals, etc. to make birthing processes even more expensive and less painful and will be seen as great. Less pain more great. And if we were to compare and contrast to the American way of birth there isn't really a right or wrong answer in my opinion, its all based on experience. I personally have obviously never been through labor so I myself can't really say whether a women should go through natural better or American way of birth but if i were to choose i would most likely do what is common and what is less painful.

Pregnancy and Labor Questiosn and Answers

Technique and Professions
1) What is the percentage of women who die during child labor?
According to UNICEF, there are around 1400 girls and women die each day from causes related to child birth. 99% in developing countries. (cite: UNICEF)
2) How does the abortion process work?
An abortion is when they get rid of the fetus from the uterus before it has fully developed. One way is using medication and another way is surgically. When getting rid of the fetus medically they give the women a pill that dilates the cervix and with a contraction in the uterus , expels the fetus. When doing it surgically they also dilate the cervix and using a curette, they scrape the uterine lining and the embryo out. (Cite: heath-dictionary.com)
How effective is abortions?
It is 95% effective.
4)What are the types of pain relievers used during child labor?
One way is called "regional nerve blocks" which is blocking the nerves and preventing pain. Another way is "Epidural block" which is to alleviate actual labor pains. The 3rd is known as "Pudenal Block" which is to alleviate labor pains in the second stage of labor and alleviates pain in the vaginal area, this method is usually used during most of the delivery. (Cite: AC- Associated Content)
5)What is the percentage of babies that get circumcised?
US: 56%
Midwest: 75%
Northwest: 65%
South: 56%
West: 31
5)What can cause medical malpractice or defects caused by birth?
-Lack of oxygen can caused brain damage to the baby. -Fetal distress causes brain damage, - Too much oxytain, a drug used to stimulate labor cause lack of oxygen. -Drug known as prostaglandin gel which causes lack of oxygen. (cite: Hovermale Law)
6) What are risks of getting a C-section?
Since this procedure is a major surgery there is a high chance of an infection and complications than if a women got vaginal delivery. C- sections can be found to have more overall pains causing longer stay at the hospital. Although death is extremely rare, there is a higher risk of death from women who get C- sections than from women who go through vaginal delivery. (cite: heatlhatoz.com)
Other
7)What is the teen pregnancy rate in America?
Before the age of 20, one third of girls get pregnant. Anually there are 750,000 of teen girls who get pregnant. Eight out of en of the pregnancies are not intended and 81% of the teens are also obviously unmarried. (cite: livestrong.com)
8)What is the most effective form of birth control as well as all the types?
There are basically two main types of effective birth controls. The first is abstinence, which is not to have sex at all which is the first and far most effective. The second is surgical methods of birth control. The third most effective is hormonal types of birth control which for example is the pill, the patch, the shot, the ring, etc.(cite: wisegeek.com)
9)What is the birth rate in the United States now compared to the last 50 years?
The US has a population of over 291 million people, it has the highest birth rate of all industrial countries. There is approximately 4 million births in the US each year and 2.4 million deaths. During most of the 1970s and 1980s women gave birth to fewer than 2 children on average. In 2000, births increased 3% over births in 1999 and the third straight increase following nearly a decade of decline from 1990 through 1997. (cite: susps.org)
10)What is the percentage different raise of women who place there child up for adoption over the years?
-2% of unmarried women at any age place their child up for adoption.
-Less than 3% of white unmarried women and less than 2% of Black unmarried women.
- Of Black women with premarital births:
From 1952 to 1972, 1.5% placed their children for adoption.
From 1973 to 1981, this percentage fell to .2%
From 1982 to 1988, it rose to 1.1%.
-Of White women with premarital births,
From 1952 to 1972, 19.3% placed their children for adoption.
From 1973 to 1981, this percentage fell to 7.6%.
From 1982 to 1988, it fell further to 3.2%. (cite: adoptioin.com)

Technique + Professions Questions

- What type of medical tools are used during child birth?
-What percentage of women die from child labor?
- What happens to a baby straight after birth?
- What are the common drugs used before/ after pregnancy?
- What percentage of women get diabetes during pregnancy?
- What complications could happen during pregnancy/ labor?
- How do they treat pregnant women/ STD's?
- What is the abortion process?
- What is the percentage of women who have abortions?
- What complications arise from abortion?
- How many nurses/ doctors are needed in the room during labor?
- What do they do with the babies that die after labor?
- What percentage of babies are circumcised?
- Can the doctors force you to have an abortion if the baby is disabled?
- Can the doctors force you to have an abortion if the baby is disabled?
- Can the baby be taken away from you if you take drugs during pregnancy?
- Can the doctor choose the sex of the baby if it is a hermaphrodite?
- How significant is doctors to labor/ pregnancy?
- What happens to the doctors when malpractice happens?
- What is the average insurance doctor's get from medical malpractice?
- How much do doctor's get paid from birth?
- What happens if the mother can't pay the medical bill?
(People in Group: Binta, Lauren, Cindy)

