HW 36 - Pregnancy & Birth Stories

My Father's Birth Story:

An interview with my grandmother Farika. (My father asked to be apart of this interview because he had never heard his own birth story and was interested.)

A- Me

F- My grandmother

M- My Father

A- Was he born in a hospital?

F- He was born in a maternity home in Trenchtown [Jamaica]

A- What’s a maternity home?

F- That's where mothers come to have babies

A- Did you have a doctors assistance?

F- No, a nurse delivered my baby. In Jamaica a lot of nurses are qualified to do that.

A- Did you receive any pain relievers?

F- No, this wasn't America {Laughs} but I took a lot of calcium.

A- What does the calcium help with?

F- It relaxes you

M- ohhhh

A- Was my grandfather present?

F- The nurses kicked him out {Chuckles}

M- What time was I born?

F- 8:15 in the morning?

M- 8:15  or 8:50?

F: 8:15

A- Did you have to rush to the maternity home?

F- No, but I still did. Most people's first instinct is to rush weather or not they have to.

A- If you lived in Kingston, why’d you go to Trenchtown to give birth? Was that where the nearest maternity home was?

F- No, but this place was recommended to me by a friend because it was inexpensive and the nurse studied a lot in England so I trusted her

A: Did anything else interesting happen?

F: The maternity home was very crowded; there were many other women there. I'm pretty sure your father has a twin! {Chuckles}

M- Twin?

F: Yeah, born on the same exact time as you. There was a woman who gave birth right before me who had a dry birth.

M- What's a dry birth?

F- Her water never broke-

A- Eh, that sounds uncomfortable

F- Your father was a really lazy baby; He didn't want to come out! {Laughs} You were also a very fat baby. You came out head first but you had such wide shoulders that didn't budge.

A: How big was he?

F- He was 9lbs, and he was really short.

F- Is there anything else you want to know?

A: Yeah, did he cry? - Cut my eyes at my dad and smile-

F: Yeah I'm pretty sure; once he was born I fell asleep. He was crying in my ear but I didn't really hear him.

This interview geared me in a new direction in thought that I hadn't really considered before, which was the difference in birth experience depending on the country your in. In this interview with my grandmother, she mad it very clear that the process of birth in Jamaica was different than it is here in America. And, looking back at the questions I asked, they were mostly based off of what I knew about the American way because I was so ignorant to the Jamaican way. I also thought it was interesting how my grandmother new the stories of birth of the other women in the nursing home because I always imagined the birthing process as something secluded.

Epidurals are very common in our country but I question how the drugs giving to pregnant woman effect the child they're trying to give birth to. The usage of calcium seems a lot more practical because it is a natural vitamin; granted, I'm sure calcium is a lot less effective than an epidural. One thing I didn't agree with was the nurse kicking my grandfather out of the maternity home because I feel like a father should definitely witness the birth of his child. If this was an issue of space, I could partially understand because my grandmother did say it was very crowded (which must have been a stressful environment to have a kid in) but a father shouldn't be distanced from that pivotal moment.

Ava's birth story:

An interview with my mother's college while I was visiting her at work

A- Me

S- Mother's College

A- Excuse me is it okay if I take a little time out of your day to interview you for a school project?

S- Yeah sure you can, what it this about?

A- I wanted to ask you about the birth story of you daughter

S- yeah sure, that's fine! Ava was born a little later than expected. I had my labor induced on June 20 and thought I would give birth the next day, but she wasn't born until three days later.

A-What exactly do they do when they induce your labor?

S- My doctor gave me many doses of medicine to try and induce labor, but nothing was working on me so they had to perform an unplanned C-section

A- did the unexpectedness of this worry you at all?

S- Somewhat, but I was going through so much pain because of contractions I just wanted to get the whole thing over with.

A- How painful was your contractions?

S- Very. But, I ended up getting an epidural because I couldn't handle the pain anymore.

A- Thank you for your time

This interview in particular gave me the most insight about how ignorant I was of the process of childbirth. Before this, I had no clue that doctor's inducing birth was something standard. I began to wonder how the drugs and gels given by doctors affected the children, and if they were more affective than any natural alternatives. Obviously in this case they were not, so this woman had to have an unplanned C-section. This made me think of how unpredictable childbirth is, and although there are many different approaches to the same procedure it is impossible to tell which one is the most beneficial until the birth actually happens.  It was also interesting to see how these two different parts of the birth process were connected to one another. It makes me imagine the process as a game board where your path is altered depending on where you move.

During the interview, I remember starting to think of the medical and technical process of childbirth. I had no idea that labors were to be induced by a physician, but in later research, I found out that it is a rather common occurrence. This being my second interview, I saw a theme of "natural vs. medical methods" beginning to arise. I have heard of many natural birth inducing processes but I never heard of any medical ones until this interview. This is important to look into because those who give birth are constantly debating the two methods.

Aldin's birth story:

An interview with my Cousin (male)

A- Me

M- My cousin Michael

A- So you had Aldin about a year ago right?

M- Yeah

A- Would you mind telling me about the birth process from your perspective?

