Childbirth in Your Life and Around the World

 I do not have children and I’ve never been in a delivery room, so I had to ask my friend about her experience. My close friend, Mel, had her first baby two weeks ago! Unfortunately she was in the hospital a week, due to high blood pressure, before she was induced. Mel has had high blood pressure since 2008 and she really didn’t start having problems until she was 32 weeks. She was scheduled a Cesarean Section for September 20, but the doctors were concerned about her health as well as the baby’s health. She told me that her doctor and attending nurses were very nice and helpful throughout her stay at the hospital and during her birth. She was induced that morning and was supposed to have a natural birth, but the baby’s heart rate was dropping so they did a C-Section. She gave birth to a healthy baby boy, almost 6lbs. I visited Mel and the baby the next day, he was the smallest baby I’d ever seen. I stayed for about two hours, the nurses constantly came in and checked on her and the baby. From what I could tell they were really concerned about them and their health.

One in 22 women die during pregnancy or childbirth, in Africa. In remote areas of Africa childbirth usually happens at home, with only the mother and grandmother at the expecting mother’s side. If complications occur, the nearest help is hours away, which they’ll probably have to walk during labor.

In South Africa, a large number of women were interviewed stating that they had the following problems in the hospital:

·         Pinched, slapped, handled roughly during labor

·         Nurses ignoring them

·         Discharged improperly

·         While in labor they were refused admission

·         Sent home without pain medicine

·         Sent home after Cesarean section without medication, antibiotics, painkillers, etc.

Mel’s labor/after labor care and the women in Africa and South Africa differ a lot. It’s very heartbreaking to read that women are treated this way during what is expected to be the most joyous part of their lives. I received some of my information of www.theguardian.com and they give different websites to research regarding Africa. The issue had been raised to the United Nations about the treatment of pregnant women in hospitals in South Africa.

References

(2012). Giving Birth- The Most Dangerous Thing an African Woman can do? Retrieved from: http://www.theguardian.com/journalismcompetition/giving-birth-the-most-dangerous-thing-an-african-woman-can-do

(2011). The Shocking Truth about Giving Birth in South Africa. Retrieved from: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232413.php