Pregnancy & Birth

Both of my pregnancies and births were very different from each other. My first pregnancy was relatively easy. I did not have morning sickness at all and the only thing that made me even a little nauseous was the smell of McDonalds. Though my pregnancy was deemed high risk due to my heart condition there were no complications and the birthing process took only a few minutes once I was fully dilated. However, my second pregnancy and birth of my son was very different than my first.

First of all, my son was born in August, meaning that in the last months of my pregnancy (when I was at my biggest belly wise), were the hottest months of the year here. This pregnancy was also considered high risk due to my heart condition and I ended up having to be placed on a beta blocker as well in the last month of my pregnancy. The birthing process started out good, it took a bit longer than my first child but pain wise was about the same until the end. When my 9lb 3oz, son finally came out and the nurses took him from me to get him cleaned up, I began to convulse due to a high amount of blood loss and went unconscious. I woke three hours later to my screaming son and husband that was doing everything he could to soothe our son. I was able to assist my husband when I woke and soothed and fed my screaming son. Though this birth experience was very traumatic for both me and my son, we both came out healthy and good to go home in just three days.

I chose to discuss this pregnancy and birthing because even though it was a traumatic experience I came out of it with a beautiful, wonderful baby boy. I do believe that the pregnancy and birthing experience are significant for child development for many reasons. The health of the mother often determines the health of the child, the first moments of the child’s life occur during the birthing  process and it provides the mother and baby those first instances to build that lifelong bond.

The region that I chose to discuss about birthing differences from the U.S. is Italy. I found an article from a mother that was pregnant and gave birth in Italy, and her remarks about “The things you need to know about giving birth in Italy”. From reading the article I discovered some major differences between giving birth in the U.S. and giving birth in Italy. In Italy hospitals, “will not charge anyone for giving birth or for any emergency procedures that may occur during labour or delivery” (Bowden, 2016), but here in the U.S. you need to have some form of insurance to avoid accruing very high hospital bills. Another huge difference for parents in Italy includes the paid time off that they get to take after having a child. In Italy, “working mothers get five months (or more in some cases) off at full pay” (Bowden, 2016); and here in the U.S. mothers are lucky to get 6-8 weeks maternity leave at partial pay. I was lucky enough to not have to work the first year of my both of my children’s lives to build that bond and relationship with them.

The article contains more information about giving birth in Italy including the amazing Italian food you are served, doctors encouraging you to scream while giving birth and the government offers a subsidy to parents within a certain annual income range for having a child. If you would like to read more I have listed the link below.

It seems that the most important difference between giving birth in Italy and giving birth in the U.S. is the allotted time given to fulltime working mothers to build a positive, trusting bond with their newborn child. It is those first relationships that are the most vital to any child’s healthy development and for a mother to be able to have that much time with their newborn and not have to worry about how the bills are going to be paid is wonderful.  

Bowden, Patricia. (November 7, 2016). Ten things you need to know about giving birth in Italy. Retrieved from: https://www.thelocal.it/20161107/ten-things-to-know-about-giving-birth-in-italy