Birthing Experience

I do not have any children yet (although it is a goal of my husband and mine), and I have not participated in the process for another woman, so the only story I have any sort of insight on is what I've heard of my mother's experiences giving birth to me. I can't personally recall any information about the event, but among stories I've heard include my father casually dropping my mother in labor at the front doors to the hospital to go park the car, it was a natural birth, probably with an epidural, the overall process took 17 hours long, and I came out with a no hair and a head that you could shine like a bowling ball.

I think that the birthing process has a huge impact on a child's physical and mental development. One example that I heard recently in the child care facility where I work was about a mother that has three children here. During the birthing process of her oldest son, there became a strong need to get the baby out as soon as possible and the doctor chose to use clamps to pull him out. A few years later, she found out that due to the physical strain that was placed on his head and neck during birth, he now has Torticollis - a twisted neck in which the head is tipped to one side, while the chin is turned to the other side. While the urgency may have overwhelmed the situation, I think this really shows how vital the birthing process, along with adequate prenatal care, can be to a growing child.

I found an article (link below) living in Bamako, the capital of Malian in West Africa. The typical age of pregnant women in this area is 15 years old. There is an extreme lack of education for these women, poverty, and poor health care and prenatal care. The statistics that accompanied a story of a young girl who died giving birth were shocking. About 1200 women become pregnant each day, 230 have complications, and 20 women die in the birthing process. There seems to be an underlying ignorant regarding the need to improve care for pregnant women in Malian. It would cost only $79 to help save a life during birth, but instead African leaders would rather pay $500 - $1000 for a girl's funeral.

There are so many differences between women who give birth in America - like my mother - and women who give birth in Africa. The biggest difference is the that Africa is still a developing country. The range of health care is so vast between the two countries that women often receive no care at all. After birth, a lot of children in African countries do not survive past only a few months old because they don't have resources for the treatment that infants require. I really feel a sense of comfort to be living in a country where women can receive necessary medical attention before and after birth; but at the same time, my heart goes out to young girls in developing countries that lack these valuable tools and are often placed under such strict ruling and minimal choice to become a mother in their teenage years. Statistics will show that the babies conceived and birthed by these women will have more stress in their youngest years and many don't have the chance to live much longer after that.

Reference:
Fighting for life in birth. (2001, May 11). BBC News.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1325293.stm