Medical Case Study: For The Love Of Babies

Once babies are grown in test tubes, there would be no need for parents and therefore vanish the incredible bond between the mother, father, and child. The childhood of a child that was grown in a test tube would be completely unconventional, since that child would not have loving parents to teach them anything. Adults raised this way would grow up to be unusual as a result of not knowing what love is since people first know about love because of the love between them and their parents. The adults grown from test tubes would most likely be independent and isolated from the rest of the world because they would not have created a bond with anyone or even interacted with anyone as a child.

In the book “The Memory Keeper's Daughter” by Kim Edwards a doctor and his wife have twins and the first child is a healthy boy but then the second child that comes out is a little girl with the signs of down syndrome and he asks his Nurse to take the baby away to an institution while he tells his wife the baby girl died. Through out the entire book it is a struggle for Dr. Henry's wife Norah to have closure with the fact that her baby girl is said to be dead and she never saw her, held her, or cared for her. Kim Edwards shows through the whole book that we are only human, the themes that life is beyond our control and through the connection between suffering and joy.

Throughout my time on the Mother Baby Care Unit, I have faced many instances in which I have been able to reflect on both my patients and the care that I was providing them. One situation in particular that I found myself critically reflecting upon involved a new mother who was feeling slightly stressed about being discharged as her newborn son would not be going home with her. For confidentiality reasons, this patient will be given the pseudonym of Kayla for the remainder of this reflection.

‘Babies’ is a documentary film which chronicles the first year of life of four babies spanning the globe. Documentarian Thomas Balmès fans out to the grasslands of Namibia, the plains of Mongolia, the high rises of Tokyo and the busy streets of San Francisco in a study of culture, societal structure, geography and tradition, along with parental love and the impact all these elements have on child rearing. In the hunting and gathering society of Namibia and pastoral Mongolia, Balmès follows Ponijao and Bayar and in postindustrial Tokyo and San Francisco we are introduced to Mari and Hattie. While the 1:18 film has no real dialogue, viewers are able to get a distinct feel for each baby’s personality, the role they play within the family

She believed that men were at fault for her stillborn children and continued to use the same birthing techniques (Smith 65). For her eleventh pregnancy, she went to a hospital and had a doctor deliver the baby, and for the first time the child lived (Smith 438). Sissy’s abundance of stillbirths may be due to the fact that, “Women who’ve already had one stillbirth have a four times higher risk of having another stillbirth compared to women who’ve had a live birth” (Reinberg par 1). Along with stillbirths, there were also high numbers of infant mortalities in the early 1900s (Louis par 6). Doctors did not know the causes of stillbirths and instead focused on preventing infant mortality (Louis par 6). Due to the lack of knowledge concerning stillbirths, they were a common occurrence (Louis par 7). In 1909, about one hundred seven out every one thousand children died (Pryce par 1). Researchers now know that the leading causes of stillbirths and infant mortality and the turn of the twentieth century were poor environment, diet, and hygiene due to poverty (Pryce par 2). Sissy’s poverty and previous stillbirths provide evidence that Betty Smith accurately described infant mortality and stillbirth in the early twentieth century in A Tree Grows in

In the 25th week of her pregnancy, the mother was advised by the nurse to remain on bed rest to avoid further complications and potentially hurting her unborn baby. The mother continued to work from the hospital placing additional stress on the baby despite the nurse’s appeal that such stress can cause the baby harm. Attempts to stop premature delivery were made but failed, the mother asked the medical team not to take any extraordinary measure to save the baby. The premature baby lived but the mother showed little interest in his health and wellness. The nurse tried to the best of her ability to spark

On December 8, 1993, 14 days after the recommendation of a cesarean section or induced labor, Doe is examined again by Dr. Meserow, and he is still holding fast to his diagnosis. Doe continues to state that she refuses on the grounds of religious reasons. However, Doe agrees to be seen by another doctor the following day. That same day, December 8, 1993, Dr. Meserow and the St. Joseph’s Hospital call the

There were numerous powerful testimonies and striking findings noted throughout the and first two chapters of the book Birth Matters by Ina May Gaskin. As a health care provider, and therefore someone who is entrusted to care for individuals during their most private and sacred times, I found Gaskin’s statements regarding the environment and care surrounding birth experiences very impactful. According to Gaskin (2011), the “women’s perceptions about their bodies and their babies’ capabilities will be deeply influenced by the care they recieve around the time of birth” (p. 22). The statements made by Gaskin in Birth Matters not only ring true, but inspires one

of her mother having a miscarriage. After the miscarriage, her mother’s doctors would take out all

Infant attachment is the first relationship a child experiences and is crucial to the child’s survival (BOOK). A mother’s response to her child will yield either a secure bond or insecurity with the infant. Parents who respond “more sensitively and responsively to the child’s distress” establish a secure bond faster than “parents of insecure children”. (Attachment and Emotion, page 475) The quality of the attachment has “profound implications for the child’s feelings of security and capacity to form trusting relationships” (Book). Simply stated, a positive early attachment will likely yield positive physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development for the child. (BOOK)

She explains how they felt after the death of charlotte. For example, she says, “We tried to resuscitate her for over an hour. It’s the worse thin I’ve ever done. I actually felt sick” (Paragraph 7). This is how one of the doctors felt after the death of this baby.

Louise was a nulliparous woman in her thirties who had no pregnancy complications and nothing sinister in her medical history, so she was classed as “low risk” and she was 7 days over her estimated due date. Louise came on to the delivery suite and my mentor and I were looking after her throughout her labour, her partner was away at work so Louise only had us for support.

Four newborn babies from different regions of the world were documented in the movie Babies. The four newborns were documented by allowing each baby to interact with their personal surroundings. Although the film had no dialogues, we were able to get an unmistakable sight for each of the baby’s personality. Throughout the documentary, we were able to see that different cultures can impact a child’s development. The babies in this documentary were from Namibia, Japan, Mongolia, and California.

I felt I needed to write a reflection on this lecture because of how powerful it was. It reminded me of why I wanted to be a midwife, of my own personal ethics, of my philosophy as a future midwife that I had up until this point, had little definitive thought on.

why I had uneasy feelings about what we had done to (not for) Ellen. The antenatal educator