Childbirth

Childbirth in my Life and in Guatemala

I chose my own birth to write about because I don’t have children of my own and have never taken part in a birth.  So, I took the opportunity to learn a little more about my story from my mother. 

While pregnant she made sure to attend all of her check-up appointments and take her prenatal vitamins.

It was my father who drove my mother to the town hospital in Hollister, California the morning of April 12^th.  Around 5pm my mother was induced.  With no complications she gave birth naturally to a 5lb 9oz baby girl at 11:30am on April 13, 1985.  My father stood at the door looking into the delivery room while my grandmother, uncle and two aunts sat in the waiting room.  After the delivery more family members came including another aunt and uncle.  After my mother was released she stayed with my grandmother who helped look after us for a while until she returned home to raise me with my father together.

I think birth is an amazing wonder that women are lucky enough to experience.  I think its impact on child development starts with the fact that you created and carried life for nine months.  It helps create the parent-infant bond that has been proven to be beneficial for development.  In Mexican culture we have a saying that we use when we refer to our children as “mis ojos” or “my eyes”.  I think that is very telling of the emotional and biological connection between a parent and child.  When that connection or bond is one of love and support it makes the most influential positive impact on a child’s development.

I work with many Guatemalan children at my school so I decided to find out how births happen there.  Through the website for the organization, Midwives for Midwives, I learned that majority of births take place in the home with midwives being present more than half the time and a surprising 90% of the time in rural areas.  Health services are limited and infection is the cause of maternal mortality both in the hospital and in the home.  It explains that basic equipment, gloves and better sterilization methods are needed to help improve these incidents.

In comparison to my mother’s birth the differences are drastic.  She went to a hospital where there was no midwife. There was a group of nurses and a doctor all wearing gloves.  There was some medical technology used and sterilization was central.  At the time my father was not allowed into the delivery room and I assume, if it is accustomed in their culture, that a father could be present for his child’s birth especially if it takes place in the home.  My mother had access to health services before, during and after birth which as we know does have an impact on development.

Through this comparison I learned that childbirth can be a very different experience based on cultural, economical and medical circumstances. 

Source

Midwives for Midwives. (2014). [Webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.midwivesformidwives.org/guatemala