Business of Being Born Response

Watching the documentary "Business of Being Born Response", my own perspective towards childbirth have changed greatly. At first, I thought going to the hospital was where every pregnant women would go to give birth and that the women have have natural birth too. However, having watching the documentary, almost all of the hospital or all gives interventions and c-sections rather than waiting for the mother and baby to come out of its own accord. To me, the most important moments in the film was when the mothers are giving birth with the midwives because it's basically telling the pregnant women to get a midwife instead of going to the hospital. By comparing to the hospital births which they also show, it gives a huge difference in feeling between both. In homebirths with the midwives, it gives a sense of security and after the baby comes out and in the mother's arm, it gives a happy feeling. But in the hospital, the procedure, especially the c-section seems forced, rough and the baby were not able to be with the mother after it came out because of the interventions. The women that had homebirth didn't look as tired as the ones in the hospital, they look energetic and looking at the baby and the mother, they feel more connected. 

Crucial information that is important to know is the statistics on the c-section, the historical information, with the black and white pictures of the pregnant women tied up and the speakers saying how important midwives are to the women. Seeing the pictures gives horrible imaginations to what the hospital had done to the mothers and how it affects the mother's "life altering experience" in giving birth. In statistics, c-section is getting higher in the chart and in United States, less than 8% of mothers who had midwives to attend them for the birth. One of the speakers said midwives are crucial allies of the women and they ensure safety for the mothers. The price is also a case to look at because considering the midwife package ($4,000 with the midwife (wives) caring the the mother and letting the mother in charge) or the hospital package ($12,000-13000, doctor convenience and baby are sent to the baby room without seeing its mother), the midwife package looks much better. I think a lot of the mothers wants to have a baby but many of them do not research on the risks that the hospital can give and the choice of having a midwife. In the beginning of the documentary, they said not much people know what a midwife is. I think if many women who saw this documentary, they will find how important midwives are to the mothers and the future mothers. 

Additionally, when the mothers were giving birth, the midwife had the mother hold the baby once it came out. I think it is significant because the first person that the baby gets to see is the mother. It gives a closer and "empowering" (I think the main midwife in the documentary said it) relationship between the mother and child. The mothers also felt how hard the whole process and the extreme pain but after its over, the mothers looked so happy, relief and accomplished. 

Break Hw

Watching the videos of the animal birth and the human birth, I think the animals have a more natural way of childbirth than humans do. In the giraffe gives birth video, even though the giraffe are caged in a room, and a small mountain of sand for the baby giraffe to come out, the birth scene is similar to the birth scene if they were in the wild. Except the giraffes do not need to worry about predators. The people gave another giraffe, sort of a “midwife” to assist the mother for the birth process. It looks natural as the baby giraffe comes because there are no technology tools or interventions used for animals.

Unlike the normal childbirths for the women, natural childbirths give more ease and relaxation to the mothers. In the Ina May Talk video, her words about the normal childbirth are forceful. The doctors use their fingers to make the mothers’ hole larger for the labor and the baby to come out faster. It feels as if the doctors are raping the mothers. She thinks that by having midwives around the mothers, it would make the mothers feel less shy and able to give more effort in pushing the baby out. Having the midwives encouraging the mothers feel much better than having the doctors using their tools and interventions, which scares the mothers. Since midwives are women, the interactions/connections between the midwives and the mothers’ would be much more comfortable than in the room with doctors’ that sometimes would be male. Ina May also tells how the sphincter can close up because the doctors are making the mothers nervous and shy. Does this tell that having midwives and natural births are better?

In the Monty Python video, besides being funny, it shows negativity towards the birth doctors. The whole birth process was centered on the doctors and the doctors showing off to the director (the one dressing in a suit) to get credit. The mother tried to ask questions but it wasn’t really about her safety but what should she do. For natural births, everybody have to be attentive to the mothers and the child and their needs, making them more of the leader. However, in normal births, it’s the doctors. The doctors even forgot about why they were in the room at first, and then after a few thoughts, they know. I think it shows the doctors didn’t care about the birth process much since they have done the procedure many times. They just want to get it done so they can go home and it shows it at the end. They show the baby to the mother for a second and then they were all gone, leaving the mother alone and the father weren’t present. This make it seems the father is not involved when his child is coming out.

