I am grateful for high-tech medical advances in the United States, because without it both my 2 children and I may not be alive now. Therefore, I am writing about the personal birthing experience of both my children. I experienced various complications that come along with a condition initially called toxemia and is now defined as preeclampsia. It is a potentially dangerous condition that elevates the blood pressure, causes excessive fluid retention, the presence of protein in the urine, and inhibits nutrition for baby’s normal development in utero.
After a very lengthy hospital stay, our first child was born full term (38 weeks) but weighed only 3 pounds and 1 ounce. The labor lasted 32 hours, it was very painful, frightening, and truly indescribable. I begged for medication, but none was administered due to lack of knowing how to treat my condition. After our son was finally born, I had a nervous reaction. My body would not stop shaking, the whole bed was moving! At this point I wanted nothing to do with our son, postpartum depression quickly sat in. The following day, the nurses and social worker had to convince me that the baby needed me. I allowed them to wheel me to the neonatal unit, they encouraged me to talk to him and touch him. Although I was not allowed to hold him, only nurses handled preemies in those days. Contrary to now, parents are encouraged to hold babies and spend as much time as they want with them no matter how sick they are. I had to leave the hospital without him, but visited him daily. I love my son, but l never forgot the pain of childbirth, 34 years later, I still remember it. Nevertheless, he is a true blessing.
Again, I thank God for advance medicine, because 17 years later I developed the same illness, but the physicians knew how to treat it effectively. After 26 weeks of pregnancy, I was hospitalized for treatment and administered steroids to develop my baby’s lungs. My mother passed away during this time and my blood pressure was out of control. My head would not stop pounding, so my doctors decided I should deliver by emergency cesarean section at 29 weeks. My husband stayed by my side and watched the surgery; he later told me he did not understand how I could still be alive. The doctor later told me it was the hardest C-section he’d ever performed, because I had over 25 fibroid tumors. Initially, he could only get one of the baby’s arms out, so he had to cut around the tumors to get her out before more complications occurred. She weighed 2 pounds 2 ounces. I did not get to see her until the next day. Unlike the birth of our son, I could not wait to see and touch her. We spent time at the hospital kangarooing and bonding with her. However, upon her release from the hospital, I began to experience postpartum depression again. I was overwhelmed with my mom passing and all the issues of a sick preemie. She was born with a heart problem and bleeding stomach, she also had multiple blood transfusions. Nevertheless, all is well now and she has developed into a beautiful intelligent young lady, thank God. We are a close knit family, but I believe the early bonding is the foundation on which our close relationship stands.
Overall, I think birth is the most wonderful and awesome experience anyone could encounter. I chose these examples because they were both premature births and the same complications were existed. The impact of birth on child development is crucial. It is a very critical time in development and it allows for closeness, bonding and the most precious giving of oneself to sustain a helpless life, one totally dependent upon its caretakers. Regarding birth and its impact on child development, Smidt said, “Children need to be stimulated and the more varied the stimuli the better the learning.” Parents need to understand with birth comes the responsibility to help the child develop wholly and successfully.
To my surprise, the Jarara of South America view childbirth as a normal event that traditionally takes place in a location that is easily viewed by everyone in the village. This is unheard of in our culture. It would be analyzed as unsanitary, insane, and totally unhealthy. My childbirth experiences were totally private for my husband and I. We did not want anyone else to witness this event with us, definitely not a village. On the other hand, this public event could be healthy for the child’s development, because the whole village could in turn help nurture the child and teach him/her their culture. This would be an example of the ancient African Proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
References:
Smidt, S. (2006). The developing child in the 21st century: A global perspective on child development. New York: Routledge.
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