M- Yeah sure, no problem

A- Were you and [your girlfriend] together when you went to the hospital?

M- yeah, I was in bed when her water broke and she woke me up so I could drive her to the hospital

A- did you rush to the hospital?

M-  Well not really because she didn't start having contractions yet, so she told me it was fine if I got dressed and everything before we left.

A- did you witness any of the actual birth?

M- No, I couldn't, just imagining the sight of child birth makes me nauseous.

A- But don't you think that it is important to witness your child being born?

M- I actually do but seeing stuff like that makes me woozy

A- How did your girlfriend feel about you not being there?

M- I mean she understood. She's the same way about things like that. And her sister was in there for moral support, she cut the cord and everything. I came in after that though and held Aldin.

This was the least informative of the three interviews conducted but it was interesting to see the huge difference between a woman's experience and a man's. My cousin chose not to be in the room during the birth because it made him uncomfortable. I was amazed at how much of an option men have to participate during the whole process of pregnancy! If they did not care enough they could be removed from the whole thing. Luckily my cousin was supportive enough to go to the hospital with his girlfriend and come in after the birth.

 My cousin's girlfriend had also had Aldin in a hospital, which reassured my assumption that going to the hospital was our country's most standard birth procedure. This geared me in the direction of research I'd be doing, because if the majority in our country practices the same procedure, then it is more important to learn about the details of that specific method. I also wanted to compare birth giving strategies, so it is necessary to know a lot about what I'm comparing these "alternatives" to.

* I would like to study relaxation and pain relieving methods during pregnancy (such as epidurals and etc.)

HW 32 - Thoughts following illness & dying unit comments

Sam, It seems to me that the idea of lingering on the earth in your final years worries you a lot. I have a question about a question you made above:"I was the most curious as to if you were 85 and you knew that you were finished with everything that you wanted to do on earth and you knew you were dying, would you die? Or do you stick around until your body says you can go?" Are you asking whether your attitude toward death could expedite or slow down the dying process? If so then I think a fascinating thought that you should definitely look more into. Another question you could ask is how does your setting in your final years (home, retirement home, hospital) affect your attitude toward dying. I could see through your writing that you were on the brink of asking that question yourself

HW 32 - Thoughts following illness & dying unit

What we eat inevitably affects our health and, based on what we've learned in the last unit, the majority of Americans diets effect them negatively. The fatty, salty, sugary, and genetically modified foods sold nation wide eventually lead to illnesses such as Diabetes and Heart disease. Both illnesses are extremely expensive to treat so, in a country where Universal health care is not available, it is important buy up the best health care coverage before you're stuck paying for these expenses yourself in the long run! Another issue is that because the majority of Americans eat particularly unhealthy, that also means that these expensive diseases are very common. Hearth Disease, for example, is the leading cause of death in the world! This means that not every American with health care and a common illness can be treated equally. This, to me, explains why heath insurance companies try and do as many cutbacks as they can, because if profit is their main interest, then they won't find it trying to help everyone of their costumers who have illnesses with expensive treatments.

HW 31 - Comments 3

For others:

Sam,

I really enjoy your style of writing because, through it, you allow me to enter your head and see you how analyze and reflect on certain situations. It is enlightening to such a clear point of view. I thought it was interesting when you acknowledged how people of different age groups have different perspectives in the first paragraph because it relates to my project topic a lot. It's refreshing to see someone with a similar thought process as me.

Amber,

I commend you for choosing a topic that relates to you so much but to enrich this project, it might have been helpful to include some personal experiences. Also, you're research is good but giving more information on the American Health reform would have created a contrast and made all of your points have more impact. An interesting new fact that you provided was "private insurance [is] used by less than 8% of the population". I thought this quote was interesting because it suggested the success of universal healthcare while making me recognize the difference between America's and the u.k's societies.

Matt,

I understand how personal this topic must be for you and really respect you for opening up about it. I can tell through your writing that this topic was very close to you and that is what makes it so easy to relate to. I choose to come to your blog after your speech in class because you have a very powerful way with words and that is evident in your post as well. I believe the most touching part of this post is the paragraph where you list reasons why you'll miss your grandmother. I too have a close relationship with my grandmother so putting myself in your shoes is painfully awakening.

Thank you for sharing!

Rigel,

The fact that most societies ways of handling death connect to one common worldly theme is mind blowing to think about. Especially because the common theme is so insightful: We all want to believe that we will still be apart of the world after we die. It's a beautiful thought. It is also interesting to see the many different ways humans have accomplished to fulfill this want. Physically, Mentally, Spiritually, Religiously. I like the thought that all societies can have commonalities while staying true to their individuality.This makes me wonder about the other universal themes that have been expressed and repeated throughout history. I'm curious about them because they must have been so prominent for a they are agreed upon ideas.
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For me:

From younger reader--(Briana)

"I personally believed that younger people will have an eagerness to live and experience as much as they can before they die, while older people focus on regrets and the experiences they could have had." I think that you are great at stating you opinion in an interesting attention grabbing way. I think that both of these paragraphs are very well thought out and convey your ideas clearly.

