Final...The beauty of AWOB?

After seeing 3 out of the 4 videos of different births I was surprised to see that animal births are similar to human births. In the first video with the giraffes I saw many similarities to human birth such as having someone there to support you and help you while giving birth. While the mother giraffe was giving birth there was another giraffe along side of her just close by for support. When human mothers give birth they sometimes like to have a relative or their spouse close by. I also noticed that before the giraffes give birth 4-6 inches of sand is laid out for the giraffe just like before and during a mother giving birth doctors use cloths for all the excess blood. The sand is also used to protect the baby giraffe when it falls. The term for the cloth used is called a "chuck". They way the giraffe gave birth reminded me of the natural way of birth because it looked like she was squatting. You can hear the woman in the background saying what is going on step by step and how the umbilical cord is broken. I connected to AWOL, how the giraffe was trying to get up and walk and kept on falling was similar to when babies try and walk and they fall.

While watching these videos I can see that the patients or the animals are not in charge rather the doctors or the people at the zoo are in charge. I feel as if there is no say in what you want when giving birth because its all about "what the doctors say". In a previous assignment, I collected birth stories from different mothers and one of the mothers said that her stay at the hospital was not what she expected. The nurses and the doctors we rushing her birth as if they had something to do after. She also said that that the nurses were very rude to her and did not care for her. I find it very hard to hear that doctors and nurses are acting in such behavior because when a pregnant woman comes in to give birth it is supposed to be a "memorable" moment, and that everyone is focused on you and your baby. But, as I heard from the story this is a completely different view.

I spoke to many women who say they wish they could to everything over because it would all be different. The women that I spoke to who had two children said they wish they would have known what they know now when they were giving birth to their first child. Many women when having their first child are not as experienced as other mothers who have more than one child. During your first child you really don't know what to do or what is going on so you lean on the doctor to help you and guide you through the whole process. For the women with two children they say that the second time they were going to give birth was easier because they knew what to expect and were prepared.

I found the dolphin birth video to be really short as if giving birth was nothing. I connected it to one of the birth stories a mother gave me. She was only in labor for 6 hours and did not feel any pain. Also no medication or epidural was given. It interest me to hear all the birth stories because they were all different. Some had medication, epidurals, felt pain or birth was even painless it amazes me how so many people can feel different ways when giving birth. Before all the lessons about the American way of birth I never realized how many ways women can give birth. I always thought there was one way but after hearing that women can squat to give birth I was surprised. I always saw birth as "okay a women is going to have a baby, mostly likely natural." But there are many ways that women can give birth. I also noticed that the doctors are mostly in charge every step of the way such as letting you know if you need a c-section or you can have the baby natural. Many women don't actually choose how they want to have their baby rather the doctor tells them "what to do". Doctors sort of plan everything out so that it can go as quickly and smoothly as possible. But is having the doctor in charge really what women want?

Lastly, proof that the doctors are n charge I watched the video of doctors preforming a c-section on a women and how detailed it was. I found it very hard to watch because I felt that the doctors were not being careful with the baby rather yanking the baby out of her stomach. The way the doctors handled the baby's head hurt me because they were being rough after watching a few seconds I knew I couldn't watch any more or see what was going to happen next. I cut the video short because I couldn't see the baby being handled in that matter.

Draft: The beauty of....AWOB?

After seeing 3 out of the 4 videos of different births I was surprised to see that animal births are similar to human births. In the first video with the giraffes I saw many similarities to human birth such as having someone there to support you and help you while giving birth. While the mother giraffe was giving birth there was another giraffe along side of her just close by for support. When human mothers give birth they sometimes like to have a relative or their spouse close by. I also noticed that before the giraffes give birth 4-6 inches of sand is laid out for the giraffe just like before and during a mother giving birth doctors use cloths for all the excess blood. The sand is also used to protect the baby giraffe when it falls. The term for the cloth used is called a "chuck". They way the giraffe gave birth reminded me of the natural way of birth because it looked like she was squatting. You can hear the woman in the background saying what is going on step by step and how the umbilical cord is broken. I connected to AWOL, how the giraffe was trying to get up and walk and kept on falling was similar to when babies try and walk and they fall.

