I have had the memorable opportunity of giving birth twice to two boys 21 months apart. My labor process with my oldest son started while I was viewing a movie in the theater and was later induced at the hospital. This birth was a little stressful because of the induction my labor pains were more pronounced. I labored for 12 hours and after five pushes he was out. The most memorable part of his birth was the fact of him having an ABO incompatibility. Basically, I have O+ blood my son has his father’s blood type and this led to him developing jaundice. I was never educated on this possibility. He spent five days in the hospital and then came home.
My second son’s birthing process went very quick. I woke up with a sharp cramp and my water breaking at 3:30 a.m. I took a bumpy ride with my husband driving to the hospital during a storm. I received an epidural at 6:00 a.m. then I felt an overwhelming need to bear down. I called for the nurse to let her know what was happening with me. She stated it would probably be a while before I delivered, I insisted she check me. She did and found my youngest son was crowning. Consequently, I had a nature childbirth @ 6:05 a.m. and my epidural had reach my knees. * Special Note - I was stilled charged for the epidural. I chose my birthing experiences because they were two of the greatest days of my life.
I feel that the birthing process should be approach with great care. There are so many things that can happen during this time that could negatively affect the mother and baby. These affects can have impacts on child development such as if there is an injury that occurs during birth. These injuries could include brain injury from lack of oxygen during prolonged deliveries or a broken bone.
As I research births around the world, I found interesting information regarding several countries:
In the Netherlands, mothers are encouraged to see midwifes and give birth naturally. If the birth experience goes well mothers is release from the hospital two hours later.
In Germany, mothers are encouraged to see midwifes, can not be fired from their job once pregnancy is confirmed and can take a total of fourteen weeks off with pay, 3 years without pay.
In Japan, mothers attempt to avoid epidural because of Japanese belief the pain experienced prepares mothers for the challenging role of motherhood. Also fathers are not permitted in the birthing room if he has not had prenatal classes. Mothers must also live with her parents for a month after the baby is born and stay in bed with the baby for 21 days.
This research experience is so interesting because of the focus placed on utilizing nurse midwives. Nurse midwives are highly regarding over doctors in other countries. Also I found it very interesting in Germany the job protection that is offered to expectant mothers. In the U.S., traditionally mothers are only given six weeks off after giving birth and must use vacation or sick time to cover this time. This can sometimes be a hardship on families.
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