While I was not surprised in how most childbirth occurs here in the United States I must say that I was definitely taking back by how women in other countries give birth. I had not actually given much thought in how other women gave birth until this past week and my heart, eyes and mind have been open to literally a whole new world.
I have given birth a total of 4 times and each time has been a completely different experience. They all had the precious moments however, the last of my darling daughters gave me more challenges than I thought any women should go through. I should have known it was going to be a chapter in my life that would leave a lasting impression when I was only 3 months into my pregnancy however, many thought I was close to the end and carrying twins. I developed something referred to as gestational diabetes. This is a form of diabetes that effects a woman that did NOT have it before becoming pregnant and can cause some major health issues for both the mother and the baby (CDC 2018). I had already been through the glucose test once and had to take it a second time to confirm that I had this type of diabetes. My doctor and nurses were the absolute best because they probably heard from me on a daily. They addressed concerns and treated me as if I were their only patient. I had to take a class on how to take care of myself, check my blood sugar 4 times a day and give myself insulin 3 times a day in my tummy. For about the first two weeks I was at the doctors office like I was on staff. I had the hardest time sticking myself in both the side of my hand and tummy, I was a snotty mess. I was also placed on a diet that I thought was the craziest and cruelest thing to do to a pregnant woman. The diet was to help keep my sugar under control in addition to my weight because I was beginning to resemble Yogi Bear. I developed a few other issues with this last pregnancy and the worse of them were these fainting or light headed spells that got me landed in the NO MORE DRIVING ZONE :( !!! So with that I became a prisoner at home. I tried to do all the things that the doctor told me to do to help curb the many transitions my body was going through but once I felt like I was overcoming one thing there was literally something else waiting to be tagged in. To make a long story short my last pregnancy was an experience that I could not have been prepped for but my neighbors, family , doctors and nurses were such a great support system that it would have been impossible in my mind to get through it without them.
Having a support system for any minor or major part of life is useful to have which blows my mind about the things I read an article on childbirth in other countries and found that it is frown upon to have such support. Women in Uganda for instance are seen as weak if they displayed any of the behavior or support that I did during pregnancy or childbirth. "Women are expected to be stoic during both pregnancy and childbirth, showing no fear or weakness, and you won’t get any sympathy for morning sickness, sleeplessness, or any of the other physical side effects of pregnancy, let alone the emotional ones" (Parenting 2019). In the United States women have a choice in having a home birth or delivering in a hospital were as in Uganda it goes into the category of being weak for them.
Although my last pregnancy brought about some physical as well as mental challenges for me I can look back at it as a learning experience. In comparison to women in Uganda I could not imagine being seen weak for going through childbirth and needed some additional physical or mental support especially if there are already other children in the home. That to me seems so cruel where as it may seem normal or an honor to people there. I respect however a woman choose to have her child as long as it is healthy for her and the baby.
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