My personal birth experience hasn't actually happened yet. While I have had many family members and friends that have had children, I haven't really had a personal experience yet. I have gone to the hospital not long after the babies are born many times, held them, conversed with the mothers, but haven't had the personal experience yet. But it will happen soon!! My sister is currently pregnant and due to have her third little girl on Feb. 20th. She has to have a C-section, so unless things change in the next 6 weeks, we know that she will be having Chyler at 10 AM on Feb. 20th. I have already taken the time off work, so that I can be there (she lives in a different state than I do and I will be traveling to be with her) and while I won't be in the room, I will be at the hospital waiting to hear the news on the baby's delivery. This will be the first time that I have been able to be there for the birth of any of her children and I'm very excited to get this opportunity. I can't wait to see the expression on my nieces' faces when they see their little sister for the first time and I can't wait to meet our family's newest little one!!!
After I saw the picture in our textbook about the mothers practicing kangaroo care with their children, I wanted to find out more. I thought the concept of kangaroo care looked very interesting and when I looked up some sources, I found out it originated in Bogota, Columbia. I wasn't too interested in looking up childbirth information on this area, so I chose to go back to that same picture and look up Manila. I found a great article (link below) about the Phillipines in general and the following were some interesting things I found out:
-1 in 140 Filipino women die in childbirth. They compared it to Ireland who has 1/8000 death rate in women in childbirth. It was shocking to me that the numbers were so high!!
-Most of the deliveries in the Phillipines are outside of major medical facilities, at home with untrained individuals called hilots or comadronas and they are not able to handle emergency situations, which is the cause of so many infants and mothers dying.
-government is beginning to help-setting up facilities with OB-GYN drs available in spots through out the country and encouraging mothers to use the medical facilities. They are also expanding immunization programs for all children
-Infants are 14 times more likely to die in a developing country like the Phillipines than in a developed one.
-half of the deaths of children under the age of 5 in the Phillipines happen in first 28 days of life.
There were more differences than similarities between Filipino and American births. Most American's choose to have a child in a medical facility with trained doctors and staff, rather than at home. Those that do choose to have a child at home in the US usually have them with someone that has some kind of training, unlike in the Phillipines, where it sounds like anyone can be a hilot or comadrona. The US also has the luxury of having 911 and emergency staff available if something should go wrong with an at home delivery and can be there in a short amount of time.
The article also made the connection between women having partner support through the pregnancy and delivery (not as high in the Phillipines as in the US) and the role good nutrition plays in the survival of both mother and infant, which is also not as high as in the US.
It was very interesting to look at births in the Phillipines. I knew that being a developing country, they would have a higher mortality rate of women in labor and infants, but I didn't know there would be such a huge difference. It also made me realize how lucky I am that I have not only access to great medical care, but different choices of medical facilities in my area. In the Phillipines, they are just now getting these clinics up and running and in some rural areas, they are still lacking. I also felt that the government in the Phillipines is on the right track with immunizing children in their country.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/149580/news/specialreports/childbirth-still-a-grim-reality-for-many-filipino-mothers-and-babies
Wow.... Amber that sounds exiting!! I can relate on not really having that experience right there in the room with the mother but lucky you your time is coming. I have seven nieces and nephews total and I did not get the chance to see their birth and I strongly believe my two sisters and my brother is not going to have anymore children. I do not plan on having any of my own but who knows that may change.
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