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.