Over the past few days in class we have been discussing our ideas on what the "American Way of Birth" actually is, how it is perceived, and how it has changed over time compared to not only early in American history but world wide (globally). Yesterday the class tried to better understand why it is that Americans want so badly to have kids. Many of the ideas thrown around sounded valid, but the ones that i felt applied to most women were that:
- Child birth and the job of raising a child is a life experience that should not be missed. Women are born with this amazing ability, your body is made to do it so we should take advantage.
- Women are following the social norm. Once we are married the next thing people expect is for a couple to have a baby.
- Family Pressure, Mothers want to see there sons and daughters having kids of there own. Grandchildren become a competition, the proud grandparents want to show off how "beautiful and perfect" there newest additions are.
- Teens especially think it seems like the "cool" thing to do, something to dress up and play around with. They see all the celebrities are want to follow in the same footsteps, not realizing how big a responsibility it is.
How many of the women in the world specifically in the united states are having kids for the right reasons? One idea that was tossed around was the theory that all people have some sort of "deep physical hunger" (something they cant live without), in this case it would be sex. According to Andy "Birth happens because of irrational reasons, a deep physical hunger for sex. People do not give birth because they want to have babies, but because they want more sex." Are a lot of kids alive today a mistake according to there parents? This idea lead to a number of questions yet to be answered leaving us with research to do.
Today in class the discussion switched gears a little bit; why has the AWOB become so alienated? Technology has advanced us in ways that allow childbirth to be easier less painful, but that could lead to the reason why women today are having so many more children. How much should the government be able to interfere with families? a specific example, most recently seen all over the news is the case of the women who just gave birth to the octuplets, many people consider her to be selfish, she does not have the money or support of loved ones to care for all 14 of them, why should her kids have to suffer for her "deep physical hunger" for children. Having already had 6 kids, and her doctors fully aware they still decided to fulfill her wishes and implanted all 6 of the embryos, two of which resulted in twins. In an interview on msmbc.com the mother of 14 said "a lot of couples do undergo this procedure and its not as controversial because their 'couples' so its more acceptable to society." Many argue that the doctor is to blame and was completely irresponsible and that knowing her circumstances, they should have not allowed her to go ahead with the pregnancy. Others can argue that its the mothers choice to have as many children as desired. Was this an example of a case where the government should have gotten involved? I believe so because not only is it ecologically horrible for the environment, but she can not support all of them, why should the innocent children have to suffer and why should our tax money go towards paying for her own selfish act.
In general women are scared the pain of going though a natural childbirth will cause them, that why they take medication, "its not natural, but its normal." In America we are spoiled with the option of even being able to control that, in most of the world they do not have that option they are forced to really experience it to the fullest. It seems much more raw but relaxed and worshiped in other countries. They have the support of family and friends, they are in the natural position (the way there body feels most comfortable in), they are in a calm serene enviornments. The american way of birth has become this high paced rush for both mother and doctor, bright bright lights, medication and unnatural birth postitions, its a race to see who can get our faster.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
CLASS WORK: Room 101 reseach
Group one - Pregnancy, Birth Control, Abortion, Adoption
1. What percentage of men use contracptives (Condoms)?
Use within marriage. An estimated 44 million married couples use condoms for family planningThe estimate of 6 to 9 billion condoms used worldwide each year is based partly on surveys of actual use and also assumes that, of the 8 to 10 billion condoms produced each year, 10% to 20% are never used.
(http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/h9/h9chap1_1.shtml)
2. What is the average age of birth?
Women in the United States are waiting longer to have children, health statistics show, presenting challenges for doctors and patients alike. More than 586,000 babies were born to women over age 35 in 2004. That's just over 14 percent of births that year, up from about 5 percent 15 years ago. The average age of women when they gave birth for the first time was at a record high of 25.2 in 2003, the CDC said. That age has increased by nearly four years since 1970.
(http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/21/later.childbirth/index.html)
3.what is the most common form of birth control?
Women prefer to use the pill ahead of other forms of contraceptive according to a new survey by the Office for National Statistics. In 2007/08, three-quarters of women in the 16-49 age group reported using some form of contraception, with 28 per cent of women using the pill, compared with 24 per cent who relied on the male condom. One quarter of women said they did not use any form of contraception in 2007/08, with the most common reason being that they were not in a heterosexual relationship (14 per cent). Three percent said they were not using contraceptives because they wanted to become pregnant.
