I do not have any children of my own and that may seem weird from someone who has worked with children for the last fifteen years, but sometimes things don’t work out the way we plan. I still love working with children and have one nephew and two beautiful nieces that I adore.
I have never been present for an actual birth, however my grandma Marjorie (my dad’s mom) used to tell me a story about my own birth and the day I was born. She loved to tell me this story I think to validate her own racial beliefs or injustices. Just to set the scene I should explain that I was born in 1971 and that my parents are from two different ethnic backgrounds. My mother is Scottish and French and my father is African American, Filipino, Creole, and Native American. Interracial marriage was not widely accepted at the time even in California and my mom’s family struggled with it in the beginning. I can only imagine what kind of stress my mom experienced from the racial tension created from her own family and how the community viewed my parents as a couple, but also the potential affect it could or did have on me as a developing little person in her womb.
Both of my grandmother’s were waiting patiently at the observation window to see their very first grandchild…me. Grandma Ailene (my mom’s mom), I think may have been trying to make conversation, even attempting to build better relations with my grandma Marjori says, “I just love little black babies.” My grandma Marjorie never told me what she replied, but only expressed that to her pleasure, I was born in her words “white as snow.” I know that my birth helped both sides of my family work a little harder to accept each other.
I grew up at my grandparent’s house. Knowing that story allowed me to look back and recognize how that environment influenced my development from birth, even conception given the tensions surrounding my mom at the time in each of the three domains we are covering this class.
I was born at a county hospital naturally without drugs and with no complications. My mom did receive some prenatal care but not nearly as thorough as prenatal care in the US today. My father was in the delivery room at the time of my birth and the first to hold me. My parents were able to take me home three days after my birth. My mom was able to breast feed me at the hospital those three days while she recovered from the birth. I was not breast fed long, but only because I had a skin allergy to her breast milk. In the Philippines fathers are not active participants in any part of the pregnancy or birth. Prenatal care when available consists of a hilot, or midwife that makes sure mom is eating healthy and help with traditions and customs. Only about 60% of women in the Philippines receive prenatal care whether from clinics or a hilot (Philippines: Maternal mortality, 2009).
After the birth mom stays in bed for twelve days with their infant close by to breast feed and continually cared for, cleaned, and fed by the hilot. For these twelve days mom is only to rest, recover from birth and feed their baby. Breast feeding continues for two to three years. My thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development is that I think the type of birthing experience that mother and child experience kind of sets the tone of that child’s development. For example, if the birthing experience is calm and the environment is calm the infant will be calm. I believe the opposite is also true. Birth can have a huge impact on the development of children.
A tale of two births two generations of filipina women. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hawcc.hawaii.edu/nursing/RNFilipino_04.html on March 2, 2012
Hi Crystal,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great story! In many cultures the birth of a child unifies families. I'm sure your grandparents realized how much more they shared in common after your birth. I think in the 70's the husbands were starting to become active participants in the birth of their children. I know in the US male presence during birth is more common, whereas other parts of the world birth is still seen primarily as a woman's job.
Your post is wonderful! I also work in childcare but do not have children of my own, at least not yet. So, I spent a long time talking to my mother about the day I was born. It was good to read about someone in my situation (or at least a similar one!).
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post. I am sure that your birth brought the families closer than ever before. Grandparents take pride and joy in their grandchildren:)
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine going through a pregnancy without prenatal care. I am a strong believer that all women should receive prenatal care especially after the difficult time that my daughter had during her pregnancy. I believe that she gave birth to a healthy baby boy because of the excellent prenatal care that she received.