My Experience of ChildbirthIt's been 24 years and I can still recall the birth of my only child, the first child. It was 10 days after the expected date of my childbirth, I went to the doctor in the morning for my routine inspection of the week appointment. There was still no birth sign shown up. The doctor wanted me to register in hospital so I could be observed daily. The doctor told me that if there was still no birth sign show up within fives day she would give me clysis of oxytocin. I registered a bed at the hospital that day in the afternoon. Then went home to have dinner with my mother-in-law. My husband unexpectedly came home from his school where was in another province while we were eating. He went to school a month before that after winter break for the spring semester. He used to not come home within the semester and he did not plan to come because we did not know when our baby was going to birth. After dinner, He walked with me to the hospital and spent time with me until 11pm. He had to leave because of the hospital policy at that time allowed only me to stay. All relatives as visitors had to leave at certain time before the hospital gate closes. About midnight. I started labor pains. I called a duty nurse. The nurse told me it was still early to call her. I should call her until my water broken. About 2 am, I called the nurse.The nurse moved me from my bed to a predelivery room, and told me it still too early to have birth. She did check on me every hour. At about 7am, my husband came in, he was going to ask me what breakfast I would like. When he saw me in the waiting for deliver, he ran home to seek his mother; he looked extremely nervous. At about 8am, a doctor came and checked on me, then I was moved to a bed in delivery room next door. A doctor and two nurses were there watching me. They discussed something I did not understand and then they gave me clysis in my arm, then put me in a position for delivery. I did not know how long I laid on the bed and was tired. I heard a nurse said," were you sleeping. push, you have to push, hard and hard”.” I see the head," "I see the shadows", "push, harder". I follow her voice and finally I heard the baby cry. A nurse held her legs up and head down said to me "a girl"'.
It was 10:40am.I was sent out from the room while laying on the bed. When the door opened, I saw that my husband and his mother were waiting at the door. Then I felt sleep. When I woke up, I saw a room people, my family, my parents, sister, brother and friends, surely my mother-in-law and my husband were all beside my bed except my daughter who was in a nursing room with the other new born babies.
Childbirth in Africa
Childbirth in Africa seems nature. A pregnancy woman squatted on the floor and surrounded by her family female member right at her home. After baby born the mom whipped the baby’s head and washed baby in the container. Then covered by towel, that’s it. There is not nurse nor doctor, how could it happen. If I did not watch the move I just can not belief, it should be very danger. If the baby’ position in mother womb were not right, if the legs of baby come first, I could not image the follow. We know it dangers. The WHO has reported that 1500 women die per day in childbirth, which “has not improved over the last decade”. And it is the tradition! “It is customary for delivery to occur with the woman squatting on the ground surrounded by sisters and female relatives” (Hallgren,1983).
References
Youtube,Poor Kenyan mother giving birth to her baby on floor!! Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XKrIeMRNAA
Hallgren, West African childbirth traditions, Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6558064
WHO, 1,500 Women/Day Die in Childbirth Across Africa, Retrieved from http://www.casavaria.com/cafesentido/2009/05/08/2650/1500-womenday-die-in-childbirth-across-