HW 42 - Pregnancy & birth culminating project

Birth and pregnancy is the act which a woman, adds another member to their family and life. Throughout the years birth and pregnancy has evolved much like the way we live. The way we celebrate birth, they way a baby is born, how the child is going to be raised all that has changed and is still changing. Because of the many cultures, and practices every woman has their own way of having a birth. When pregnant women have different experiences, and situations, such as baby showers, friends and family helping them out, working throughout their pregnancy, etc. One of the main focuses throughout this unit has been the way women give birth in the United States, such as homebirths and midwives versus hospital births and doctors. In my previous blog I did some research about the experiences the average single mother goes through, and the role the United States government plays. The other topic I was interested in was the father’s role during birth.

I was particularly curious on doing a project based on single mothers birth experience, because my mother raised me being a single mother. So i choose to go more in depth to understanding, the experiences and process single mothers go through. Years ago being a single mother was rare, and when it happened it was because of a tragedy of some sort. Today single mother parenting is very common; according to statistics 3.5 percent of women in the United States are single mothers. One of the reasons is the lack of married couples, in the past couples who were married didn’t divorce as much as couples today. Which is why in the past if a couple had children the father was in their lives. The other reason is lack of responsibility in men today, in the past men were brought up to work, get married and start a family. Today that ambition isn’t as popular; with so many distractions and new things in today’s culture it only makes sense why the value of family isn’t as high. Some single mothers have it easier than others, such as mothers who were once married, and later on got divorced, because it’s easier to have the father by law take care of the child. Another reasons in the past couples stayed together much longer than they do today, is because the amount of children they had. Today the average amount of children per household in the United States is roughly 2, compared to the early 1900’s, which was 4. One of the reasons that is because of finance, the price of living is much more than in the past, which is why less people have children. “The post-1960's expansion of college education and professional opportunities for middle-class women, and the growth of jobs (especially part-time jobs) in the new service industries and in light manufacturing for their working class sisters gradually transformed the post marriage career paths of the average woman. So did the greater effectiveness of birth control and the new, more tolerant norms surrounding its use.” – (Garland 83) Because of the cultural changes that gave women the opportunity to focus more on education and working, and not focus on getting married and having children, set new paths and views on how children would start being raised.

Every culture has their own ways of handling a birth, the most common in the past were home births, which always involved a midwife. In the beginning of the unit we had a few visitors who spoke to us about their birth and pregnancy experiences. Jeanette Plaza, one of our guest speakers spoke about how in the past traditional Puerto Rican families the woman after giving birth, would rest for 40 days while her family took care of her and the newborn letting her rest and not have to do a thing, which was common in many cultures in many parts of the world. Ms. Plaza, also spoke about how most jobs only give women 6 weeks off after giving birth, which to her felt like it wasn’t enough. I asked different women if they thought 6 weeks was very little, and if they felt that having a limit to recover a bit morally wrong, and they all said yes. Which relates back to the illness and dying unit, when we watched the film Sicko. In it a French person spoke about their illness story and explained how in France you’ll get paid for all the days you’re gone for, until you feel well again, and he said “I don’t understand how any country allow someone to have a limited amount of sick days, you can’t put a date on an illness”, which one can agree for birth as well. One of the many other things that has changed in birth is how a baby is born, the delivery. When having a natural birth there are many positions that can be used to do so lithotomy, squatting, kneeling and all fours. Almost all these positions are normally used with midwives, except for lithotomy, which is mostly common in hospitals. One of the reasons midwives, allow women to use any position is because midwives or mostly all for natural births, so they allow the mother to do anything that makes her more comfortable to deliver the baby as safely and natural as possible. In hospitals the reasons lithotomy is more common is because the doctors, want to ensure that the baby is well, so it’s easier for the doctors to see what’s going on. The other method of birth is caesarean section, which is when the baby is delivered through the woman’s stomach. One of the reasons this method is use is when the mother’s health or babies is at risk in order to safely deliver the baby. In the past caesarean was rarely used, but today it’s risen. In this unit we studied about the rise of caesarean, and tried to understand why it’s becoming more popular. One of the reasons is that it’s faster, the other is that it’s safer, according to some doctors, and women who’s had a successful caesarean. One of the other reasons is because of the nightmarish and industrial way we live, because pain is something many people in society try to avoid because of medication when a woman is giving birth, mainly at a hospital they’re asked if they want an epidural. Which is a shot that numbs the woman to feel less pain, which is injected near the spinal cord, one of the disadvantages is the fact that the woman is numb and can’t feel anything so it’s hard to push. So later their asked if they’d like pitocin, which helps the woman push the baby out, but gives them more pain, and than they’re injected with more epidural, and after too much time in later they’re asked if they’d like a caesarean, which again is rare, but in those cases a caesarean is most likely.

