A Personal Birthing Experience and Experiences Outside of the U.S.

 A Personal Birthing Experience

On May 28, my mother gave birth to a 6lb 12 oz baby girl.  At that time my mother was a newly turned 17 years old.  She gave birth via C-section after going into labor the night before.  The C-section was necessary because a natural birth was not an option.  That baby girl was obviously me.  I have not had the chance to experience any other births, except for arriving after mom and baby had time to bond and relax.  My father was the first one to hold and feed me.  My mother looks back on that time being very emotional.  When asked, my parents say they weren’t scared or nervous.  There was no turning back and they both took on the responsibility of being parents, and amazing parents at that, all before they turned 18. 

I think birth is a completely unique experience.  Each birth is different and probably not “text book”.  I think it is a time for families and only a time for families.  It is and should be a celebration, but I understand that not all births will have a celebration in the end.  I also think that a birth experience can have an impact on child development, but only if there were medical complications during birth that have long lasting effects or if a stressful experience occurred right before, during, or shortly thereafter the bond between mother and baby or baby and father can be changed therefore possibly having an effect on the child’s development.  Hopefully, later in my course, I will find out if what I think proves to be true. 

Birth in the Netherlands

I choose to do some research on Dutch birthing experiences.  I choose this because my husband’s family is from Holland and I love to learn as much as I can about his family’s culture.  In Holland, mothers can choose between a home delivery and a hospital delivery.  According to www.parents.com, the majority of mothers choose to have a home birth with the help of a midwife.  If a hospital delivery is chosen or deemed necessary, most women do not get epidurals, an epidural is dependent upon the time of day the birth occurs.  Mom and baby can sometimes go home in as little as two hours, with a nurse (covered by insurance) coming to the house for a specified amount of time to check on mom and baby, while also completing basic housekeeping duties.  Nurses will also make a traditional snack called beschuit met muisjes, which means biscuits with mice.  The biscuits are decorated with corresponding candies to match the babies’ sex. 

I was really surprised and pleased to see how well births are handled in Holland.  There is little doctor intervention unless absolutely necessary.  I think it makes the whole experience more enjoyable and comfortable for the family.  I have to think they are doing something right either during pregnancy or with the birth because Holland produces some extremely tall and well nourished people!  An obvious difference between my birth and a birth in the Netherlands is the lack of medical intervention.  I can’t speak for all the birthing experiences in Holland, but for the most part they seem much more calm and specific to mom and baby.  In writing, it sounds like an ideal experience.