A Birthing Experience

It was Christmas Eve in 1988 about 7pm.  I was at my parents house, nine months pregnant and the house was full of family.  Dinner was just about ready.  I went over to rearrange some gifts under the tree, my aunt told me not to be doing that or I'll go into labor.  Not long after that I felt a pain and then my water broke.  I opened gifts really quick and ate a few bites of the holiday dinner.  Off to the hospital I went  mixed with the emotion of being excited and a little scared, this was my first baby and didn't know what to expect.  After getting checked in and getting settled in a room I was examined and to my surprise even though my water broke, I hadn't dilated.   So every so often I would get checked and minimal progress had happened.  So in the wee hours of Christmas Day it was decided I needed to have pitocin to assist with progressing my labor.  Since my water broke I had a time limit of 24 hours to deliver or have a C-section due to the risk of the infection due to what was called a dry birth.  Whoa, those contractions were intense.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to have any pain medication until I had dilated to a certain point.  Finally I was able to get an epidural to relieve the pain.  Finally at 5:01pm on Christmas Day my beautiful daughter was born. She was 8lbs and 2oz  and 20 1/2 inches long.   Even though I had pain medication she was alert and very healthy.   I will never forgot when the doctor handed her to me.  It was the most amazing feeling in the world, to hold your child.   My hospital experience was good.  The doctor and nurses were nice. My doctor was from the old school and no extra family members were allowed in.  Since it was Christmas the babies in the nursery had little stockings laying over their blankets, it definitely was the best gift! 

Four years later I was expecting my second child. Again it was December but early in the month.   I was at the doctor's office for my routine exam and I was told I was 2 cm dilated.  I was so excited, I always heard the second baby comes quicker.  So after a 22 hour labor with my first go around I was thinking this will be much easier.  My doctor and I went ahead and set the date for me to be induced. My doctor was getting concerned that the baby might be too big.  So around 6am on December 4, 1992 I was induced.  Since I was already dilated the doctor thought the baby would be here in the afternoon.   Well my labor wasn't progressing like they thought  so I was given pitocin.  Again this made the contractions so intense that I needed an epidural.  The doctor now thought the baby would be here by dinner time.  Well dinner time came and went and still no baby.  Finally at 11:38pm my second beautiful daughter was born.  She did come quicker that her older sister but a long, intense labor still occurred.   She was 8lbs and 4oz and 18 1/2 inches long.  She was healthy but was a little jaundice but everything ended up being alright. I will also never forgot when the doctor first handed her to me, it was the best feeling in the world!   I was lucky to have a great hospital experience.  I felt this experience was probably better than my first.  I had a different  doctor and he was great and all the staff made me feel very comfortable.   My mom was allowed to stay and that was an amazing experience for her.

I read about the birthing experiences in South Africa.  I was very alarmed to the fact in how rude, unprofessional and unsafe the birthing experience can be.  It has been reported for many years about the maternal death rates during childbirth.  In Eastern Cape Province, there are numerous reports of abuse to pregnant mothers by the health staff, low standards of care and women actually being denied access to the hospital.  Once admitted to the hospital, patients report conditions that are unimaginable.  Women report being verbally and physically abused for bleeding during labor.  After delivery mothers and their babies are left unattended for hours.  Some women in need of medications are not given them and those needing serious treatments experienced delays in receiving such treatment.  Many women were released from the hospital with no care plan.  The worse was if a woman or child died during childbirth the family was not given a reason.  It was also noted that the filing of complaints in South Africa does not seem to have any impact as the process does not function properly.  There has been a call for the government to take action but little seems to happen.

Reference:
Nordqvist, C. (2011,August 8).  "The Shocking Truth About Giving Birth In South Africa." Medical News Today. Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232413.