From older reader--(Marcus)

i think the stories you chose to illustrate your argument really work. they really drive home the differences between how young and old people deal with illness. 

it make sense that young people would "have an eagerness to live and experience as much as they can before they die" while older people who lived their life already can look back on the past and are not so eager to go do something extreme. i can also understand why an older person would be more upset about getting sick when they are used to living a healthy life while someone who gets sick when they are still young has no choice but to embrace their illness.

From Teammate-- (Sam J.)

Amhara,
I didn't realize how similar our ideas were until i read your blog. I really liked how you addressed how people are afraid of death because they don't want to die with regrets or missed opportunities. I think you did a very good job of picking videos that represent what you are looking for because after watching a few minutes of the first and second videos it becomes more apparent the real divide between dying old and dying young. It makes me think more into the issue which means that you have a good topic but i think that what you have written doesn't do it the full justice it deserves.
It was still very good non-the-less
Sam

HW 30 - Illness & Dying - Culminating Experiential Project

Research for project/ Interviews:
http://vimeo.com/9307752 (Patty)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/livingold/interviews/strongin.html#5 (Estelle)

Main Question:
Does the occurrence  of an illness effect your outlook on life?

Major claim/ Argument:
 We all know that when we acknowledge our mortality is when we appreciate life the most; and for people who have dealt with illnesses and injuries, the thought letting them know they could die at any moment is very prominent. What this project dares to ask is how the time of diagnoses or injury effects the outlook on life. I personally believed that younger people will have an eagerness to live and experience as much as they can before they die, while older people focus on regrets and the experiences they could have had.


Conclusion:
Both Patty and Estelle share appreciation for their lives but I did notice some key differences between the two.  Patty was glad with the experience heart disease has given her at such a young age because it shaped her perspective and made her a stronger person. She was willing to take the experience gained from that part of her life to influence her choices in the future. Estelle, on the other hand, was very happy to be alive and still working at 94, but she seemed to be working against her illnesses rather than embracing it. Even when the technical aspect of her sicknesses were brought up in the interview, she didn't want to go into specifics because she wanted to avoid the topic.

HW 28 - Coments 2

For Sam, I really enjoyed how you related his illnesses relate to his psychological state. You can tell it affects the way he lives and it seems like he likes to take control of his life and environment( his home) but he doesn't let his environment( the world) influence him because he is more content with the routine hes set up for himself. The best part was when you started to reflect on his lifestyle and how you would feel in the same situation. Being so young, we tend to forget about the negative things we do to that impact our body because we heal so quickly. But if we reach the age of 88, all of the damage done to our bodies will be accumulated and its effects will change how we live our lives at that point. Asking these questions of yourself now is good because it makes you think about what choices you want to make with your life before it is too late.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Team member/ peer Sam J.: Amhara  I think that you had a good start here. You really caught me off guard when you said that the ER visit happened on christmas eve and it really demonstrated maturity to be able to say that you don't always understand how the medical aspect of it works, but you did know that money can buy better care and in turn, healthiness. It sucks that his friend took longer to recover, but i am curious as to where that came into the story and the story behind it. Elaborate on it?  

Younger Blog Reader Bianca:

I think that your idea "that money has a crucial effect on your medical coverage in America" is surprisigly true. It seems to be one of the sad true facts of our worls. I really like that you pionted it out even though it was your uncle who was on the reciving end of the situation. I think that you should elaborate on the story of his friend to make the idea clearer.  Older Blog Reader Marcus:   I agree with your point that money can buy you better health care in this country. although America is supposed to be such a rich country, many poorer countries have a better health care system.  however,  it seems as if your uncles friend is in bad health in general. I'm not an expert but, if he is obese, wouldn't it take longer for him to get well from any injury or illness?

HW 27 - Visiting an unwell person

Over the break, my uncle had an emergency room doctors visit. He had blood clots due to a previous surgery he had recently. We visited the first day he went into the hospital and the doctor estimated that he would have to stay in the hospital for about four days. This sounded reasonable because one of my uncles friends had gotten blood clots recently as well and stayed in the hospital for a few days; though his was due to his obesity. My uncle seemed fine in his state and he mainly talked with my aunt who was the most concerned and worried about him.

Because my uncle had a worse previous injury, his approach to this accurance wasn't as concerned as my aunts. He tore his ligaments in his calf and ankle, and after the surgery he had to use a wheelchair, crutches, or his scooter to move around. The surgery was also linked to his blood clots so he was still dealing with the outcome of that first injury instead of a completely new problem.


The ER visit happened on Christmas eve. I remember feeling bad when I thought that he would miss Christmas, especially because it was hosted in his house. But the next morning, my aunt made an announcement that he would be back for Christmas evening which was "the greatest gift of all" she included. I was happy that he became healthy so soon, but I was curious why when I remembered the time-frame his doctor gave. I don't know much about blood-clots maybe they are easy to fix, but it still made no sense that his friend had less of a speedy recovery. Then the obvious hit me. My uncle plays for the NBA and gets paid very well, and as for his friend, his only employer is my uncle. I'm sure that he has the best health insurance because he can afford it and after the insights learned in this unit, money has a crucial effect on your medical coverage in America.