Part I:

The Process of giving birth is a very intricate process that has consistently been evolving throughout the years. The means by which birth has been medicalized in Vietnam, and the Netherlands are concepts that are perhaps not what we are used to as individuals. However, when looked at through an anthropological lense, one may be able to identify that these ideas are cohesive to each individual’s culture respectively. One term that we had grasped from the previous article is, “cultural authority” and the process of giving birth is one of many aspects that truly sets some cultures apart from others. The basic idea that can be addressed first and foremost as a central idea is how birth giving is conducted here in The United States of America. When comparing different styles of birth giving, the United States maintains a relative standard for the modern world, through which babies are conceived in hospitals where midwives, doctors, and nurses are all in attendance assisting one another as they attempt to make a prompt and safe baby delivery. As many sources have shown, not all sources have played out to be the same. The first culture we can address is Vietnamese. The video we were given to watch, displayed fertility in the mountains and within the first couple seconds the first free fact in the video suggested  that fertility is ten times higher in the mountains than the rest of the nation (Vietnam). This is a result of ancient practices having to take a backseat as midwives have to overcome several obstacles including: cultural tradition, politics, remoteness (lack of availability of resources), and poverty. Through and through there are several obstacles whilst giving birth, and thus birth isn’t always given in a hospital. However with resources so scarce, equipment such as ultrasound equipment and others become more difficult to attain and as a result the fertility levels are affected massively. Now onto the Netherlands, the article we were given strictly suggested that birth deliveries are fat better off at home than anywhere else. The article immediately starts off by mentioning how 66.7 percent of women plan to give birth at home. The Netherlands is not as remote as Vietnam, and therefore, the reasoning suggests that the feasibility and transport simply outweighs the benefits to having a mother give birth at home and be brought to the hospital afterwards if needed. The article backed this up by mentioning how babies that are born at home or the hospital have the same odds to end up in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at respective hospitals in the Netherlands. Finally, last but not least to mention is the Inuit. The Inuit women are often assisted by elder women as Inuit women pride themselves on midwife training in the wildlife. There is an interesting process that follows birth deliveries as inuit babies stay in their moms parkas for a long time after being born and their futures are always predicted by the elders. From these three cultures alone, the simply process of giving birth becomes equally powerful and unique from one another as each culture aspires to accomplish the same goal: to give birth.

Part II:

I picked an image of this book as it is a relatively well – known book all across America. This book became popular as many expecting women, contemplate the many variables of giving birth and what they wish to manipulate within their own life in order to give birth in the ways they choose to. I feel like this is a perfect symbol of Western Culture as a whole as most American individuals have hospitals and relative infrastructure developed in and around them, therefore giving birth usually follows a standard procedure, and “what to expect can be easily put together in a book like that.