Childbirth in My Life and Around the World

        I chose to write about the birth of my amazing son.  It started out I was two weeks past my due date.  I was due June 4 but I had told everyone they had my due date wrong and he would be born in the middle of June.  I told my midwife that I did not want to be induced when I went past my due date.  She honored my wishes.  On June 14, I had an ultrasound done and it was decided it would be best to induce the following morning because I was losing fluid, which was dangerous for my son.  Well that afternoon, my son decided he was going to come on his own.  My husband was golfing with my cousin when I went into labor at 2:10.  We called him and they came straight home.  I swear my husband took the longest shower ever.  My labor came quickly and the contractions started at 5 minutes apart.  I thought before hand that I wanted to have a natural childbirth and go without drugs.  I admit I quickly changed my mind and asked for the epidural as soon as I got to the hospital.  Sadly the practice I had been seeing has several midwifes and doctors that work on rotations.  The midwife that I had seen the majority of my pregnancy was unable to attend my birth because she was not due to work until the next day.  I had a midwife that I had seen only once and a nurse.  To me, the nurse was useless and sat around writing stuff down instead of helping me.  My mom and husband were in the delivery room with me and they had to do all the work such as getting me ice and cold cloths.  While I was pushing, his head was stuck in the birth canal because he decided he wanted to greet the world face up instead of face down.  We were literally stuck until the doctor could come and vacuum him out.  At the time she was delivering twins via c-section.  I was nervous because every time I tried to push, his heart rate would go down.  Thankfully she arrived and he was born.  They put him on me and it was the best feeling in the world.  Then they cleaned him up, did his measurements, Apgar test, footprints, etc.  I was in labor a total of 10 hours and 10 minutes with 2 hours and 10 minutes spent pushing.  It was worth it because I have this incredible boy who is my whole world.  He was born June 15, the middle of June as I predicted.  I entered the hospital on Thursday, he was born after midnight on Friday, and we went home on Saturday.
         I picked this example because it is the only birthing experience I really know.  I've heard stories about other birthing experiences but I do not know what is fact and what was embellishment.  So I chose to use my own experience with my child.  It also took place 6 years ago and for me, that is the latest birthing experience I know.  I am sure a lot has changed since then.
         I think in ways childbirth can impact child development.  If I had to keep waiting on the doctor to help deliver my son, some complications could have risen.  His heart beat was dropping every time I pushed.  If this had continued his heart would have continued to slow down and I shutter to think what could have happened.  If complications arise during childbirth, development can be affected.  For example if the baby cannot get enough oxygen, cognitive development can be impaired.  Physical development can also be affected.  For example my husband's hip was dislocated during his birth.  To this day, he still has trouble with it.  Childbirth can also have a positive impact on development.  I remember the elated feeling I had when my son was born and how we quickly bonded as a family.  I do believe the positive feelings and bonding that we shared impacted my son.  My son had a secure attachment and was a happy baby. 
         I looked at the child-birthing experience in India.  There are still a lot of home births with an increase of births taking place in a public hospital.  Private hospitals are available but are for the wealthy and healthy babies.  Most of them do not have the equipment to handle a difficult birth or birth defect.  Women who are in labor are isolated away from any pollutants and usually do not have access to pain medication.  After the birth, the mother and baby are kept isolated up to 40-60 days.  The length depends on how big the family is that can take of her and the baby.  This is known as confinement and it is done due to beliefs related to the birthing process.  Other woman take care of the mother and baby including what they eat, how they bathe, etc. 
         There are a few similarities between my experience and the experiences I read about in India. More births are taking place in public hospitals like I had my son.  The mother and baby are both taken care of after the birth.  My mom helped me after I delivered.  There are several differences.  It seems a lot of birth rituals still take place based on a belief system such as the long isolation of the mother and baby.  I was discharged from the hospital about a day after giving birth.  Women in India are kept for longer.  If they deliver in a hospital, they usually stay at least 3 days if not longer. 
         No matter where you are, women go through similar yet slightly different birthing experiences.  I believe that no matter where or how you give birth, if there are complications, odds are a child's development will be negatively impacted.  But whether positive or negative, childbirth has an impact on a child's development.


                                                                           Reference
 Indian ethnicity and background.  Retrieved October 31, 2013, from
 
                   http://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/health_workers/indian-preg-prof.pdf