(office for National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/csh1008.pd)
4. Percentage of Adoption in the united states?
Adoption in the United States is the legal act of adoption, of permanently placing a person under the age of 18 with a parent or parents other than the birth parents in the United States. The 2000 census was the first census in which adoption statistics were collected. The number of children awaiting adoption dropped from 132,000 to 118,000 during the period 2000 to 2004 USA Adoption Chart.In fiscal year 2001, 50,703 foster children were adopted in the United States, many by their foster parents or relatives of their biological parents.
(wikipedia)
5. what is the percentage of teen pregnancy? How has it changed?
The birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1991 and 2005, the National Center for Health Statistics reported.
LOOK AT LINK FOR GRAPH: http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/12/06/GR2007120600072.gif
Group 2- Medical technigues and technology of birth
6. What percentage of woman die of Childbirth?
women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame. The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics. The rate was 12 per 100,000 live births in 2003 — the first time the maternal death rate rose above 10 since 1977.
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427256/)
7. What is the percentage of male babies who are circumcised?
Between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent, the lowest percentage recorded since 1979. Between 1979 and 2001, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital remained relatively constant, ranging between 59 percent and 65 percent. However, between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants circumcised decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent. he percentage of male newborns in the western region of the United States receiving circumcisions has significantly decreased, from 64 percent in 1979 to 31 percent in 2003. This decrease may be reflective of an increase in the proportion of births to Hispanics, who have been found to be less likely to receive circumcisions than are white and black male infants.
(http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/85MaleCircumcision.cfm)
1. What percentage of men use contracptives (Condoms)?
Use within marriage. An estimated 44 million married couples use condoms for family planningThe estimate of 6 to 9 billion condoms used worldwide each year is based partly on surveys of actual use and also assumes that, of the 8 to 10 billion condoms produced each year, 10% to 20% are never used.
(http://www.infoforhealth.org/pr/h9/h9chap1_1.shtml)
2. What is the average age of birth?
Women in the United States are waiting longer to have children, health statistics show, presenting challenges for doctors and patients alike. More than 586,000 babies were born to women over age 35 in 2004. That's just over 14 percent of births that year, up from about 5 percent 15 years ago. The average age of women when they gave birth for the first time was at a record high of 25.2 in 2003, the CDC said. That age has increased by nearly four years since 1970.
(http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/21/later.childbirth/index.html)
3.what is the most common form of birth control?
Women prefer to use the pill ahead of other forms of contraceptive according to a new survey by the Office for National Statistics. In 2007/08, three-quarters of women in the 16-49 age group reported using some form of contraception, with 28 per cent of women using the pill, compared with 24 per cent who relied on the male condom. One quarter of women said they did not use any form of contraception in 2007/08, with the most common reason being that they were not in a heterosexual relationship (14 per cent). Three percent said they were not using contraceptives because they wanted to become pregnant.
(office for National Statistics www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/csh1008.pd)
4. Percentage of Adoption in the united states?
Adoption in the United States is the legal act of adoption, of permanently placing a person under the age of 18 with a parent or parents other than the birth parents in the United States. The 2000 census was the first census in which adoption statistics were collected. The number of children awaiting adoption dropped from 132,000 to 118,000 during the period 2000 to 2004 USA Adoption Chart.In fiscal year 2001, 50,703 foster children were adopted in the United States, many by their foster parents or relatives of their biological parents.
(wikipedia)
5. what is the percentage of teen pregnancy? How has it changed?
The birth rate rose by 3 percent between 2005 and 2006 among 15-to-19-year-old girls, after plummeting 34 percent between 1991 and 2005, the National Center for Health Statistics reported.
LOOK AT LINK FOR GRAPH: http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/12/06/GR2007120600072.gif
Group 2- Medical technigues and technology of birth
6. What percentage of woman die of Childbirth?
women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame. The U.S. maternal mortality rate rose to 13 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2004, according to statistics released this week by the National Center for Health Statistics. The rate was 12 per 100,000 live births in 2003 — the first time the maternal death rate rose above 10 since 1977.
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20427256/)
7. What is the percentage of male babies who are circumcised?
Between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent, the lowest percentage recorded since 1979. Between 1979 and 2001, the percentage of male infants who were circumcised in the hospital remained relatively constant, ranging between 59 percent and 65 percent. However, between 2001 and 2003, the percentage of male infants circumcised decreased from 63 percent to 56 percent. he percentage of male newborns in the western region of the United States receiving circumcisions has significantly decreased, from 64 percent in 1979 to 31 percent in 2003. This decrease may be reflective of an increase in the proportion of births to Hispanics, who have been found to be less likely to receive circumcisions than are white and black male infants.
