My Birthing Experience

My Birthing Experience

My labor began on December 9, 2012. Because this was my first birthing experience, I immediately went to the hospital. I was checked and sent back home. I was told not to come back until my contractions were about 3-5 minutes apart. My husband and I returned home and waited and waited. The contractions started coming every 10 minutes that night. I have never been in so much pain! Because of the recurring pain, sleep was impossible. The next morning, December 10, 2012, I noticed that my contractions were coming every 7 minutes. I called the hospital and was told to come in again. On the way to the hospital, the contractions went from every 7 minutes to every 5 minutes. When we arrived, we checked in and was put in a room. When we got situated, I was checked. I just knew that my baby was about to come, but to my surprise, I was only 3cm and my water did not break! Hours slowly went by as I watched the clock. Morning turned to afternoon, and afternoon to evening. I was given medicine to speed up the labor. Soon after, I was far enough along to get an epidural. I was so relieved. After that, my doctor broke my water. A little later, I was checked and was told I was about to start pushing. By this time, it was December 11, 2012. After about 3 pushes, the nurse told me to stop pushing until the doctor came. My baby was not having that! She started coming on her own. The nurses noticed that the umbilical cord was wrapped twice around her neck. I was so scared! They immediately took action and delivered my baby without the doctor. The doctor arrived about five minutes later and removed the placenta. I was so happy that my daughter was okay. On December 11, 2012 at 2 a.m., I became the proud mother of a 7lb 1oz, baby girl, Alyssa! I would definitely re-do those 34 hours of labor.

                                                              Alyssa

 I chose to share this because it was a life changing experience for me. I am now responsible for another human being. I think that giving birth is a beautiful thing and an exciting experience, minus the pain! I think that a healthy birth, especially with the right resources, leads to good child development.    

I chose to find out about the birthing experienced in Haiti. The things I learned really upset me. According to an article I read on nbcnews.com, “Giving birth is a dangerous business for Haiti’s poor, who suffer by far the highest maternal mortality ratio in the Western Hemisphere. Out of 100,000 live births, 670 Haitian women died of pregnancy-related causes in 2006, according to a UNICEF report issues last year. In the United States, that number is 11” (NBCNews, 2013). Many Haitian women can’t access healthcare, or they can’t afford it. This is similar to some women in the United States, but women in the United States can’t be turned away at a hospital for not having insurance. The poor in the United States have better than the poor in Haiti. The difference between my birthing experience and those of women in Haiti, is that I actually had a comfortable, great experience.  I also have a safe environment with all of the resources I need for me and my child. There are women in Haiti who give birth and have to return to an unsafe, unsanitary place, with no resources, or no place at all. I have learned to be very thankful of my situation.

Roseline Antoine, 33, tried to recover her strength minutes after delivering a baby girl. “The street where I live, it’s so dirty; there isn’t enough food or water,” Ms. Antoine said. “I’m scared to bring a baby into this awful situation.” (New York Times Company, 2013)

Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times