In the end how a woman chooses to have a child or raise it is entirely up to them, and their situation, because everyone’s life is different. Whether a parent chooses to feed their child breast milk or formula, get married or stay single, hospital birth or home birth. What really matters is the fact that they had a child, and they’re taking care of it, and as long as the decision they make is at least a safe bet than, they’re doing their job as a mother.


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Citations:

Garland, David. The culture of control: crime and social order in contemporary society. New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 2001. 83. Print.

Gilbert, Virgina. "Preparing for Motherhood." Pregnancy Today 29 December 2009: n. pag. Web. 5 Apr 2011. .

"The fathers role during pregnancy." The father's place in the family. mustele.com, Web. .

Hughes, Pattie. "The Pregnant Single Parent." Pregnancy Advice 25 May 2007: n. pag. Web. 8 Apr 2011. .

M, Jay. "Pregnancy and tradition in Kampala." n. pag. Web. 10 Apr 2010. .

Deonmme, Sara. "Let's Talk About the Cultures of Childbearing." Pregnancy Advice (2007): n. pag. Web. 6 Apr 2011. .

"How Many Single Mothers are in America?." answers.ask.com. N.p., 08 October 2010. Web. 6 Apr 2011. .

HW 41 - Independent Research

Government support for pregnant women and mothers in poverty - if you're poor and becoming a mother in NYC what programs could help you and how would you apply?

Being a single parent anywhere is tedious, but for women it can be a lot harder or a bit easier depending on their situation. Most single parents in the United States always have the option to apply for government assistance, depending on their situation. The situations most Americans have to be in when applying for government assistance, is that they have to make a certain amount, which is normally minimum wage or below the poverty line, the other is the amount of children they have, another main one is disability. It’s great that in the United States people can get support from the government, but at the same time it barely helps everyone or make the parents situation easier. If someone has a college degree, and is a single parent, and is middle class that person may not be eligible for government assistance because of what they make, when in reality what they make barely helps them make ends meet, because of bills, school loans, taxes, etc. While someone who’s below the poverty line has a subsidized rent and pays less on their taxes, still makes ends meet because they can’t make over a certain amount or else they may lose their benefits. But why is that, why must single parents have limited opportunities in order to make just ends meet? When someone is on public assistance they’re recertified every quarter in order to keep their public assistance, until they get a job and are settled. Once someone on public assistance gets a job, they’re public assistance ends. One of the reasons the government doesn’t let anyone get public assistance is because they’re worried too many people would get comfortable and not work, and for the people who have jobs and could use the extra help because they have a job, and the policy is that when one is working they’re not allowed to be assisted than they won’t be eligible.




Sources:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4693124_government-assistance-single-mothers.html

HW 40 - Insights from Book - Part 3

The Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent, is a great to read if anyone wants to understand more about midwifery and birth. From beginning to end to end the book explains different scenarios of birth stories, which answers every birthing question one may have. Vincent once being a midwife, is what I think makes this story really detailed, because it's different when an author actually had the experience of what they're story is about, and when an author writes about something they've heard. Ms. Vincent working at a nursery hospital was also a bit unique , because most midwifes have to get certified and work independently, but i think because she worked at a hospital she has a broader view than most midwifes.