(http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/85MaleCircumcision.cfm)
Monday, February 9, 2009
What questions do we need to better understand the American Way of Birth?
Topic ---- How people get pregnant?
Birth control
Abortion
Adoption
1. what % of women get pregnant on purpose?
2. how available is birth control to all people? (teens and adults)
3. what is the % of teen pregnancy? how has it changed?
4. what reasons do women have for getting an abortion?
5. how do the different races compare to pregnancy?
6. what is the average age of birth?
7. reasons for adoption?
8. is abortion or putting your child up for adoption more difficult for the mother?
9. what is the most common form of birth control?
10. what is the safest form of birth control?
11. what %of men use condoms?
12. what is there reason for not?
13. what %of men take responsibility for there children?
4 Birth Stories:
Birth story # 1 - The first person i asked said when they gave birth it was just as expected and "would remember every wonderful moment" they had planned form the very beginning to have a completely natural birth in the comfort of there own home. Months before the birth the two of them attended various birthing classes (a lot of yoga) to better prepare themselves. It was very important for both the husband and wife to feel they were involved in the actual process as much as the professionals. They made sure to have a staff they felt very secure with, both the dula and the OB/GYN were close friends of the soon to be parents. Her water broke in the mid morning, she was in the kitchen making tea, instead of freaking out she said she felt "an enormous sense of excitement, i felt prepared and i was ready for whatever this new little life was gonna bring." After cleaning up the mess her and her husband called their friends (the dual and the OB/GYN) over to there house, while waiting the two of them practiced some of the breathing methods and birth positions while listening to some of there favorite music to take her mind off the pain. "Having a supportive husband made the whole process less stressful, and exciting knowing you have a loved one to share it with." About an hour and a half later the dula and OB/GYN arrived, 3 hours after her water broke the contractions started, and they got set up and comfortable in their bathtub, "Natural birth allowed my son to take his time. When he arrived his umbilical cord was short which explained why I could only push a few seconds before stopping. He needed oxygen in short bursts! It was truly an experience I cherish for the fact that by body delivered when it was ready, not by induction."
Birth story # 2 - The second story i got was a little different form the first, it was a little less enjoyable. It was an unplanned pregnancy even though both the mother and father were thrilled with the new, thoughts ran through there head that it might have been a little too soon being as there daughter was just turning one. she was less worried about the process than her plan for after the baby was born. her first pregnancy was faster and a lot less painful than expected, that was not the case with her second one. Her water broke in a little less of a private place, the near by super market in the dairy aisle. she called her husband to meet her and take her to the hospital. 15 minutes later they were in a taxi cab going to the hospital, she described her contractions as "the worst pain ever! nothing could have prepared me for that, there were a few times where i did not know if i was gonna get out of it alive. I wanted to give up and no amount of support or words of comfort could make me feel any better. I needed the epidural as fast as i could get my hands on it!" After she was given the medication it did not seem to be working fast enough but about an hour later she was feeling a little more comfortable, but unfortunately it did not last forever, after a good 43 hours of treacherous labor she gave birth to another baby girl. Although she was over joyed with the newest addition she said "no amount of money could persuade me to go through that again." She stayed true to her word and 11 years to this day she has never been pregnant again.
Birth story # 3 - similar to the first story, the mother cherished every moment of the birth even though it played out a little differently than expected. both the mother and the father had originally wanted to have a natural birth in a hospital. They felt comfortable in that environment but felt it important to have her mother, step-mother and sisters in the room along with her husband. Being as scrap booking was a Hobie of hers, she wanted as many pictures and videos as her loved ones could take, it was "a memory i never wanted to forget!". little did she know complications would change her plan. It was 1 in the morning when her water had broke, she was sleeping and didn't notice anything until she was woken up by the pain of the contractions. After her husband quickly finished packing last minute things, they were on there way to the hospital (20 minutes by car). All her family was on call and left immediately once news had surfaced. In the car ride she said "i had a feeling it was not gonna be as easy as expected, i felt something was a little off and i was just extremely anxious to see my doctor" turned out she had the motherly instinct, 3 hours after being in the hospital she was rushed into an emergency c-section ( the baby's umbilical cord was wrapped around the babies neck. " I knew how much support i had, but i could not help feeling extremely alone." after the surgery was over she was over bared with a huge rush of emotions, seeing the baby for the first time gave her a whole new outlook on life.