C-section happens when the mother’s hole is not large enough for the baby to come out. In the normal births, there are interventions and like Ina May said, the doctors used their fingers to hurry up the process. I think because the doctors are forcing the mothers and everything to hurry, and there was a mistake, c-section is the next choice. Watching the c-section video, people say we have to be gentle to the baby when it comes out but by watching the doctors, they look very rough and forceful as they sort of pull the baby out. Everything seems to be very fast even the cleaning of the baby was fast. The nurse wipes the baby quickly but not totally clean and it was done. I didn’t like the way they do it.

Many choose to go to the doctors when their baby is about to come out but they get worried and nervous around the doctors and the tools involved so why would they still want to go there. Like Ina May said, having natural birth with midwives are more positive, besides the pain and more comforting to the women. 

Reaction to the natural versus normal childbirth

My first reaction on the lecture of natural versus normal childbirth was a little confusing because in the past, women would have more natural births because of the lack of technology and considered it a normal childbirth. However now it is not. There are differences between these two. Today's normal childbirth have more scary technology tools involve and interventions but causes less pain to the mother than normal childbirth. The natural childbirth have more screams but the mother and how long/when the baby comes out have its way and time so it seems more natural. Hearing the differences between the two have made me wondered why a lot of the women stopped natural birth besides considering the pain that they have to endure through the whole labor and delivering process. If the mother (and/or father) wished for a child and when they have one and going through the childbirth process using normal, wouldn't that affect their desire for that baby? Wouldn't it be better to endure it with the baby to come out than having interventions and doctor-centered? I think it leaves an alienated feeling towards the bonding of the mother and child. 

The natural and normal childbirth both have risks but in the lecture, it seems normal childbirths are more riskier than natural childbirths. Natural childbirths reveals the tradition that women should hold when having their child. Listening in the lecture, the natural childbirth have more freedom than normal childbirths and everybody around them would focus on the mother and child. As for the normal childbirths, it centers around the doctors and looking at the doctors as leaders, it doesn't give the mother and child many choices in what they want or what they don't want. Through out the lecture, I still find natural childbirths more safe than normal childbirths and more freedom towards the mother and child. 

Classwork in answering the birth questions

Intervention:
1. What are the kind of drugs use for the brith?
Epidural (talked in class), Induction is when the chemical forces the body into labor when it's not ready. IV lines: since the hospitals forbid food during labor; causes pain and irritation for the women because the cold fluids ;and constant needs to go to the bathroom because too much fluid; convulsions happens because too much fluid and unable to execrete can make the lung fill up. (http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/birth-interventions.html)

2. Does the drugs affect the baby? For example, epidural can affect breastfeeding (http://www.lamaze.org/ExpectantParents/PregnancyandBirthResources/MoreTipsandTools/InterventionIndications/Epidural/tabid/400/Default.aspx) Chemical Induction causes more stress on the baby during labor.  (http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/birth-interventions.html)

3. Do the drugs affect the mother or baby after the baby comes out?

Examples: IV fluids can disrupt the balance of a baby's blood. It exhaustes the mother after doing all the pushing and respiratory distress and seizures can be side effects to the mother and risk of the fluids flooding into the baby's system.

Routine Continous Electronic Fetal Monitoring is when they strapped the mother on the bed and having a monitor monitor the baby's movement. However, it can cause the mother's labor to go into c-section because of the high false positive rates continous fetal monitoring. It can cause much damage to the baby (lose of oxygen) and the mother's birth canal and uterus if the mother can't shift their position. 

(http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/birth-interventions.html)

4. Why do women not use intervention? Interventions should be avoided because of having IV fluids and continous electronic fetal monitoring are not good for the women. It can begin a fever and bloating because of the fluids. Also, having a natural birth is the healthiest and even though it's going to be a lot painful, its better than being sick because of the interventions and still have to give birth. (http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/giving-birth.html)

5. How often does death of mother or baby happens with anesthesia/drugs/interventions?

Not often but it does happen about 1% (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080109215422AAQ7O8t)

1. What percentage of women have c-sections?
2006: 31.1% (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarean_section)
1 in 3 babies in the U. S. (http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/240_1031.asp).

