Childhood Stressors

When my cousins (3 brothers) were little, they experienced poverty and violence. They were raised by their mom….my aunt because their father abused my aunt. Eventually, she left him and moved into a battered women’s home with her three boys. They grew up in public housing, on food stamps and Medicaid. The county we are from, “takes care” of women in need from domestic violence situations. The battered women’s shelter paid her apartment’s security deposit and application fee, as well as, gave her a cell phone. In Mexico, a woman dealing with domestic violence is dealt with a little differently. According to Ruiz, “the failure of authorities to deal seriously with domestic violence places Mexican women in grave danger and indeed enables their assailants, often giving the abuser a virtual license to kill without fear of legal consequences” (2001). “Organizations which have tried to promote gender equality in the Yucatan have proved ineffective against domestic violence, due to bureaucratic ineptness and the fact that most people are unaware of their existence or purpose. Despite their best efforts they’ve been unable to change Mexican cultural and social attitudes about male-female relationships” (Ruiz, 2001).

My personal birthing experience: I have 2 daughters….7 and 4 years old! When I gave birth to my 7 year old, things were so “unknowing”! I can remember all the pain that I went through and the DRUGS(epidural) that I was given to speed things up and it actually slowed things down. After laboring for about 12 hours, my doctor told me that I wouldn’t be able to push my daughter out, that I would have to have c-section, because she wasn’t coming down anymore. At that point, I was tired and ready to get her OUT! She was delivered with a c-section and I walked out the hospital 3 days later with my daughter. Three years later, I was able to “schedule” my delivery date…..show up at the hospital…have my daughter….walked out 2 days later! No pain….so much easier! But, I am thankful for all the pain I went through to have 2 of the most precious, healthy daughters ever! My thoughts on child development is that pregnant women need prenatal care. It was so important for me to hear the heart beat and see my daughters on the ultrasound. I was diagnosed with hypertension, before my second pregnancy, so I was constantly having to get test done and her heart rate checked. I was taken out of work, two months before my delivery date, to ensure that I didn’t delivery early. Having that prenatal care, I was able to have a doctor make sure that my daughter would be healthy and she was developing properly. Chinese Birth Experience According to Leah Brown, pregnant woman from China, are told lots of things to “protect” their unborn child. They should watch the foods that they eat, making sure they are cut or mashed properly, if not then their child will have a careless disposition. Chinese women are forbidden from having sex or attend funerals, during the pregnancy. I was really interested to see all the different things that the women weren’t able to do and their reasoning behind it. There was to be no construction in the house, because it could make her have a miscarriage. One of the things that I liked was the mother of the expectant mother, bought the child’s entire layette. Surprisingly there weren’t any similarities in births in the US. After the birth, the woman is given a month of “healing” time and in some households, the husband is to stay away. The women don’t have to do chores during this time! The baby isn’t named under after he is born and in most cases they are given “many” names. References: Brown, Leah M.Childbirth Traditions Around the World: China. Retrieved from:http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/labor-and-delivery/childbirth- traditions-china_70703-page-2 .September 7, 2012.