Birth story # 4 - Birth story # 4 is not much of a birth story, its only what i have been told about my birth parents and the whole adoption process. I was born on December 8Th 1992 in Corpus Christi Texas. Everyone always asks me how i felt when i was told i was adopted, to be honest i have absolutely no recollection of ever being told, almost as if i always knew (sounds corny). I have never really been told much about my birth parents and i have never bothered to ask cause it always seemed like a touchy subject. I know they were very young and felt they would not be able to support me. I was put up for adoption immediately after birth, I'm not sure if my birth parents ever saw what i looked like. My mother and father received the news the day i was born, they dropped everything and got the first possible plane fight to Texas, we were united when i was two days. I stayed in Texas for two weeks where i meet my grandma, two weeks later i was in Mexico visiting family and friends and then California and Florida, i was about 4 months when i finally got to new york. I often times wonder what my life could have been knowing i could have been given to a number of families, i have never made the attempt to get in contact with my birth parents but i always wonder what they are like and the lives they live now and if they still feel they made the right decision.
Birth story # 2 - The second story i got was a little different form the first, it was a little less enjoyable. It was an unplanned pregnancy even though both the mother and father were thrilled with the new, thoughts ran through there head that it might have been a little too soon being as there daughter was just turning one. she was less worried about the process than her plan for after the baby was born. her first pregnancy was faster and a lot less painful than expected, that was not the case with her second one. Her water broke in a little less of a private place, the near by super market in the dairy aisle. she called her husband to meet her and take her to the hospital. 15 minutes later they were in a taxi cab going to the hospital, she described her contractions as "the worst pain ever! nothing could have prepared me for that, there were a few times where i did not know if i was gonna get out of it alive. I wanted to give up and no amount of support or words of comfort could make me feel any better. I needed the epidural as fast as i could get my hands on it!" After she was given the medication it did not seem to be working fast enough but about an hour later she was feeling a little more comfortable, but unfortunately it did not last forever, after a good 43 hours of treacherous labor she gave birth to another baby girl. Although she was over joyed with the newest addition she said "no amount of money could persuade me to go through that again." She stayed true to her word and 11 years to this day she has never been pregnant again.
Birth story # 3 - similar to the first story, the mother cherished every moment of the birth even though it played out a little differently than expected. both the mother and the father had originally wanted to have a natural birth in a hospital. They felt comfortable in that environment but felt it important to have her mother, step-mother and sisters in the room along with her husband. Being as scrap booking was a Hobie of hers, she wanted as many pictures and videos as her loved ones could take, it was "a memory i never wanted to forget!". little did she know complications would change her plan. It was 1 in the morning when her water had broke, she was sleeping and didn't notice anything until she was woken up by the pain of the contractions. After her husband quickly finished packing last minute things, they were on there way to the hospital (20 minutes by car). All her family was on call and left immediately once news had surfaced. In the car ride she said "i had a feeling it was not gonna be as easy as expected, i felt something was a little off and i was just extremely anxious to see my doctor" turned out she had the motherly instinct, 3 hours after being in the hospital she was rushed into an emergency c-section ( the baby's umbilical cord was wrapped around the babies neck. " I knew how much support i had, but i could not help feeling extremely alone." after the surgery was over she was over bared with a huge rush of emotions, seeing the baby for the first time gave her a whole new outlook on life.
Birth story # 4 - Birth story # 4 is not much of a birth story, its only what i have been told about my birth parents and the whole adoption process. I was born on December 8Th 1992 in Corpus Christi Texas. Everyone always asks me how i felt when i was told i was adopted, to be honest i have absolutely no recollection of ever being told, almost as if i always knew (sounds corny). I have never really been told much about my birth parents and i have never bothered to ask cause it always seemed like a touchy subject. I know they were very young and felt they would not be able to support me. I was put up for adoption immediately after birth, I'm not sure if my birth parents ever saw what i looked like. My mother and father received the news the day i was born, they dropped everything and got the first possible plane fight to Texas, we were united when i was two days. I stayed in Texas for two weeks where i meet my grandma, two weeks later i was in Mexico visiting family and friends and then California and Florida, i was about 4 months when i finally got to new york. I often times wonder what my life could have been knowing i could have been given to a number of families, i have never made the attempt to get in contact with my birth parents but i always wonder what they are like and the lives they live now and if they still feel they made the right decision.
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