Women, Indian, And American Cultures

Have you ever wonder how the world was created from another culture’s perspective? Native Americans used creation myths to explained to their people how the world was developed overtime. Creation myths are a big part of the Native American culture. they have been passed down from generation to generation. In the creation myths, harmony with nature, rituals, and strong social values are shown in each myths. The purpose of having strong social value in these myths is to teach younger Native Americans valuable lesson if they ever do something bad. These myths reveals how the rituals were created and their intentions for doing it. Creation myths has harmony with nature in it to show a very close kinship between them

Labor and childbirth are a private matter to Amish families with only the mother, father, and few midwives attending. The role of the husband is one of support and gentle aid when applicable. The husband rubs the back and shoulders of his wife, holds her hand, cools her with a hand fan, and provides words of comfort. Labor and childbirth for Amish women is very quiet and, on average, shorter when compared to the labor and childbirths of other women; this could be a testament to the strong-willed convictions of the Amish women’s cultural beliefs that aids them in this traumatic process (Showalter, 2000).

Giving birth to a baby is the most amazing and miraculous experiences for parents and their loved ones. Every woman’s birth story is different and full of joy. Furthermore, the process from the moment a woman knows that she’s pregnant to being in the delivering room is very critical to both her and the newborn baby. Prenatal care is extremely important and it can impact greatly the quality of life of the baby. In this paper, the topic of giving birth will be discussed thoroughly by describing the stories of two mothers who gave birth in different decades and see how their prenatal cares are different from each other with correlation of the advancement of modern medicine between four decades.

Spousal involvement in the delivery of a child is limited. A nurse may feel that the husband is showing no spousal support or compassion to his wife. During the delivery the nurse can encourage him to give his wife support verbally, but the nurse must understand according to the Jewish laws, if a woman is unclean with mucous discharge, bloody show, or amniotic fluid. The husband may exit the room as he is not allowed stay in the room with his wife while she is being examined, unless she is fully covered and will not be exposed to him. To be considered clean again after childbirth or menstruation , the women must go to a ritual bath called the " Mikveh".

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

For hundred of years, women have wrestled with their womanhood, bodies, and what it means to be a woman in our society. Being a woman comes with a wonderful and empowering responsibility--giving birth. What sets us aside from other countries is that the process and expectations of giving birth has changed in our society; coming from midwifery, as it has always been since the early times, to hospitals where it is now expected to give birth at. Midwifery was a common practice in delivering babies in

In America, most of the childbirth 's take place in a hospital. I am talking about 99 percent of delivery and off that percentage 34 percent is c-section. An article by Lisa Selin Davis states, “Well, it turns out that we’ve exported this model to the far corners of the world; in Japan, Korea and China, Western-style hospital births have all but replaced traditional home birth in the last few decades.” Meaning that these other countries mentioned above also practice hospital childbirth. Contrary to other where home birth is still an option. One example is Uganda;

The American discourse around childbirth pain management includes mostly narcotic pain killers, epidurals and other sources of pain medication while the Middle Eastern discourse around labor pain management includes meditation, herbal substances and breathing exercises. This is important because America’s attitude towards hospitals and doctors is so trusting that we don’t stop and think about what we are putting into our bodies and we blindly accept what they are giving us because it is considered, for the majority, culturally acceptable. Many Middle Eastern women on the other hand, are not allowed to see male doctors, therefore they give birth solely with the help of midwives who have little access to medication and can only help through

Child birth is supposed to be the most natural process in the world. However, this does not seem to be the case in America. Child birth has become an industrialised and unpredictable process that is becoming increasingly confined to the sterile walls of a hospital. In America today fewer than two percent of mothers are choosing to give birth at home (Tuteur 1). Home births are frequently being discouraged by medical professionals within the US, and this trend is different from many other developed and non-developed countries. In America, the comfort and freedom of one’s own home has become a perilous environment for expecting mothers. The causes of this problem are inherently cultural, and statistical trends point to the primary cause being differences in midwives found at homebirths and those in the hospital. Midwives attending homebirths should be better regulated and integrated into the rest of the healthcare system.

Chinese women will take many precautions to protect their unborn and newborn babies from evil spirits. They will never attend a funeral and they will hang certain embellishments to ward of the spirits. A paper cut out of scissors is hung over the bed curtains of a pregnant woman and when a baby is born a special pendant is placed near the baby’s crib in hopes that any evil spirits would be more attracted to the pendant then the baby. Another example of keeping the spirits away is the parents of the child would make “arrows from wood of a peach tree and place near the cradle.” It is considered unlucky to name your child before they are born as well as to celebrate before the baby is born with a baby shower. This is normal for many cultures including some Native American cultures here is America. Though now it is more taboo and people are naming their babies as soon as they know the gender and having showers months before the baby is born to make sure that they are prepared when the baby arrives. When a baby is being born in China it is customary that the mother and mother-in-law of the mother to be, to be present during the delivery but not the father. It is considered terrible luck to be scared of labor as it is considered the woman’s job. After the baby is born the mother is in a “sitting period” for a month. This insures that the mother is completely healed and only has to focus on

Every year in the United States, more than three million women will give birth. A great deal of these women will have the typical experience of going to the hospital and receiving an epidural because that is what they were told how labor and delivery should be. They don’t have the opportunity to acquire information about different styles of birthing techniques or that they have rights while in labor. After hearing multiple birth stories that were all different, I sat down and talked to my own mother about her own birthing experiences.

During labor and delivery, for many Chinese women, family support is preferred over pain medications (Sullivan, 2012). For the delivery of the first child, the father of the baby is not present, instead the woman’s mother is there

Before I read Giving Birth the American Way, I knew about other cultures where women give birth standing up and in other positions. Working in the medical field and in women’s health, I have gained some insight to OB/GYN birthing processes, and when I have children I would like to take a holistic approach to birthing like standing or squatting and not being forced to take all of the additional medicines that hospitals want patients to take. There are more holistic facilities to assist women in having a more natural birthing experience so mothers can focus on the birth of children and not all the extra equipment or medicines. Reading the article “Giving Birth in the American Way”, the author’s point of view of the mother being symbolically attached

Childbirth is the most amazing experience any woman will ever go through. Almost every point of the experience can be remembered no matter how long ago it occurred. One tends to forget the history of child birth and what it was like for a mother a century ago to deliver her newborn, furthermore, the natural occurrences that happen with the delivery process is unknown to many people that have not experienced it and the numerous delivery options that are available to today’s health conscious mothers. These unfamiliar aspects of child birthing in America has plagued our childless society with ignorance to an important matter. I feel that if one does not know his or her own history they are bound to repeat it.

On April, 4th 2015, I was assigned to OB intrapartum to assist and experience vaginal births. I was excited to experience this for the first time and was able to observer and help assist the nurse with two vaginal births; these two families were of different cultures but believed the same after birth care. The mother that I am going to expand on was Asian and spoke Chinese and English and was married to an American male who only spoke English.