2. What % of women gets abortions ?
- Fifty percent of U.S. women younger than 25, women aged 20-24 = 33%, Teenagers = 17% (http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html#7)

3. When was c-sections invented? Around 1200 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesarean_section)

4. Why do women have c-sections ?
- The baby is too big to pass safely through the vagina
- Already had a c-section or other surgeries on your uterus
- The baby's position, the breech position or transverse position, that might be unsafe for the baby to come out because head has to come out first for the safety of the baby.
- There are problems with the placenta
-Labor is too slow or stops
- Having more than a child in the womb
-The baby is having some birth defect

(http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/240_1031.asp)

5. What is the amount of children getting adopted in America? 

125,000 children adopted annually (http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~adoption/topics/adoptionstatistics.htm)

Researching about the questions and reading the mother's giving birth story, I think the people who did not experience about the births and how the baby's are deliver are really clueless. Reading about the stories that the mother have wrote, it tells how they are so nervous and worried about what would happen when they go into labor. They worried about the interventions that the doctors would give them; what if the baby's position goes wrong?; and many other topics that we, the people who is not giving birth would not talk about. Generally, we all know what happens when giving birth and it takes a short time to explain it, but as for the actual experience, it takes a long time especially for the mothers. I think only the mothers who is giving the birth is the one actually worrying about the process but the others including the father is not really. For the father, I think it's also because they are male, they do not truly understand how the female feels about the baby and so, they would be confuse as to what would go on during the labor process. 

The topic about interventions explained in the articles all seem risky, but the doctors’ give it to the mothers is to ease their pain. What would happen if the mothers doesn't take intervention? How would the pain dwell? Additionally, reading articles about c-section, there are more cases with c-section than vaginal births in this time because of the mothers thinking its less pain and because the baby's position is not fit for vaginal births. It gives a feeling that the mothers do not want to experience pain as much as they should. People say birth is a unique and wonderful moment but as time passes, it feels as if the parents wants the child, but don't want to experience the pain. 

Normally, people think that abortions is immoral and the ones aborting their child shouldn't abort it. However, it is a necessary if the parents do not have enough financial support for the family or if its an unintentional birth, the mother would not want it. They abort the child because there are also other children suffering and adoption is another method of having children. They would choose adoption because they would not want to feel pain or especially now, a bad country and environment, bringing another child into this world is bad for the child too. Adopting a child gives the child a new life with the parents and it does not have to be blood related bonds that families must have. 

American Way of Birth - Questions about Interventions in Birth beside C-Section

- What are the kind of intervention drugs are used?

-How often does death of the mother or baby happens with the interventions/anesthesia?

-Does it affect the babies if intervention are used?

-How much amount of drugs are used per birth?

-Do most women take vitamins?

-How do the doctors know which drugs to give?

-What type of person is more inclined to use drugs?

-Do the drugs affect the mother after the baby comes out?

-What would happen if the drugs wears off in the middle of the delivering process? What do the doctors do?

-Do the drugs affect have more negative affect on the older age mothers?

-Are there drugs to get pregnant?

-How are the drugs tested?

-How much money does the drugs cost?

-How much does the pharmacy or the makers of the drugs earned from the drugs?

-Why do doctors use them?

-Why do women use intervention? Or not use it?

Birth Stories

Birth Story 1: 

Story of Mrs. Z: My water broke in the late dawn.  I kicked out my eldest daughter out of the room so she won't see what's going to happen. I called my sister and shouted chinese on the phone, telling her to come here to help me.  Panick started to rise as the thought of the one-child policy ran through my mind. By the time my sister came, she brought along a midwife with her. As they get the preparation ready, and the midwife soothing me, telling me to calm down but how can i?! I lay on my back and screamed with pain as the hours go by, but in my mind, it feels like forever. I told myself to be brave and hurry to push out the child, so the pain would be gone and if anyone founds out about this second child, I would have to go and shut their mouths up. I gripped my sister's hand as the long labor keeps going and in the process of pushing the baby out.

Finally, the child is out. All the long hours of labor has finally ended. The baby's cry sounded the whole room.  I closed my eyes and let the midwife do her job of cleaning up the baby. "Here you go, it's a girl! Congratulations," she said. I wasn't able to hold her since I had little energy left [some kind of chinese culture...rule (kind of)] so I fell asleep.

