On August 4, 2010, I received a phone call from my best friend Zia Mose she told me she was going into labor and to get to the hospital as soon as I could. I remember wishing to the hospital a little nervous that for the first time I was going to be a godmother. Upon my arrival Zia was in so much pain it almost brought me to tears. The doctors then examined her and told us the baby would be here shortly. As I nervously waiting, at 8:00 am was ready to push On August 5, 2010 at 8:23 a.m weighting 6 lbs. 8 oz. Alayna Sani Mose was born.
I chose this example because this was the first childbirth I had the privilege to witness. I personally believe that childbirth is the world's greatest gift. It is my personal opinion that how the childbearing mother cares for her body will have a long time affect on her child whether positive or negative as far as how the child develops.
I chose south Africa as the country to focus on the procedures of the women bearing children. The San Bushmen tribe believe that childbearing brings status and social recognition after she has navigated the journey of pregnancy and birth. The women are actively taught that she must face the pain of natural childbirth alone in a squatting position, the women then bites the court with their teeth and bury it.
I found many similarities in America's childbirth procedures and South Africa's. In both countries children and consider precious and a gift. Both countries enjoy women who are bearing children to stay active and eat right. However there are many differences the women in the San Bushman tribe are encouraged to withstand the pain and do so alone. On the other hand women in America are encouraged to use several instruments to reduce their pain and make their childbirth somewhat of a pleasant one.
Thank you, Alysia, for the story of the birth of your goddaughter. You are obviously a very good friend to her mother to have been asked to share the birth experience with her and to have been asked to be Alayna’s godmother. I agree with you that how an expectant mother cares for herself can impact her child throughout his/her life. In addition, I thought it was interesting to read the article we were given about the impact of the father on the health of the child. Society has put so much emphasis on the expectant mother’s health and behavior while little or no attention has been paid to how healthy the father is or to his behavior. It will be interesting to see if more research and information on the father’s contribution to prenatal development is forthcoming and what that research indicates. I believe that in the future, paternal health and behavior will be regarded as almost as important a contributor to the developing child’s health and development as maternal health and behavior is today. Men who want to be fathers will be encouraged to take better care of themselves prior to conception, and a whole new area of medicine will be devoted to helping men to prepare themselves for future fatherhood.
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