1) I talked to a woman I know well enough, to ask her about her experience giving birth. She began talking about how it felt as though an alien took over her body because she was amazed by the different things her body could do. Luckily she didn’t experience morning sickness which made the process much more fun for her. She wanted a more natural birth rather than taking antibiotics and other drugs. She participated in birthing classes and I enjoyed the moment when she realized what a joy giving birth was. In her birthing class the teacher asked everyone to go around and share a time when they experienced pain, most people talked about pain they experienced from a skiing incident or sports. Then the teacher asked does that kind of pain compare to the pain of giving birth? The answer is no. The pain of being injured is because something is wrong but the pain of giving birth is natural because that’s what women’s bodies are made to do. This realization helped her to become unafraid and more accepting to the idea of having a natural birth.
When I asked her about some of the reasons she decided to have a baby she mentioned that she was married, so she had a stable relationship, she had a good career, and experience because she had obtained her masters. So she believed that having children would be the best option, and another thing she mentioned was that she didn’t want to have kids too young and she didn’t want to have them when she was too old so then was the perfect time to have children. Pregnancy provides experience because the first time around you may not be prepared and know what kind of birth you want (natural vs. unnatural), and you are more prepared for the emotional, physical, and mental changes your body experiences.
2) The next mother I interviewed also mentioned the many changes her body went through, such as weight gain and her feet began swelling. Another factor was that she was very young so all she wanted to do was have the baby and get it over with. During the time she was pregnant they didn’t have the same technology and self-help books that are provided to pregnant mothers now. She wasn’t able to do many things to prepare for the coming of the child besides deciding whether she wanted to breast feed or use formula for the child, and shopping for clothes. She enjoyed the process of giving birth because it brought about joy and pain at the same time. Joy because she was bringing a new life into this world and pain because it was pain that she had never experienced before.
When I asked her why she decided to have a baby she mentioned love. Something I noticed was that she said you have a mutual respect for someone, then you get married, and then you plan to have children. This is similar to what interviewee #1 mentioned. Although she didn’t marry before she had her child she believes that it’s something you must do. She mentioned that another reason she had a baby was because she wasn’t using birth control. This child that she had wasn’t planned but she wanted to take care of her and did everything she needed to provide for her. When she became pregnant it was no longer about herself, it was about “I have a baby growing inside of me, what I need to do to take care of this child?” She also began talking about how through raising children you are able to reflect and change some of the things you were brought up with. There were many bad times but there were also many good times because the family stuck together. When you have family they become your protectors so you care about where they are going and the impact they are making in the world.
3) The last person I interviewed about birth had very similar opinions and actions as interviewee #2. She had morning sickness for the first four months of her pregnancy and it was very challenging because there were different things happening to her body that she wasn’t used to. For her pregnancy was a very draining and strenuous process that became difficult with each child birth. She didn’t really do much to prepare for the actual birthing process besides purchasing clothes since she knew the sex of the baby before. Every pregnancy that happened wasn’t planned and it’s interesting because after the first time people would be more prepared but sometimes it doesn’t work out that way. Words can’t describe how she feels sometimes I guess it relates to the fact that she is watching her children grow up and see how they are growing as individuals based on the instruction she had given them for many years.
How do you become prepared to actually care for a baby? How do parents know what they should and should not do for the care of their child?
I found your post really interesting. The post made me re-think about the difficulty and feelings that comes across people during the process of birth. A line in particular that I liked was, "When she became pregnant it was no longer about herself, it was about “I have a baby growing inside of me, what I need to do to take care of this child?” She also began talking about how through raising children you are able to reflect and change some of the things you were brought up with." This is a pattern I notice with the people I interviewed as well. I think its because a new life brings joy but also a responsibility. And, raising a child is no easy task so mothers always learn a few life lessons along the way. This makes me wonder if there is such a thing as an 'ideal' way to raise a child if the parent is also in a way learning from the new life.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your decision to choose three women who had experienced the processes of pregnancy and giving birth in order to gain multiple perspectives on a similar situation. One of your lines that was most interesting to me was, "So she believed that having children would be the best option, and another thing she mentioned was that she didn’t want to have kids too young and she didn’t want to have them when she was too old so then was the perfect time to have children." One of the reasons this caught my eye is because I have a similar belief, and also because it sparks questions such as, "Statistically speaking, what are the best ages to have a child?" Your post certainly got me thinking about even more aspects of pregnancy and birth, great job!
ReplyDeleteI really found your post really interesting, Interviewing three different typres of women and being able to see their different takes on birth. Birth is an amazing experience and part in a mother or even womens life. I loved how you placed a question at the end which said, "How do you become prepared to actually care for a baby? How do parents know what they should and should not do for the care of their child?". In reality you really think you can prepare but not actually prepare till you go through it because every child is different every birth is different and no one can actually give you step by step instructions in how to care for a child or even the process of going through the whole birth process
ReplyDeleteWhat I liked most about it was that it is true it did help her realize and accept having a natural birth. your post is really interesting and it made me realize the difficulties that people have going through the process of birth and pregnancy
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