Childbirth in Your Life and Around the World

This assignment represents three of the most amazing and lovable experiences that I will always remember and hold dear to my heart. I am the mother of three wonderful young men. I must say that each experience was different. We had our oldest son Marquis when I was seventeen. He was born a month early. He was supposed to be born on January 31st but instead he was born on December 29th. I had a natural vaginal birth. I went to labor after I had a checkup and the nurse gave me pap smear that put me into labor. He weighed in at 5lbs but he had to stay a week in the NICU to make sure he did not have any complications for being born early. I had a lot of back labor with him and I labored for about twelve hours.  My second son Joshua was born closer to his due date but I labored for twenty-three hours. My water started to leak and I was contracting so I went to the hospital. I was immediately admitted and I had to lay in the bed. My labor was good for about six hours but It then stopped but I could not get out of the bed. My doctor went home and I just stayed at 2 centimeters most of the day. He returned that evening and was very alarmed that I had not had my son yet. He started me on Pitocin to help get my contractions back. The medicine burned my arm and made me so hot to the touch. The contractions started coming but I was not dilating. My son and I started developing problems. My blood pressure dropped and his heart rate as well. The doctor said that if I did not dilate soon he was going to do an emergency C-Section. My father was a minister and he believed in the power of prayer. The doctor came in to check my cervix and as we was checking it my dad started praying. My cervix went from a five to a ten in last than ten minutes. I was ready to have my son. I went to the delivery room and pushed a total of ten times ad he was born. He weighed in at 5lbs and 12oz. My last  son Kevin was two weeks over due. The doctor sent me to the hospital to induce my labor. When we arrived the doctor checked me and he broke my water. I labored for about two hours and he was born. He weighed in at 7lbs and 3oz. I must say I had each of my children without having an epidural which I find to be a common practice with childbirths of today. I enjoyed each moment of the beginning of my sons lives. I would not change a single thing. I believe that childbirth practices in the United States are safer than in other countries. The environment is sterile and their are resources and medical staff in place to handle any emergencies that may happen during the childbirth experience.
    I researched the childbirth practice in Africa. In West Africa it is common for a woman to have her child in a squatting position on the ground surrounding by her sisters and other  female relatives around her. There are no medical doctors or staff present. There is not the sterile environment of a hospital to assist if there are complications. Women often have their children at home in Nigeria. There is no medical present and they do not believe that males should present at the birth. As a result of this way of giving birth many women die giving birth. They usually hemorrhage to death as they give birth. The environment is not sterile which cause greater risk to the mother and unborn child. West Africa has the highest fertility rates which puts women at a greater risk of dying during childbirth. I feel that there should be drastic changes in the area of childbirth. Traditions and beliefs should take a back seat when it comes to the safety of the mothers as they are in the process of giving birth.

http://www.irinnews.org/report/84689/nigeria-childbirth-still-deadly
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6558064

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 14, 2017 at 11:03 AM

    LaShawn, I believe in the power of prayer and your dad being there and everyone else who loves you praying for your delivery did help. I am so glad that everything turned out okay and that you have your beautiful children. Thank you for sharing.

    It is sad that there is so much death during childbirth in the day and age we are in, but not all countires are lucky as we are to have sterile and adequate environments to have their babies. Is there ever hope for those countries to develop or will they always be this way? Lets pray that they continue to get the help that they are getting from other missionaries and groups so that their lifestyles can be somewhat better, especially for prenatal care and delivery care.

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  2. AnonymousMay 14, 2017 at 12:04 PM

    Thank you for sharing your experience. I am glad that things turned out well for you and your family. You definitely brought up a good point about having a sterile environment and is important to the health and well being of babies. I too had to have a C-section and the thought crossed my mind about would my baby be ok and if this surgery would go well. If the environment was not sterile and I had to have a C-section the outcomes may not have been the same. Thankfully everything went well. I now have a happy healthy 12 years old.

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  3. AnonymousMay 14, 2017 at 2:49 PM

    I think it must be so scary to give birth without any medical professionals present, especially with previous knowledge of such a high mortality rate. You're really leaving your life in the hands of others and hoping for the best. I can't imagine what it must feel like. I'm thankful for the medical advances in the US. I hope that someday, all women can have access to proper care.

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  4. AnonymousMay 14, 2017 at 9:07 PM

    Lashawn
    Enjoyed reading about your birthing experiences because I have never experiences a natural/vaginal birth. Many women in places like Africa do have babies based on traditional and holistic practices, but I think that many women would take advantage of medical care during childbirth if it was more available to them.

    ReplyDelete

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