Blog Post 3

Part I

People across the globe have developed different cultural normalities throughout their regions over thousands of years, and the way women go about birthing children is no different. Some cultures encourage the use of painkillers and supervision of medical professionals, while others emphasize the importance of a natural birth in a comfortable place such as one’s home. Whether these actions are influenced by progression in modern medicine or the prominence of traditional practices truly differs amongst each culture. For example, the Inuit people believe that the entirety of their lives are closely intertwined with nature, and therefore apply these traditional mentalities to the birthing process. The traditional process involved an elder Inuit woman to assist in the delivery, and the woman was isolated from the rest of her community. The Inuit culture also believes in reincarnation, and sees each newborn child as a reincarnation of a past ancestor. In more modern times in the Netherlands, women are given the choice of whether they want to birth at home or in the hospital. While learning the culture of the Inuit birthing practices, I noticed that the epidemiological theory was often used to articulate data. One of the most surprising facts that I myself found, being one who has grown up in American culture, was about 60% of women seem to choose home (de Jonge A., et al). Here in the United States, we place a strong emphasis on giving birth in a hospital and being in close contact with doctors of multiple specialties, whereas the Inuit traditionally have little to no contact with such professionals, and face little to no differences in infant mortality rates. I acknowledge the fact that I was raised in a culture that almost doesn’t give women an option of whether or not they want to give birth in a hospital and that is the reason that I am so shocked by this statistic. I am glad that research on the Inuit has opened my eyes and caused me to broaden my perspectives in this sense. 

With this newfound perspective, I was able to come into watching the Mountain Midwives of Vietnam film with a much more open mind. Again, women in Hmong, similar to those in the Netherlands, prefer delivering a child at home rather than a hospital. Not to my surprise, much of the rationale behind this dates back to traditional practices that are better suited to be performed at home. We see the feminist theory’s relevance in these practices in Vietnam as women often fight for themselves and their own preferences. The film shows the efforts that are being made to urge Vietnamese women to shift their child birth practices to district health centers where the wellbeing of both the mother and child can be better maintained. 

Although I previously knew that cultures across the globe deliver children in different ways, I was shocked to find that some cultures still engage in such traditional practices by choice. I thought perhaps only a handful of Inuit people would still choose to have home births, whereas the majority would rather be in the comfort of a hospital, when in reality, they are most comfortable in their own homes. I have gained a new understanding for normalities of cultures across the globe and am now able to better understand things from their perspectives, one much less medicinalized than my own. It makes me wonder something I had never previously considered: if the United States have become too medicinalized, to the point where we should take a step back?

Part II

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/blizzard-baby-booms-fact-fiction/story?id=28496290

The photo that I found to describe birth in America was one of the baby rooms in the hospital, with many excited parents and loved ones looking through the windows. In my opinion, this photo reinforces the dominant ideas of the American normality of hospital births. I imagine that people in other countries might find it odd that we have such large nurseries within the hospital that are ‘on display’ for not only family members, but also the casual passerby. In other cultures, the birth of a newborn baby is viewed as a holy and ritualistic event, which likely does not involve the mother and child being in separate wards of the hospital. This image truly communicates the culture and normality that Americans have built around childbirth. I imagine that if you were to take a photograph of a newborn Inuit or Vietnamese baby, he or she would be in the arms of the mother rather than a small box in front of a window. 

De Jonge A., et al.,. (2009). New Figures from the Netherlands on the Safety of Home Births. An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

UNFPAasia. (2011, April 27). The Mountain Midwives of Vietnam. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F1dmcJTd9U

3 thoughts on “Blog Post 3

  1. Hi Arya!

    I definitely agree with you, I was also surprised to learn that some cultures still engage in traditional practices, such as home births, by choice. If I was pregnant and in labor, I do not think I would feel most comfortable in my own home. There’s so many things that goes wrong I feel. However, I think this negative thinking has been brought on from the western medicalization of home births and other procedures. Medical professionals always preach about never doing anything to your body without their consent. Professor Livy mentioned it is very easy to pigeon hole people and to think of them as one or two dimensional people, or to stereotype them based on their cultural backgrounds. Gaining a new understanding for normalities of cultures, I think the United States have become too medicalized and when it comes to personal beliefs we should take a step back, except for immunizations those are definitely a necessity!

    I like how you chose a picture of a hospital’s nursery. When I was younger I always thought it was weird people could casually go see babies even if they don’t know them. As you mention, in some cultures the birth of a newborn baby is viewed as a holy and ritualistic event. I feel having babies on display ruins this.

  2. Hello! Your picture is striking to me. I find it very strange that it is normal thinking that it is ok for babies to be apart from their parents right after birth. It also reminded me of something I have been considering in regard to the high instance of infant mortality among Americans (as noted by our lecture, we are 27th) – I wonder if it may be because we tend to separate baby from mom when there are any complications at all. Perhaps putting a struggling infant in to a plastic crib with little or no human contact isn’t always best. Maybe allowing the baby to be able to snuggle with mom or dad or other family members might actually benefit an infant with mild issues. Obviously, I am not speaking about babies that require extensive attention. But my daughter-in-law and son were separated from their son simply because the medical staff wanted to observe him for 48 hours post C-section. There weren’t any indicators that he needed that observation, it was the medical protocol. I found it quite strange.

  3. Hi, Arya, I found that your weekly post is great and I agree with your discussion about the effects that culture bring to the different ways for different nations to do their childborn. In fact, more and more people would like to choose a natural way to do their feeding. In this week’s lecture, I also gained my understanding about how different cultures break through their awareness of Western medicine system. Many of the developed countries don’t have an institutional way about childborn. The overall healthcare system is not complete and it is hard to local people to find helps in pathological condition. The picture you found is very touching. I can see that parents show their love for the baby. However, some people wouldn’t like to put their baby in the baby rooms. They think the home is the most comfortable environment for the baby. I think this two ways depends on how people think and their culture effects and I respect both.

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