Blog Assignment for WU EDUC-6160
By Deana Austria
My first child was born almost 10 years ago. My husband and I read every book and magazine
on prenatal care eagerly awaiting the arrival of our son. We were very cautious on what I ate and how
much rest I got. I took prescription
prenatal vitamins. I called the ob-gyn
every time I had a question, nervous that I might do something wrong and cause
harm to my baby. During my pregnancy I directed
a pep band for high school. Every time
the band would blast their music, my son would just go wild in my womb to the
point of almost pain for me. So I always
tried to stay as far back as I could but never quite sure of what this was
doing to him.
When it came close to the time my son was due, the Doctor decided to
induce labor using Pitocin.
As the birth proceeded and I did not progress quickly enough, they
decided to break my water. My baby was
not wanting to be born basically.
Eventually they figured out that he was facing the wrong way and
adjusted him accordingly and 13 hours later, my first son was born. He was so loud! He screamed and the first thing that came to
my mind was the loud pep band music that he had to endure during
pregnancy. I was so worried that I had
hurt him. I immediately nursed him
because that is also something that my husband and I researched prior to him
being born. We wanted to be sure to
provide everything in our power to give him a good healthy start. This experience is note worthy not just
because it was the glorious presentation of my pride and joy, but also because
it was a new experience for a couple who sought various techniques, methods,
medicines, etc. to provide what they felt was the best for their child during
pregnancy and post pregnancy.
From everything I have read it matters how the
child is treated in the womb and how they will develop in life. For example, if you choose to do illegal drugs
during pregnancy it causes the fetus to experience withdrawl, low birth weight,
prematurity, placental abrution, and more (www.americanpregnancy.org). When women choose to smoke during pregnancy
it can cause birth defects, low birth weight, prematurity, and more (http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/tobaccousepregnancy/index.htm). In my son’s case I was worried that the noise
pollution he had to endure during pregnancy may have damaged his hearing. When I researched the possibilities of this occurring,
it is possible to damage the baby’s hearing at very high decibel s (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/100/4/724.full),
but more likely he did not, however he speaks the loudest out of our family and
even though he has passed all his hearing tests, it makes me ponder the question.
The connection between pregnancy,
labor, and child development is science of the human development from
conception to adulthood. This science
gathers data, develops theories, analysis trying to understand how and why
people change (Berger, 2009). As I
searched over the internet for various aspects on different cultures’ birth
traditions and how they related to child development, I noticed that there are
a wide variety of beliefs on what is healthy for the unborn child. In the
Philippines, pregnant women do not just listen to their doctors but their
elders. To keep their baby’s umbilical cord from wrapping around their
necks, the mother would not wear anything around her neck during
pregnancy. The traditional methods that the
women experienced have slowly been mixed with modern medicine. For example, traditionally women gave birth
at home with a midwife or another female family member. Now most choose to give birth within a hospital
setting. I believe that home birth is a
choice for each woman to make, but having a child in the hospital setting helps
when complications occur during or post labor.
Also the Philippine Department of Health stepped in around 2010 to
improve newborn health due to the high mortality rate of infants (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=554053&publicationSubCategoryId=80). The connection between the Philippines and my
story is simple. My son is ½ Filipino. His Dad and I endured many trials trying to
not offend the elders with not observing their traditions in the birthing of our
son. We tried to show the knowledge we
gained through our research and hoped for respect. For the most part, his family was pleasant
about our methods and welcomed the new knowledge. They just want what is best for the child as
well. I believe the development of our
son has been good. He is very smart and
handsome. I think that most parents from
anywhere want what is best for their child.
When a child is born they can only use what they have access to, to aid
in their role in providing a healthy development of their child.
Resources:
Berger, K. (2009). The developing person through childhood. NewYork,
NY: Worth Publishers.
What a great story, Deana! It is lovely to hear about your husband's support during your pregnancy, and of your family's support despite the fact that you may have done things differently than they would have done.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if your son is a musician after all that exposure to music!?
Hi Lisa, Thanks for reading! Yes indeed he is. He has a gift for music that is amazing, and it does make me wonder about the exposure.
DeleteThank you for sharing! I can remember my daughter would always move in my stomach if she heard loud music. She loves music now as a 5 year old...I have often wondered if there's a connection to what she heard in the womb.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terri for reading! I think there is a connection as well. It is pretty awesome what happens!
Delete