Childbirth In Your Life & Around The World

            Unfortunately, I have never been apart of a birthing experience but I did have the pleasure of talking with a very good friend about her water birth. I was able to see the baby and new mom a few days after the birth and was very interested in the how’s and what’s of a water birth. The midwife has been a life long friend of the families and actually delivered my friend. First, my question was why do you choose a water birth, as she explained that it is typically less stressful on the newborn considering the child is in amniotic fluid sac for their first nine months and also gentler on the mother. I was unaware that some mom’s will get out of the bath to deliver the baby while others will remain in it. I was able to understand that it is easier for the mother to get new positioning during labor, it can help lower blood pressure, and can also increase a women’s energy. I was just in awe about all of this information since most of it was all so surprising and new. However, I also wanted to know what kind of disadvantages a water birth can cause, some children can get caught in the birth canal and if they gasp for air the possibility of inhaling water is extremely high. The reason I chose this example was because I still have so many unanswered questions about a water birth and to be honest this could possibly be my choice on my first birth.

            For the second part of this assignment, I found a very interesting article about Japanese women who live in New Zealand in maintaining their birth traditions. They are many unique birth traditions that Japanese women follow which are religion-based. If the mother is unable to make it back to Japan their parents will practice these rituals on their behalf. “For example, her parents would go to shrines in Japan and send omamori (charms for a good birth) and haraobi (traditional maternity girdles) to her. The women highly valued these customary visits and items and the support from their families. They always kept the charms or amulets sent from Japan with them or in their bedroom during pregnancy. Also, most of the women had visited the shrines with their babies whenever they returned to Japan for omiya-mairi (a ceremony praying for the baby's healthy growth at a shrine 1 month after birth)” (Doreing, Patterson & Griffiths, 2016). Hearing these women’s stories was extremely interesting and not something that is very common in the United States. Dealing with cultural differences when you are not in your homeland can cause conflict; many Japanese women believe they should not move around after the first month of their pregnancy. Many of their parents would come visit to be sure they are fully resting and would help maintain a household. It is amazing to hear other stories about the birthing process and the difficulties they may face when others do not understand their cultural birth traditions.

Reference

Doering, K., Patterson, J., & Griffiths, C. (2016). Negotiating wa (harmony): A qualitative study about the challenges japanese women who live in new zealand have in maintaining their birth traditions. International Journal of Childbirth, 6(1), 27-36. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1891/2156-5287.6.1.27