Childbirth is one of the important events that occurs daily throughout the world despite of its extraordinary nature. But the experiences of childbirth vary a lot in different cultures and places all over the world. In the United States, childbirth is treated in a standardized way in the hospitals. Majority of American women are hooked up to an electronic fetal monitor, receive an episiotomy, are encouraged to use any pain-relieving drugs while being monitored by the physicians and nurses. I believe that it is the same way in any other countries with the same biomedicine system but with a bit twist according to each of their own cultures.

In Vietnam, Hmong ethnic has a very unique culture of their own in childbirth process. Giving birth in a healthcare facility with formal medical assistance is not a norm in their culture as they prefer to give birth at homes. Short film by Nick Ahlmark and Nicole Precel shows that they are concerned with their rituals in burying the placenta of the baby under the bed to ensure a good health for the baby. The trained midwife is having a hard time to urge the pregnant women to give birth at the district health center. This situation reflects the feminist theory in Vietnam where women are less likely make their own decisions.

Meanwhile, in Netherland, most expectant moms prefer to give birth at home with the help of local midwives. Doctors only intervene in high-risk cases or if complications arise during delivery. Article by de Jonge A (2009) states that there is an equal outcome of risk for women that give birth at home and planned hospital birth. Thus, concluding that it is safe for the expectant moms to choose where they want to give birth, provided the medical supplies necessary for a home birth are complete which they called as kraampakket. This is different compared to the United States where majority of the pregnant women prefer to give birth at the hospitals as they believe the healthcare system can provide them a safe delivery and professional attention to the babies.

Childbirths among Inuit culture are usually assisted by an older woman experienced in childbirth. As the healthcare system improved, the government of Canada decided to evacuate the expectant moms to give birth in the South Canada. (Betty-Anne Daviss). Compared to the Vietnam situation, Inuit women are more willing to give birth at the hospitals but there are many problems arise from the evacuation process. Also, they believe that a newborn baby takes the ‘soul’ or spirit of a recently deceased relative which leads to a greater degree of freedom by the Inuit parents. Besides, the practice of breastfeeding is common in both Inuit and American societies except that the Inuit tend to have a longer breastfeeding period.

Death which is another spectrum of life also has different ways of acceptance and rituals in different cultures. From the Merilynne Rush’s video, she describes on how having funeral at the home can be a symbol of poverty as it seems like they cannot afford a fancy funeral at a funeral home. Funeral rituals vary a lot in different cultures as some cultures prefer to have it done at home and vice versa.

The image above shows the normal situation of a woman giving birth in a labor room in the hospital. I believe this image looks common to most of us and it is what we imagine when we talk about giving birth. Personally, I think this image reinforces the dominant idea of giving birth in a medical facility accompanied by physicians and nurses among the American women. It also shows how sterility is taken seriously in a medical surrounding where everyone wears gloves, hairnets and hospital gowns. It communicates the message on how everyone is paying attention to the mom while referring to the medical machine for a safe delivery.