Birth Story 2:

Mrs.X was having her first child and she felt her stomach hurting. So on an August day, she went to the hospital to tell the doctors that she was going to have a baby. The female doctors check up on her and when they use an instrument to listen to the baby's heart, their was a low sound of the baby's heart. The doctors told her to go get sonogram (not sure if its the correct term) and then they told her that she has too much fluid that it is hard for the baby to breathe. Rather than doing the normal procedure, the doctors decided to have a c-section. She was lie on her back and the doctors gave her an epidural. However, during the process of c-section, there wasn't enough amount of epidural so she had to endure the pain, which was really painful! The scar which she had was near the bottom of the stomach. After she was out, the nurse asked if she wants to have a birth medal for her baby and she said yes, which on the medal, it gives the picture of the year of the zodiac, the time and date of her birth and etc. 

Birth Story 3:

Mrs. Y was having another child and because she was over 35 years old, she had to get a scan (sonogram)  to see if the baby is alright because of the fluid in the the stomach and her age can cause the baby to have some problem delivering. However, her body was fine and her baby was fine after the scan and so it was a normal procedure. The father were allowed to be in the delivering room. She lie on the bed and the doctors started the delivery. It took her from the morning to around 3 p.m. around 4 p.m. for the baby to come out. "It was really painful and hard," she said. She was also very exhausted and the doctor gave her a shot for her to go to sleep. As for the baby, the nurse had blanket it and cleaned it. She didn't really see the baby much after the delivering since she was tired and was sent to a room. 

Birth Story 4:

It was 1 o'clock in the morning and Mrs. A started whining to her husband that the baby might be coming. So the father drove her to the hospital. On the bed where Mrs. A lies on, the nurse comes in telling them what to do but since only Mrs. A knows English, she had to translate back to the father. From the nurse's perspective, it looked like Mrs. A was in so much pain that she was just screaming and babbling to Mr. A in their language. That made the nurse started talking directly to Mr. A since the nurse thought Mr. A knew English when it was Mrs. A was the one who knew it (it was because she was talking in her language that made the nurse thought like that). After the nurse left, Mrs. A and Mr. A spotted a orthodox jewish couple in the next room and they overheard that the jewish woman was already in labor for 24 hours. The jewish husband was praying for their baby, which seemed funny. This made Mrs. A started to panick and telling Mr. A that the baby better be coming out soon. Luckily, Mrs. A didn't need to take any drugs and the child was naturally born. 

During around 5 o'clock in the morning, the doctor who OB came in and Mrs. A and Mr. A were in shocked because the doctor was black (since Mrs. A and Mr. A were only in American for about 1 year and they had not seen a black person with a doctor's position). Therefore, the first person to touch their baby was a black doctor. After all the pain and suffering, Mrs. A finally had the baby out and slept for two hours. Mr. A was able to see the baby first in the room full of babies, which by the way, the jewish husband was still praying for his wife (around 30 hours or so). When the nurse came in with Mrs. A's baby and since it is her first baby, she didn't know what to do when the baby started crying. The baby was actually hungry so the nurse told Mrs. A to do the breast feeding and after a while, the baby stopped crying. 

Note: on the first sonogram, the baby was suppose to be a girl but on the second sonogram, it was a boy. 

Birth

The thought of birth excites me but it also scares me. The scary part about birth is also a disgusting part too because I don't think I would have enough courage to see a delivering. It's rather disgusting... Also the scream from the mothers would be horrifying to hear. I think the mother experience the most pain and endurance for the baby to come out.  However the most happiest moment is when the baby comes out. Seeing a newborn would make many people especially the mother and father feel happy. 

Genereally, birth is a normal routine and if one describes it, there's nothing much to say about it (maybe if it were the doctors) because the mother is pain, I don't think they would remember much and the father is panicking about who to call and being nervous with the mother. However I think birth is unique for every couple parent because every new born is different and there is always a bond between the parents and the child. Even though they cannot say it or describe it easily to others or to the child, they remember the moment/images in the head and the feelings they had during the birth of their child.