HW #36: Pregnancy Stories

First Interview: 

Question: How did the experience effect you physically and emotionally?

A: “Physically it was better then one would believe. I am diagnosed with crohns diesese and the process of my pregnancy was the time the disease effected me the least. Emotionally it was a challenge being that got pregnant at the age of 19, I was not ready for a child.”

Question: What was the most significant thing you did to make sure your pregnancy went as smooth as possible?

A: I was very active, I still worked, & walked more then usual. I also would swim alot and even played games with my children being that i was a camp consoler.”

Question: What was the worst part of your pregnancy?”

A: The worst part was that my family did not approve of me having a child and defiantly did not approve of the father of the child at the time. This made things very difficult”

Question: What were you first feelings after finding out you were pregnant?

A: I was scared for my life, I didn't know how i would tell my parents and didn’t know how I would take care of the child, but i knew I would have it.

Interesting, informative, insightful 

1: Immaturity leads to stress

2: Rejection from family is very common

3: Not everyone has a painful and stressful pregnancy

When some people think about birth they look at birth as a burden. Usually the people who look at birth as a burden are people who struggle financially. Maturity factors are significant on how well the process will go. These components of pregnancy and birth connect to the dominate social culture's view that pregnancy can be a burden. When individuals wonder about birth they assume the physical process is stressful and painful. In this case the mother was in a better physical condition while pregnant.


Second interview:

Question: How did the experience effect you physically and emotionally?

A: “I was Huge! I was also anemic at the time because of the pregnancy. Things became very annoying making this more stressful.”

Question: What was the most significant thing you did to make sure your pregnancy went as smooth as possible?

A: “Sleeping, all i did was sleep. I was more lazy then ever and was paranoid about everything so II knew by resting nothing wrong could happen.”

Question: What was the worst part of your pregnancy?”

A: Going back and forth to the doctor because i was anemic. The hospital visits were very irritating.”

Question: What were you first feelings after finding out you were pregnant?

A: Excited, out of my four children this was the only one i planned to have. I couldn’t wait for the her to pop out.”

Interesting, informative, insightful

1: People want whats best for their child so they become very paranoid about the safety of the child.

2: Birth and pregnancy doesn't have to bring stress into your life but excitement.

Pregnancy and birth often brings excitement to a family. People also want whats best for their child and majority of the time its a better life then they had. This is when paranoia kicks in and the mother becomes over protective of the unborn child. Mother's actions are also altered by the pregnancy process, usually excessive eating and excessive sleeping.

Third Interview 

Question: How did the experience effect you physically and emotionally?

A:“Hated it both physically and emotionally, I was a mess.”

Question: What was the most significant thing you did to make sure your pregnancy  went as smooth as possible?

A:“I just did what ever the doctor told me to do.”

Question: What was the worst part of your pregnancy?”

A:“The 18 hours I was in Labor, I never felt so much pain in my life but it was worth it.”

Question: What were you first feelings after finding out you were pregnant?

A:“I was confused about what i should do being that I was still young and did not really have my life together. Also what would my boyfriend think, would he want me to keep it or get rid of it?”

Interesting, Informative, Insightful

1: Concern for partners opinion on the pregnancy 

2: Pregnancy is a long and stressful process

3: Mothers go through pain, frustration, and stress for the satisfaction of having and loving a child they could call their own.

This interview followed the dominant culture's view on pregnancy that it is a painful and stressful process. In this interview the mother was concerned about the father's point of view about the pregnancy. I will like to do further research on how significant the mother believes the father's opinion is on the pregnancy. Also how important the father believes his opinion is on the pregnancy.

After interviewing three woman about the process of their pregnancy I am curious and will like to explore how diseases and illness have an impact on birth and pregnancy?

Hw #35 Interview

For the start of the birth unit I interviewed my close friend(17), older brother(18), and my older cousin(20). The people I interviewed had fairly similar answers to questions such as; “what is the dominant culture’s view on birth?” “What are your first thoughts when you think about birth?” & “How important is the doctor’s role in the birth process?” Overall they all thought that birth is extremely significant and has a severe impact on everyone no matter the culture or social class. When asked “what are your first thoughts on birth?” My brother rapidly responded; “Don’t have a baby” This response helped show the dominate culture's view on birth, majority of people see it as a burden and try to avoid it. Later while asking my older cousin the same question she responded with the same answer but the difference between the two was that she already had a child. It was interesting to hear this because it proved that people tend to stay the same no matter the background and experiences they have.

The interviews helped me come to the conclusion that most people look at birth as a burden unless they are financially stable. These interviews also helped show that most people want a better life for their children then the life they had. I came to this conclusion because of one of the answer’s my older cousin gave. She answered “don't have a baby unless you are ready for one” I believe that she meant financially ready and mentally ready by this. Society can see birth as a burden or a celebration according to the financial situation and maturity situation someone is in. The immaturity and financial problems lead to the idea of birth being a burden. Being that an individual has maturity and financial problems they have much stress to deal with already. The baby will only lead to more stress because of the more financial problems they will create. This idea can completely change if a person is mature and financially stable. Being mature and financially stable will lead to the celebration idea. Money is a key component to baby because of the necessities they have. Being mature is the most significant part, babies need constant and extra care. Immaturity does not go along well with having a child. By being ready in stable in these situations society see’s birth not only as a celebration but as a blessing to the family.

Hw #34 Initial thoughts on Birth

When I hear the word Birth I tend to think about: babies, pain, and a nine moth process. Birth is something that I never put much thought into and was concerned about until now. One of the aspects I am truly curious about is the process of birth itself. We are customarily taught that the process of birth takes approximately nine months. A Question that is captivating to me is; which part of the pregnancy are babies lost the most? Even though Birth is the act of bringing another life into this world, death plays a large role of the process. Not only are babies occasionally lost in the process but the bearer’s are as well. In relation too our previous unit on illness and dying I am curious to figure out finer reasons on how death and birth relate.

