Part 1
The birthing experience differs all around the world, except in Western medicine. The goal of all births is the same, which is to safely deliver a healthy baby, but techniques and rituals differ among different groups of people. These reasons can differ due to religious, environment, and socio-economic reasons, but they are practiced in hopes of creating the most healthy and positive experience for the mother and the baby.
In the United States, the birthing process has changed drastically since the 19thcentury, when birth always occurred at home with the presence of a midwife. Since then, with the emergence of biomedicine, technology, and more research, most births occur in a hospital now. The medicalization of birth in the United States may be the greatest change of this process in comparison to anywhere around the world. As we discussed in lecture 3.2, we have the highest infant mortality rate amongst all the industrialized countries in the world. With all of the technology and ongoing research, why should the United States have the highest infant mortality rate among the world’s industrialized countries? We also discussed authoritative knowledge this week, and that highlighted the fact that a woman pretty much has no say so in how her delivery occurs, and it’s all up to the obstetrician. With the improvement of technology and medical research, physicians have almost made patients seem as if they are test monkeys for medical practices, instead of patients who have feelings and concerns about their bodies during medical procedures. In recent years, I personally have witnessed a trend of more at home births due to mistreatment at hospitals.
In the Netherlands, the location of birth seems to not have much impact. The Netherlands would be considered an industrialized country, just like the United States, but the percentage of at-home births is considerably higher than that in the United States. The women seem to prefer at-home births than in hospital births. The trend occurred most in women who were 25 years old and older, of Dutch origin, and of medium to high socio-economic status. It is important to note that women of higher financial status preferred to have an at home birth compared to a hospital birth.
In Vietnam, the medicalization of the birthing process is making women give birth at health centers, due to beliefs that at-home births are not safe. In the film, there was a young girl who was 16 years old and 9 months pregnant, who was urged to make a 4 hour walk to get to the local medical center to be examined. Many Vietnamese women are inclined to go to the medical center due to how far it is, not being able to get proper treatment, and not being able to participate in cultural traditions. The more that birth becomes medicalized, the more uncomfortable these women will be as they could be disconnected from cultural norms in order to have a baby at a medical center.
The Inuit people of southern Canada have a birthing procedure that is similar to that of Vietnam. The women are starting to give birth at hospitals rather than at home, and that can take a toll on cultural values. The Inuit women are urging women to stop giving birth at the hospitals and nursing stations, and to return to cultural traditions of using an older woman as a midwife to support the mother during birth.
Part 2
I chose this picture as a depiction of childbirth in Western societies because it supports the notion of biomedical child birth. First, there are 4 doctors or medical assistants present during the birth of this child. I believe that birth is meant to be a sacred practice and the fact that there are that many people in the delivery room can be quite nerve wrecking and chaotic, adding to the pain and tension your body feels as it is preparing for birth. Second, the caesarean section procedure is how the baby is being delivered, and that is apparently the most medicalized way to give birth, and there have been times where women are forced to have this procedure done, instead of a natural vaginal birth.
Hello Reagan! I noticed in your second paragraph that you said woman pretty much have no say in how they deliver their baby and they are treated as test subjects. I can totally understand how you could see it as that, but personally, I think the reason why women go to hospitals to give birth is because they know the process works and feels more comfortable because of the resources and technology that is readily available there. I don’t necessarily agree with the last part of your paragraph because from my experience of working in a hospital, I have noticed that all the staff that work on the labor and delivery floor have all given birth themselves or have witnessed someone giving birth so they understand the pain and frustration mothers go through and try to comfort them as much as possible. Isn’t it fascinating to see how different cultures do things differently? I loved that the Netherlands has adapted to allowing expecting mothers to give birth. My boyfriend was actually born in his living room from a natural at home birth and he was a set of twins! His mom told me that it was one of the most painful experiences she has ever gone through, but it was also one of the most beautiful things she could have imagined. Interestingly enough, his family is very Dutch. It truly does show that where you grow up and what culture you are around shapes your beliefs especially on giving birth.
Hi Regan! In your second paragraph you mention that women don’t have a say so and that they are treated as test subjects. I think this depends on whether you have a good doctor or not. My mother in law told me she had a great experience in her pregnancy. She talked about how she could voice her opinions and concerns with her doctor. She was able to get access to medicine and other treatment that was necesary. Overall she felt like she had a choice and her voice was heard throughout her pregnancy. I know that this differs for everyone. I also think it depends on the age and time when you are pregnant. Most young women don’t have much knowledge about being pregnant and sometimes doctors know that you are young and will try to take advantage of that and not seek the best options for you. It depends on the time of your pregnancy as well because back in the day they didn’t have the same options that we do know. Another factor that plays a part in this is the economic factor. The more economic bile you have the more options you have for you versus a women who has low economic status with cheap insurance won’t have the same treatment as a women with higher economic factors because their resources are limited.
It is interesting to see different cultures rituals for giving birth. I really like the health care the Netherlands provide, they give access and resources to all women. If you could give birth in a different country based on the countries we’ve learned about which one would it be? Also, do you think America should adopt different birth rituals from the countries we’ve learned about? Do you think this will help ours to be better?
In rural India I learned that women tend to have at home births like the countries we’ve studied this week because they don’t trust institutional births. I’m not sure why they don’t believe in that. I would assume it’s because they think doctors would use medicine that they don’t believe in or don’t like. Also, it could because it interferes with their beliefs and traditions.
I’m not sure if some women are forced. I think that depends on the risk of giving birth vaginally. Like for some women who give birth at a older age, it would be in their best interest to have a c-section because of the possibility of rupturing the reproductive organs. But I’ve never heard of a doctor forcing anything on a patient.