Hw - 36 Pregnancy & Birth Stories

Aunt (Mother of two children):
To begin with, my aunt is a mother of two little children and she is still as youthful as them today. She tells me that after having her first child, it was life changing as any pregnancy/birth experience should be, the second follows but only a bit more prepared. During her trials of pregnancy, I wanted to know about her physical and emotional feelings she had to being pregnant. She says; "It was like finally realizing what my own mother went through for me. And as I got more and more pregnant you could say, the more I felt connected to my mom then I had ever been. Of course now I couldn't do the things I enjoyed, like skiing and mountain biking, but it was all worth it to see my very own baby."

From what my aunt shared with me, it seems there is a lot more connectedness with others around you, even if you cannot physically be right with them. For my aunt it was with her mother because they could even more now relate to each other in a more emotional way than they could before.

Neighbor (Recently gave birth):
My neighbor who is very kind and very caring explicitly tells me that her trials of birth were the most difficult thing she has ever encountered and probably will be steering away from it for a while. She says if it was not for her husband and close family members, it would of made this process ten times more worse that what it already was. To find out what exactly made her time during her time of being pregnant more comfortable, I politely asked what did someone(s) do specifically to make your pregnancy much easier? Initially she said having her husband now cook the meals and not going in for work. Than more emotionally, the commitment of her husband towards her being pregnant and making sure that everything is alright. She says; "some days I would want everything to happen, like cooked meals, cleaned house, mopped floors and my husband could not do it all, but he did best making sure that I was satisfied because he knew that I was pregnant with his child and that sacrificing his time and labor is worth it at the end."

Time and dedication is an apparent factor for those who are going through the trials of birth, and I now realize that commitment to these things are just as important because in the end is the big payoff that celebrates an introduction of "new life."

Mother (Mother of three children):

From my mom I gained a collective amount of information on how and when to decide on having a child is best time and when it is not. She tells me that being prepared to take care of your own baby is when your ready to settle down and give up any past life that will no longer fit with the future responsibility you will gain. You won't know when your unprepared, because you won't be prepared. Plain and simple. She says; "I had my first child at 18, at it was a life changer at too early of an age. I couldn't go to school and holding my job was more difficult than ever and even though family may be there for you, they have lives as well, not yours'."

From this interview with my mom I felt like it was a warning into what kind of life birth and pregnancy changes, and being unprepared for it, is a situation where you do not want to find yourself in.

What emotional feelings are shared after birth within a family?

Hw - 35 Other Peoples' Perspectives

From my interviews with people around the ages of 14 - 19, the general basis of their immediate thought was that birth is a celebration of life. Birth collectively involves many changes that significantly alters someones life and the other people around them. My oldest cousin, who witnessed his mother giving birth to both his younger brothers was altering the physical and mental changes of his life even though he was the first born. Here's what my cousin said, " After I was born, my mom had made sacrifices and changes to make sure we would live a better life. After my second brother was born, I witnessed what sacrifices and changes I had to make for the better and then after the third, the process was all too similar, but still a game changer that brought another brand new change." From what I understood, it seems that birth can change who you are, even if you are effected by it frequently and that it is never the same. My friend who also saw that birth is categorized as a celebration of life, also demanded immense responsibility. Parenting issues are amongst the most important side effects that affect how the process of birth is treated. He says, "if there weren't as many different positive and negative parenting techniques, we wouldn't have parenting issues, but the amount of pressures that our culture sets our children up for along the lines of, how can I make my child become successful, there are various opinions which all may not agree with, so you choose." This is also correct, that our society does put a lot of pressures on parent about how they are going to teach, provide and care for their kids, and not all may agree with the type of technique you end up choosing. So what does this mean about the process of birth before and after then?

One thing I could say for sure is that the process of birth for each individual is different. Some people will see birth one way, and another may see it differently. But one thing that seems to be universal is that many see it as a celebration. I wouldn't argue with this classification either because I wouldn't know how to say that giving birth is a "bad" thing, even though there are many terrible things that birth consist of. From what it seems though during my interviews, the interviewee's did not see it as a "bad thing" but just one that you have to be readily prepared for. Responsibilities seem to be #1 topic of choice under the topic of birth and following after is that birth is a celebration of new life

Hw - 34 Initial Thoughts on Birth

Initially, my thoughts on Birth are the limits and responsibility that are bestowed on an individuals life. Some of the responsibilities shape a person's outlook on their future life, others become more focused on the "now" of it. The split Birth causes between a individual separates where this person stands in the present and where they will be standing in the future. Generally speaking, one could say Birth can be represented as a catalyst that shifts how a person's life ultimately turns out.

Furthermore, Birth is also a celebration of new life. For the women and men who endure the 7-9 month battle, come to a end of appraisal, bringing fourth one of their own. Having a child, one could say gives that person a sense of purpose because now they are focused on the jobat hand by caring and naturing 24/7. A sense of ownership is entitled because of the ultimate decisions you have over what needs to be done to care of your child. It's almost like being the owner of a business but without the late night crying and yelling.

• What are some similarities/differences that cultures do in the topic of "Birth"?
• What are people's views on Birth before and after the fact?
• What in "Birth" is the most significant in the dominant culture? Why?
• How does the dominant culture view the topic of Birth?