While watching these videos I can see that the patients or the animals are not in charge rather the doctors or the people at the zoo are in charge. I feel as if there is no say in what you want when giving birth because its all about "what the doctors say". In a previous assignment, I collected birth stories from different mothers and one of the mothers said that her stay at the hospital was not what she expected. The nurses and the doctors we rushing her birth as if they had something to do after. She also said that that the nurses were very rude to her and did not care for her. I find it very hard to hear that doctors and nurses are acting in such behavior because when a pregnant woman comes in to give birth it is supposed to be a "memorialble" moment, and that everyone is focused on you and your baby. But, as I heard from the story this is a completly different view.

Natural vs. Normal

During class when we were talking about the similarities and differences between the AWOB and the natural there were more similarities being said than differences. I found it surprising that there are many ways to giving birth but as well as many limitations. I rarely hear woman choosing something different from c-section or natural birth. The AWOB usually consist of many machines, different doctors in and out of the room, lights, time schedule and different ways to help the pain. Where as in the natural the woman is relaxing, squatting, there is pain but no medication being given and cheaper than the AWOB. I think a lot reasons for why woman give birth through c-section is because they want to get it over with. Many woman want an epidural because they don't want to feel the pain when giving birth. Many doctors tell the woman what they want and give them no other choice but to do what the doctor said. I think woman should be able to say how they want to give birth unless the baby or mother is in danger.

Birth Q&A

Birth control:
Different types and some statistics
http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/1997/babytabl.html

Teen Pregnancy:
Rates have dropped from past years.
http://www.teenshelter.org/data.htm

Abortion:
Past years and current statistics
http://www.johnstonsarchive.net/policy/abortion/ab-unitedstates.html

Surprising Facts:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_17-surprising-facts-about-birth-in-the-united-states_1372273.bc

Average age of pregnancy:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_17-surprising-facts-about-birth-in-the-united-states_1372273.bc

Average of miscarriages:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_percentage_of_people_have_miscarriages

Reasons for adoption:
Many couples want to complete the family some cannot have children.
http://www.syl.com/articles/family/adoption_in_details/reasons_for_adoption/

Abortion vs. Adoption
http://www.lifenews.com/nat3837.html

Effective form of birth control:
Abstinence is first
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-most-effective-form-of-birth-control.htm

Group Discussion Questions...

Topic:How people get pregnant?
Birth control,abortion and adoption

1.What percentage of people get pregnant on purpose?
2.How available is birth control to all ages?
3.What are the percentages of teen pregnancies?How has it changed?
4.What are some of the reasons for abortion?
5.How do the different races affect the percentages?
6.What is the average age of pregnancy?
7.What percentage of pregnancies end in miscarriages?
8.What are reasons for adoption?
9.Which is more common abortion or adoption?
10.Is abortion or adoption more traumatizing for women?
11.What's the most effective form of birth control?
12.Which is the safest?
13.Which form is the most common?
14.What percentage of men use condoms?
15.What percentage don't?Why?
16.What percentage of men take responsibility for their children?

Other topics in class: what techniques and technology used?
Ways of giving birth
American verses other countries a comparison of births

Different Birth Stories

I asked many mothers of there birth experience and different questions of what they thought of birth. The first mother which we will call Mother A had two children and gave me information about both births. For her first child she was in labor for 11 hours. After pushing for another 2 hours the baby still did not come close to being delivered. The doctors began to worry about the baby because when pushing you are applying pressure to the baby's head. The doctors then gave her a shot in her private to check how the baby was doing, and the baby was not doing well. Doctors then said that there was no other choice but to have a emergency c-section. She did not want to have a c-section because of the thought of having a stitches. The baby came at 35 or 36 weeks. As for pain the mother described it as "excruciating, severe pain that words cannot explain". The mother began to explain the hard times she went through with her second baby. Unlike the first baby, the second baby came 7 weeks early. But during the pregnancy the mother was in and out of the hospital because of consistent bleeding she had. The mother almost lost her baby three times and her life was at risk. One problem she faced was that she had placenta previa which is when the sack for the baby is growing outside instead on the inside and the sack is covering the birth canal. Because the sack was covering the birth canal (how the baby comes out) she had to get a c-section. This time the mother was more prepared and knew how everything happened and what was done because she had a c-section with her first born. A difference between the first and second child is the pain the mother experienced. Since the mother had an epidural for her second baby she had mild pain but mostly did not feel anything. She was given steroids because the baby's lungs had to develop faster because she was pre-mature. The baby had to stay at the hospital in intensive care for 19 days because she needed to be 5lbs before going home.