More Birth Stores

Birth 1) My Brother's birth Story: From Father Perspective
When my moms pregnant with my brother, and as soon as the water broke my father and mother went straight to the hospital, they didn't rush but definitely were nervous and didn't really know that it would take hours of waiting till the actually labor. Since it was my mother's first time she was very nervous and they both went straight to the hospital thinking that it wasn't more then a couple hours till she would give labor. Little did they know it took around 24 hours till the baby starting to come out. When my brother came out, my father stated that he came out very active, him eyes were open, he had a full head of hair, and was looking up and everyone as if someone shocked. "If he could it seemed like he would have ran straight across the room, away from us if he could" my dad said. After my dad was able to cut the umbilical cord, which he was able to do the same for me he was grossed out and surprised at home rubbery it was. They were again only able to hold the baby for a few till they took the baby off into another part of the hospital. Afterward they were able to hold the baby and nurse it but that was not till a while later. After that my father made many calls to as much family members as he could think of, my grandfather, aunt, uncles, etc. (Most of them were on my mom's side of the family). Some feelings my father had was nervousness and thought that everything was very intense because even though they had to wait such a long amount of time till they it was time for labor, as soon as it was time for labor everything boomed into a sudden rapid speed, it was a lot of anxiety. My father said that you really have to be ready or you'll be stuck in mass confusion and be left behind for being able to see the process. As for expectations, it wasn't exactly what he expected because it was so fast, there was so much blood and "gore" that it made it kinda scary for that is not something seen on a daily bases. What would have made it a more wonderful or better experience is that if there was more family there for support or just to be there because it was just my mom and my dad alone. The equipment that they used for what he can remember was some sort of sonogram monitoring the stomach so they can see whats going on to the baby while giving labor, just in case the baby was turning and was coming out the wrong way or whatever reason. He was very confident and comfortable with the hospital and believed that the equipment and techniques of the hospital was safe.
Birth 2)My Birth Story (More details then "thoughts on birth blog")
Unlike my brother I remember my mom would tell me it was much more comfortable having me in her rather then my brother because my brother use to move and kick and make it really uncomfortable for her to the point where she would have to sleep in totally weird positions like curled up and on her chest (hard to explain how she does that). Anyways, I am the youngest and my brother was the first child, as my mom's water broke in the house my father, my brother, and her lived in, my father and mother drove to the hospital leaving my brother with a baby sitter/ nurse. They drove calmly since it was their second time they knew it would take FOREVER till she actually will go through labor. At that point my mom was having contractions but none of which was making her struggle painfully, her contractions were about every hour. Since they knew it would take hours and hours of waiting and my mom thought it would be a good idea being her womanly self to do a little shopping. My father parked a block and around the corner to the hospital (Lenox Hill) as she dragged my father along to go look at some clothes, shoes, etc. After about half an hour or so they decided to just head to the hospital. In the room they waited....and waited...and waited and waited as the contractions go more stronger and more painful. Although my mom was able to take is better since it was the second time. Plus the epidermal that was given to her. My father was getting really tired and fidgety. The nurses were just..nurses, talking they way they were trained too but doing so also made my parents feel that the doctors and the nurses were well trained giving them confidence. They were much more ready for the long hours or waiting then the sudden boom of rushing, sweating, paint and gore this time since they knew what was coming. Skipping to my mom actually giving labor my father stated there was a very nurse that annoyed my mom as she kept of squeaking "come on push push, common push push" over and over like a cheerleader. My father remember that when i came out i had a full head of black hair, he was also able to cut the umbilical cord just like he was able to do with my brother. He stated that I was quite calm coming out and wasn't quite as shocked, with eyes wide open such like my brother. He said the method they use wasn't really any different then the birth of my brother's. When i asked him what would have made it more wonderful he again said it would have been a lot better if there was more family support as they were on their own. Another typical thing that there were picture taking of me just as I came out and a few mintues after when i was cleaned up as a little baby. I still have those pictures today. :) (there kinda gross yet at the same time i feel a certain awe when i found them).
Birth Story 3) Mother's perspective (anonymous
We shall call this person "Amy" because i want to keep the name confidential because I am not sure if this person is comfortable having her birth story told. When Amy's water broke she was working in a factory in queens. She was somewhat shocked but didn't feel rushed. She called her husband to come picker her up, when she was picked up they did not take a taxi or a car but took the subway since they did not live that far from where she worked. They took there time, when they went home they picked up some clothes and other necessities for there stay at the hospital. That is when they called the ambulance which then took them to the hospital. There stay at the hospital was much more difficult a longer then what they thought as there was a lot of complications. Although the nurses and the doctors, from what she said, was very kinda and patient. The machines they used were old fashion machines back in the 1987. She suffered excruciating pains even after the epidermal. This mainly was because the baby's arm was stuck behind it's back, this caused a lot of complications for the baby come out. In the end they had to do a C-section in order to get the baby. It was a very scary experience for she was almost near death because the pain was so excruciating and she had high blood pressure. The whole process took two full days. She said it would have been a more wonderful experience if it didn't take that long and if there wasn't as much complications as there was. There wasn't any other family member there but her and her husband and the methods were the basics, her on her back. They did not allow any pictures or video tapping and made her husband wait outside the labor room. This is really different they what they do today because today you are allowed to have the husband in the same room from most of the stories I hear from. Maybe its because of different hospital regulations. In the end it was very exhausting and at first she stated that she didn't really look forward to another experience like that one but obviously she went for it because she wanted to try for a baby girl since she had a baby boy. She ended up with 3 sons and no girls and she says that she is still happy with her sons.