What i like about this book is when she quotes the things mother think, say or do when they're in labor, because normally it's not always as dramatic as television portrays it. "I felt that curling-over at the top as my uterus began to bear down like giant tooth paste tube being emptied" - Pg. 136. One of the many odd things I've heard to describe labor, but at the same time it's unique. During this birthing unit we watched a film called the business of being born, and it was very similar to the baby catcher, but didn't show many details, when it came to what the father or men thought during the whole process. From what I've seen the father always wants to help and do something, and tries to be supportive, but always seem a bit stunned. "The sudden spurt of blood shocked Joe" -Pg. 145. What stuns me sometimes is when the mother is in labor and deals with it really well, while everyone else is panicking asking if she's "ok" or if she "needs anything" and the mothers answer is "I'm not afraid, i'm fine, this is just really really interesting" - Ph. 216 and than the mother pushes the baby out and all done.

By the end of the book, Peggy Vincent doesn't try to change peoples mind about where to have their children or how to have them, but she helps lengthen readers knowledge about the myths about what midwives do, and what the experiences may be. What makes this book accurate, is because their are enough stories and scenarios, to show readers everyone that every experience is different.

HW 39 - Insights from Book - Part 2

The Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent is an autobiography that illustrates the average midwifes experience. The book explains many birth scenarios the author witnessed as a midwife. The book does a good job explaining what each mother felt, said and how their experience went. In the second one hundred pages the book talks about the different birth experiences women have, and so far most of them have been positive. For example for some of the births Peggy Vincent talks about how some women have un-painful, births but rather pleasuring. Pleasuring, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, because the women felt a sense of relief and happiness to release a part of her and a part of something off to the world, so it didn’t affect them much physically. Vincent also talks about the joy she gets being a midwife, because she sees the mother’s true feelings. That sort of reminded me of Janet when she came to our class and spoke about her birthing experience and how after she delivered her baby she wasn’t automatically attached the first time she held her daughter. Which I than compared to many of the midwife births we’ve seen in the business of being born, the mother tends to seem very happy and content with their birth, and seem to be happy to see their baby for the first time, which to me seems like a connection. But I feel that mothers, who have babies in hospitals, seem to have an industrial nightmarish vibe when birthing children. And because hospitals make women work harder to give birth to the child the mother is more exhausted than a mother who has a child at a birthing center or at home, causing her to be less interested. Another key point which we learned about, was how births in the 70’s during the hippie movement, were trying to re bring midwifery, but during that same time hospitals technology improved, causing a boom in hospital birth, causing a less popular trend of midwife births.

HW 36 - Pregnancy & Birth Stories

I interviewed three relatives about their birth experience at a baptism family dinner event. One of the reasons i choose to do it at that time, is because baptisms are seen as a newly born child's beginning of a religion, and also there's a lot of mothers. Each mother I interviewed had different experiences, but all shared a common emotion of feeling attached to their baby, while pregnant. On the bottom, is my interview witch each mother.

First Interview:
Name: Lynne Boisrond (Mom)

Number of children: 1

Age you gave birth: 21

1. How did pregnancy affect you physically, emotionally, or in other ways?

“Physically, I didn’t gain much weight, I only gained 24 pounds, because I exercised everyday.” “Emotionally it didn’t affect me at all, but I felt very connected to my baby, I couldn’t wait to see you.”

2. What did you do, while pregnant, to prepare for giving birth?

"I played bob Marley for you, it calmed you down whenever you we’re moving (while in the womb)” “I read pregnancy books, and I changed my diet, I only ate vegetables, my mother used to make me vegetable juice like carrot juice, fruit juice. I never ate or drank those things when I wasn’t pregnant. I didn’t eat or drink anything with preservatives, I didn’t eat red meat and I stopped smoking once I found out I was pregnant.”