Mother B
This mother is different from mother A. She was in labor 27 in a half hours and was a brave one. She refused to get any type of shot or medicine and stuck with the pain. She was not treated well at the hospital like she expected. The nurses did not pay much attention to her and left her there to push for herself. She had a natural birth and said that it was very painful and she wished she would have got an epidural for the pain. Unlike mother A the baby came home right away and everything was fine. Mother B did not have any complications with the baby. For her second child the due date was September 16 but it doctors said if she didn't give birth before the 28th they would induce labor. She was in labor for over 15 hours. The doctors put her on medication to induce labor and asked if she wanted an epidural but she refused because she didn't get one for her first child. Doctors insisted that natural and c-section births are different and she should get an epidural. With in a few hours she was crying for an epidural. The mother had a fever so they needed to do an emergency c-section because the baby was at risk. When the baby came out the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. Doctors took immediate action.

Mother C
On February 14 she began to have pain and called the doctor to let them know how she felt. The doctor said she need to come in as soon as possible. After pushing for 19 hours the doctors told her that the baby was too big and that she need a c-section. The thoughts of c-sections made her cry because she had her mind set on a natural birth. 21 hours later she received an epidural and delivered the baby on February 16. The mother said "the pain was not bad, I was able to deal with it." At the hospital she was treated fairly nicely. Unlike the other stories the dad cried when he held the baby in his arms.

Mother D
I must say that this to me was the easiest birth that i have heard. She was only in labor for 6 hours and didn't feel a thing. This mother did not get any medication nor an epidural but also didn't have pain. Giving birth was so easy she did not feel the baby come out. Everything was perfectly fine.

After hearing all the different birth stories from different mothers I must say that mother D had it the easiest. Compared to the other mothers she was in labor for the least amount of hours and had the least amount of pain. After hearing her story it made me wonder how many mothers can relate to her story. Hearing all the different prospectives on birth and the pain I wish all births were painless.

Thoughts on Birth...

"What a beautiful experience'" is what everyone says. I feel the same way at times but it is only because I am not experiencing it for myself. When you are young you always played games about how many children you were going to have, planning your wedding and even what your house is going to look like. I have always loved working with children and want to have some of my own someday. I always said I wanted ten kids but is that really what I want after hearing what giving birth is really like? What is going to happen when the baby is crying in the middle of the night, then will I think it is cute? Many thoughts of kids in the future pass my mind. I've always thought about being a "soccer mom" but hearing all the experiences and how much it will change your life is making me think twice. I spoke to my mom about her experience of giving birth and she said it was painful. After being in labor with me for 27 in a half hours without any type of medicine or shot such as an epidural . Today in class really grossed me out when Andy got into some details about birth such as what a chuck is. A chuck is a cloth they put underneath you for all the blood when you are giving birth. Giving birth is the part that scares me but to see your baby in your arms is beautiful. I have two different reactions towards birth: beautiful but life changing. You get to experience motherhood and never forget the pain you went through as well. I connected this all back to an article I read about a woman who gave birth to eight children by having in-vitro fertilization. The woman already has six children all different ages and now she has eight more. She does not have a job and just recently lost her house. I don't understand why doctors would let her choose in-vitro knowing that she has six children already and is not financially able. To know she has and was able to have more children is a blessing but to know that everyone will be paying taxes that are going to her because she is unemployed is not fair. As far as myself, I still want to have children but ten children I am think in twice about.