Birth story 4)anonnymous
We'll just call this mother "carol" because I'm not dure if the mother is comfortable having her birth story told. Her wster broke while dhe was getting some food from the kitchen and for some reason she was kind of shocked because she wasn't expecting it at that momment. They drove to the hospital as they had a car back then. They didn't rush but they did want to get there as soon as possible. When they got to the hospital she was kind of annoyed because no one was really payin her any attention. There was contractions like every 20 minutes, they hurt but they weren't too extreme and she could take it. She was on the hospital bed and there were monitors and other "hospital equipment" as she called it. There was pain around "down there" but she took the pain and didn't find it anything that was suppose to be unusual. When a doctor finally got to her and checked her he told her that she was actually giving labor. From then on everything was a rush as many other people came in strapping on booties' masks, and gloves. They allowed her husban in the room but they wanted him to stand off on the side. They told her to breath a deep breath in and as she exhaled to push and that was the thing that sirt of annoyed her because she didn't thing it helped at all and made ir more diffuclt then if she would have just pushed and breathed her way. In the end she had a baby boy, it wasn't her first birth so she said maybe that is why she took the pain a little better then she did the first time. One thing she said would have made it a better experience is if the doctors were less demanding and more fufilling to her needs. All and all the whole process took around 7 hours.

Birth

For the new semester in history class we've been discussing the topic of birth. As everyone sees on television and such, birth is usually portrayed as a rushing painful experience taking up to a few minutes making everyone go mad. When hearing my birth story from my father is was quite amusing to me as what was different or similar to what is usually portrayed when throwing out the topic of pregnancy and giving labor.
This is the basics of my birth story: When my mother's water broke my father and her was on the way to the hospital, apparently on the way my mother knew it would take forever until she actually gives labor and even though she was having contractions they only came about every half an hour to an hour. So on the way to the hospital my mom thought it would have been a good idea to do some window shopping on the way to the hospital which to me was the most amusing thing i have ever heard. When they finally got to the hospital it took around 10 hours till my mom finally was going to give labor, my father stood in the room with her by her side but not watching the baby come out because that would be "gross" is what he stated which also greatly amused me as well. Skipping to the after, my father was able to cut my umbilical cord (which i thank him for doing such a great job) and was able to hold the baby only a few minutes till they took me away to do other nursing stuff.
This really shows me how different birth really is portrayed compared to actual birth. I think it is made so much more dramatic then it is because people (especially in America) like excitement, drama, and something interesting to look at but nothing intense that would gross out. I think birth is a very amazing experience for those who experience it but also a scary one. Many people make the mistake of having a child because when there babies they are "so cute". Some people may not really be ready as they think simply because they just want a baby. In my own opinion when people say things like "I don't have the motherhood skills" or "i don't like kids", I think it has nothing to do with having a child at all. Personally, what is needed is responsibility. I can say that i don't have motherly skills to take care of a baby but obviously if I were to ever have one for what ever reason I wouldn't just throw it away like some toy as it is human life, I would have to take responsibility. So the thing that would be correctly said is that I don't have enough life experience and responsibility experiences to take care of a child.
Although i would most likely try to prevent from having a child as much as possible, if i ever change my mind when I am older and more responsible I would most likely raise the child here in New York, more general America. Although i was raised most of my childhood in Hong Kong i feel more at home and more in place in America. I don't see myself anywhere else and if i were ever to have a child they would most likely grow up with an American way of life. Although I would most likely keep some of the Chinese traditions that i was taught. But to get back to the topic of actually giving birth, to go through that process and how creepy it is is the most likely reason why i would never want to get pregnant and go through that birthing process. The fact of having something alive within you and coming out of you just seems unpleasant, maybe my view of it will be different when i become older and have had more life experience but for now I am sticking with what i think of birth.