My Childbirth Experience
Almost 20 years go I was blessed with a Valentine's Day gift that does not wilt or melt in the sun. My children, Jacalynn (Lynn) and Johnathan (John) were born February 14th at 37 weeks. After a few miscarriages, I went in to my doctors on the weekend, anticipating the worst. After some tests, I found out that I was not only pregnant, but was expecting twins! Even though I had my whole pregnancy to become accustomed to the idea that I would be bringing home two babies from the hospital, reality only started to sink in the night before I was discharged.My pregnancy was uneventful, although I was rather large! The last few weeks before the children were born, I had weekly tests to see how the babies were doing. My mom would bring me to my appointments, as I was too big to drive--I couldn't bring the seat close enough to reach the steering wheel and the gas pedal! The day the babies were born, my mom and I were to meet a friend for lunch after the doctor's appointment. We never made it to lunch. The nurse didn't let on to me, but she saw that the babies were in distress; something about too much fluid. My doctor asked me if I wanted to have the babies, and I said "sure"! I was pretty oblivious to what was going on. A short while later, I was recovering from a c-section and a new mom to healthy babies. I found out later that my son, who was born second, had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. I am very thankful that the nurses and doctors acted quickly. Since the babies hadn't turned and were still in "bunk beds," I don't want to think about the probable complications of natural birth. My son has mild learning disabilities that, in my opinion, could have been a result of a lack of oxygen to his brain before he was born. Nonetheless, I am incredibly thankful to live where I received state of the art medical care.
I can only imagine how my birthing experience is the polar opposite of most young women in our world. In searching the Internet, I struggled to find websites that would validate what I am sure is true. I guess I need help with search perimeters. However, I did find an article about a doctor who spends his retirement in Nigeria performing surgeries for teenagers who tried to deliver their first child at home; the girls failed at labor. "The babies were lodged in their narrow birth canals, and the resulting pressure cut off blood to vital tissues and ripped holes in their bowels or urethras, or both. Now their babies were dead. And the would-be mothers, their insides wrecked, were utterly incontinent. Many had become outcasts in their own communities - rejected by their husbands, shunned by neighbors, too ashamed even to step out of their huts" (LaFraniere, 2005). The article goes on to describe the reasoning behind why the girls get pregnant as teenagers, their plight after giving birth, the relative few who receive the surgery to repair their insides, the facility and conditions this doctor works in, and incredible stories of African women who suffer untreated fistulas.
What a dramatically different birthing experience for the Nigerian women/girls than my own. I do not know for sure, but I presume that the birthing experiences for women in most under-developed countries in the world are similiar to those in Nigeria, Africa: young women, giving birth at home surrounded by other women rather than a doctor or nurse, without technology or medication. Without technology, doctors, nurses, and medicine, I am convinced that the complications surrounding my birthing experience would have had a grim outcome.
LaFraniere, S. (2005). Nightmare for African women: Birthing injury and little help. The New York Times. Retrieved 1/8/11 from http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/28/international/africa/28africa.html?sq=Nightmare%20for%20African%20Women,%20September%202005&st=cse&scp=1&pagewanted=print
