Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child’s birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development?
-For our first Blog assignment, I need to write about a personal birthing experience. Well, I do not have any children of my own, and I was not around for the birth of any other children, I was able to meet the children after they came home. So I am choosing to write about my own birth, because I was present for that! However, I am only going off of things I have been told by family members
I was born in December, right before Christmas, and I came home in a stocking. I was a Cesarean section, and had trouble breathing on my own. I spent my first few days in an incubator, and came home on a breathing monitor. From what I was told, I was a quiet and happy baby, not very fussy. I enjoyed exploring the world around me, and learning new things.
I choose this example because I was not involved in other births, or any birth of my own children.
As for birthing in another country, or culture. I began to look at Birthing in parts Africa. I know a friend who is soon moving to Africa to work with the people who are there. Help them with educational needs and medical needs. In 2008, there was a group that traveled to Africa to help train birthing attendants. Africa has many sections and many tribes. I'll focus on the Democratic of Republic of Congo for this entry.
"In developed countries 99% of women receive prenatal care and are attended by skilled health personnel during labor. In Burundi only 25% of births are attended by skilled health personnel. In Rwanda only 10% of mothers receive adequate prenatal care and only 31% give birth with a skilled attendant. Both Rwanda and Burundi have less than one midwife per 10,000 people. Only 61% of mothers in the Democratic Republic of Congo are attended during labor. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the 5th worst infant mortality rate in the world." (Vanderlaan, 2010) Before these attendants were trained, they would used unsafe and unclean procedures to deliver the babies. Also, HIV/AIDS is an epidemic in Africa, and many pregnant mothers did not know they had the disease until they were pregnant. With this new training, they were able to prevent the disease from being passed on to the child.
Also, many of the births in most of Africa are done by midwives, and very few mothers are receiving prenatal care. This style of birth is much different then mine. I was born in a hospital, with access to an incubator to assist me when I could not breath on my own. I was able to receive the care I needed to help me survive. Looking at the statistics from the website, if I had been born in Africa, in the Republic of Congo, it is possible I might not have been able to survive.
Vanderlaan. (2009-2010). Birth in Central Africa. In Birthing Naturally. Retrieved Jan 4, 2011, from http://www.birthingnaturally.net/christian/africa/index.html.
7 comments:
Hello Cassie, I enjoyed reading your blog. I see that we have something in commom (no children). Thanks, for sharing your birthing story.
I thought that your information on births in Africa was very interesting. I think it is terribly sad about the rate of HIV/AIDS and the fact that mothers do not even know that they contain the disease until they are already pregnant. I am glad that they are trying to make strides in preventing the disease from passing down to the unborn children. Thank you for sharing your stories and information.
Hi Cassie,
You are born in the same month as my daughter and you tell your story so well.
I really enjoyed your story about your birth. It was very intersting about the information on Africa. It is surprising all the time.
Hi Cassie,
I enjoyed reading your story on your birth. That itself is a great choice. I chose Africa as my country to study about birth and I was surprised at at how they gave birth without medicines at all. I placed some videos on my blog if you get a chance stop and see them.
Cassie, I learned a lot of information from reading your post. I do not have any children, either. Your article on Africa was very informative. I did know that Africa had an Aids crisis in their country, but I did not know that the women did not get prenatal help during their pregnancy. I am happy to know that the doctors in Africa are findings ways to prevent the babies from being born with Aids. Keep up the good work!
hi Cassie-enjoyed your post. I also wrote about birth in Africa, I was amazed by the conditions for pregnancy and birth there. Tell your friend good luck and thank you for giving of herself to help others! I have a friend also who lived there for a year working at an orphanage and is going back to help more.
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