CHILDBIRTH

My Childbirth Experience:

I am a mother of seven children. I have a blended family where I received two bonus daughters with my marriage. I have had the honor and privilege of experiencing childbirth on five different occasions. I have two sons (19 and 15) and three daughters (16, 14 and 9). I found each pregnancy and delivery to be completely different from each other as their individual personalities to this day. I have a fairly high pain tolerance so all five deliveries were medication free by the time I ask for relief they tell me I am to late. The delivery I will share with you is of my 19 year old son only because I was so young eighteen years old. The pregnancy went well I went from 92 pounds to182 pounds at delivery I really thought I had to eat for two. I went into labor in March and every time I visited the emergency room they would check for dilation and give me a shot to stop the contractions because I was due in April and nobody wanted to be responsible for a preemie based of the ultrasound measurements. April 18^th came around and during a trip to the emergency room while the nurse was checking for dilation and monitoring contractions my son was miss-positioned and grabbed her finger needless to say it scared her and the doctor was in there getting him turned around for a regular delivery. Thirty four hours later we had a healthy baby boy who was 43 weeks gestation. Childbirth is a miraculous experience I will always be grateful I was able to have.

Giving birth in the Netherlands:

The region of the world I chose to look at was the Netherlands. I found that the majority of births are actually done in the home with midwives. If an expectant mother has chosen to deliver in a hospital setting pain relief during childbirth is managed through the use of breathing and relaxation techniques. The use of medication during the delivery process is strongly discouraged in the hospital unlike here in the United States where something to assist in pain relief is suggested.

http://pregnancy.families.com/blog/lets-talk-about-the-cultures-of-childbearing

http://www.expatica.com/nl/essentials_moving_to/essentials/childbirth-in-holland-38191_9489.html