3. What actions and attitudes by specific other people made your pregnancy and birth more joyous? More challenging?

“My mother helped me a lot which made my pregnancy more joyous, my mother went with me to lamas classes with me, she was my lamas partner”

4. What thoughts and feelings influenced your choice to make a baby?

“I always wanted a baby, because I love babies, and it kinda happened”

5. What feelings come back to you when you remember labor and giving birth?

“The pain from labor for 2 hours, I pushed you out early, I was 4cm dilated when it’s suppose to be ten, because I couldn’t take the pain”
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Second Interview:
Name: Kathia Boisrond (Aunt)

Number of children: 1

Age you gave birth: 27

1. How did pregnancy affect you physically, emotionally, or in other ways?

“I was extremely busy during my pregnancy, I danced, I worked I had two shows, but I noticed when I saw Kleenex commercials I cried” “I didn’t feel connected to the baby until my 5th month of pregnancy, when I saw my stomach to show”

2. What did you do, while pregnant, to prepare for giving birth?

"I got a few pregnancy books; I tried to eat 300 more calories a day, because I read that in a magazine. So I ate breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in between that.” Almost every Saturday I exercised”

3. What actions and attitudes by specific other people made your pregnancy and birth more joyous? More challenging?

"My friends were excited so it was always joyous, no one really gave a negative attitude.”

4. What thoughts and feelings influenced your choice to make a baby?

“Oops” “Hahaha, it just happened, but I didn’t really mind the thought of becoming a mother.”

5. What feelings come back to you when you remember labor and giving birth?

"It’s so funny, up until I saw my cousin giving birth, I appreciated my labor more, so yeah…good times, but I don’t know how long I was labor not long”
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Third Interview:
Name: Lisa Boisrond (Aunt in law)

Number of children: 2

Age you gave birth: 34 & 36
1. How did pregnancy affect you physically, emotionally, or in other ways?

“I gained weight and rested more, since Max (My Uncle) did most of the house work, because he wanted me to rest for the baby”

2. What did you do, while pregnant, to prepare for giving birth?

“Worked, slept, relaxed. Actually pregnancy has given me more of a chance to rest, and relax than when I’m on a normal vacation, because I’m always trying to find something to do, but when I’m pregnant I focus on my and my babies health”

3. What actions and attitudes by specific other people made your pregnancy and birth more joyous? More challenging?

“It’s joyous because max, doesn’t let me do anything, and does everything” “Believe it or not, the most challenging thing was getting used to being relaxed and not having much to do.”

4. What thoughts and feelings influenced your choice to make a baby?

“I’ve always wanted a child, so when Jenney was born, I was excited. And when Kai was born it felt like a re-run of Jenney’s birth, but I felt very lucky and happy to be able to have two children.”

5. What feelings come back to you when you remember labor and giving birth?

“Of course the pain, I don’t think anyone who’s given birth to a child will forget that. But I remember the joy in Max’s eyes when both Jenney and Kai were born, having a child is probably one of life’s greatest gifts.”
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After those interviews, I wanted to explore when a woman finds out their pregnant, when they start a new transition. Such as eating healthy, trying to be more relax and when they start feeling connected with the baby.

HW 35 - Other Peoples' Perspectives 1

I asked 3 children between the ages of 8 and 12, their insights on birth. Two of them we're my younger cousins and the other being my friends younger brother. They all understood that birth is what brought them and everyone around them into existence, and that women are the one who give birth. My eight year old cousin, Raphael understood the basics of birth, because he's asked his parents. One of the questions he asked me was "why do women give birth if it hurts?" That question struck me, because i remembered i asked my mom that question when i was younger. So I gave him the answer my mom told me "Some women don't think about the pain, they think about the end reward". He seemed to understand that answer because he replied, "because mothers love their children". My friends younger brother Charlie, who's 10, said "without birth nothing would exist". Which i thought was absolutely correct. My 12 year old cousin Nick, said "When women give birth, they keep life going, by bringing more people, which continues a cycle". Each of child understood the general basics of birth, that everyone understands. Birth is simple and complex, it's simple because everyone in the world gets the point, and knows that they were born. It's complex, because it's a turning point in someone's life, and affects almost everyone's life.

Hw 34 - Some Initial Thoughts On Birth

Everyday a child is born, and everyday a parent thinks that they created a prophet. But when does that baby become a regular person? In certain cultures you become an adult at 13 or in others 21, but eventually that person who was once a baby, once something special might have their own child who they think is special. All in all birth is the start and sometimes the highlight in peoples life.