In our society today religion plays a huge factor on how we view and interpret things. Being that birth is a one of the most significant elements to maintaining the human population, how does religion affect the process and life after birth? When individuals think about birth a considerable amount think about the physical pain. How substantial is the emotional part of the process and life after birth? I believe this question can lead to many justifications of why babies are put up for adoptions and why there is such an immense amount of abortions performed in our society.

How is pregnancy and birth recognized in other countries and cultures then our own?

How come the partner of the bearer has less of a say in the process of the pregnancy?

Which plays a bigger concern on the carrier’s well-being; emotional or physical pain?

hw #33

Matt: I enjoyed reading your post and you had very good ideas. The one that stood out to me the most was ; "So maybe it not about preparing but understanding." I agree with this statement because honestly can anyone ever prepare for someone to die? Will anyone ever be the same after someone has passed away? The only one to cope with this is to understand, people wont be here forever. Without understanding illness and death one can never truly be happy after the death of a friend/loved one.


Max: I also enjoyed reading your post. I agree with the idea that spending time with the person may mean more to the person then it looks. Most people don't want their last day on this earth to be in the hospital, most want it to be at home. They do because of the fact that it is a sanctuary and could be surrounded by people they love. Love and companionship means more then a doctor doing his or her job 

HW #32

What might you do or address differently as a result of what you've learned this unit, individually and with your family?

"More people die in hospitals today then anywhere else" this fact caught me completely off guard. Aren't hospitals there for us(patients) to be aided? I understand that not everyone can be saved and that every doctor is not a good doctor but shouldn't the hospital be somewhere we feel safe? This fact help me learn that people have to start putting their lives in their own hands. Majority of Americans think similar to how I thought, that after going to the hospital and being seen by a doctor things should become better. This is not always the case. Our lives and our well being should be our number one priority. Who loves us more than ourselves? We have to learn to be more independent and not leaving everything up to the doctors. Even though everyone is promised to die we can prolong the process, how? We can start by changing to a healthier diet, more exercise, helping to prolong illness. Exercising and dieting are not the simplest task in the world. Since they are not, the most effective way to be successful with this task would be starting the dieting and exercising process slowly. This process can be easily overwhelming , taking this slow will get your body and mind prepared for the task making things more straightforward.

HW #30

Facing terminal illness, something we all hope we will never have to experience even though the majority of us do. When we do have to face and experience terminal illness as the patient or even as a loved one of the patient, what do we do, how do we react? Being that I was curious about how different types of people are affected by the terminal illness and death of loved ones, I decided to interview two people who experienced it. The two people I interviewed were my; 18 year old half brother Jamal and 61 year old grandmother Carolyn. 

(First answers written are Jamal’s and second answers are Carolyn’s)

1. How old was your mother when she passed away?--37

                                                                                             --85 

  2)Terminal Illness?-Colon Cancer

                                -blocked bowel 

3)How’d it happen?- Severe stomach pains but denied colonoscopy because of young age. Later on found out that colonoscopy could have saved her life.

                                 -Sever stomach pains, was brought to surgery as soon as possible because of old age

4) How’d you feel about her being sick sick?- Wasn't worried because believed that things will pass over at the start. Over time began to face reality that death was a huge possibility

                                                                       - Very worried about her because of her old age at the start, when it became clear that dying was a possibility still was denying death.

5) How long was she sick? - 1 year

                   - 1 month 

6) Did you discuss the illness with her?- No, tried to keep it away from me

                                                              - Discussed it all the time

7) How as the Hospital treatment?- Very good

                                                    - Bad, mistreated

8)How was your relationship with person while ill?- Became very close because constantly having to aid her

                               - Always had a very close relationship

9)How did she change over time, while in hospital?- Condition got worst and worst, began to look like a different person.

                                 - Looked fine and thought that she was going to be leaving hospital soon but unfortunately passed away.

Before this Interview I could have imagined that my brother being that he is so young would have been more affected and more hurt by the death of his mother than my grandmother was. In reality my grandmother seemed as if she was hurt more simply by her shedding a vast amount of tears. One of the most significant things I learned after this interview was how people react when people first become sick. Most people look at a doctors appointment or a simple stop to the emergency room as something to not worry about, but in reality “Today more Americans die in hospitals than anywhere else.” (A time to die, 25) Not only the patients but us as the loved ones of the patients have to be more aware of what is the problem. This shows that the dominant social practices of illness & dying in our culture are making things worst. We believe that the hospitals and doctors will all work to their full potential or give us the best treatment they can give us, but some times this is not the case. This interview showed me this when my Grandmother answered that her 87 years old mother received horrible treatment in the hospital. Also when my 18 year old brother Jamal explained that his mother was denied a colonoscopy when that could have been the key to saving her life. This is very significant to our lives. If we do not only leave our lives in the hands of doctors and hospitals we will have a better chance of living for a longer period of time. The doctors jobs are to too aid us when we are in need but our number one priority should be looking out for ourselves.

Source: And a time to die: How Americas Hospitals 

Hw #29

Illness and dying overall leading to death, something we all try to prolong even though death is the one thing promised to all of us. The process of dying is not only significant to the person who is dying but also the people who experience the process. The book I read, My brother by Jamaica Kincaid help show the observers/family side of the process of dying. Most people think of the experience of dying to be full with love and regrets but Jamaica helped show another side; “I wasn’t there because I loved my brother but because I felt pity.”(My Brother, 88) Death may bring people together but doesn’t necessarily increase the amount of love shared between one another.

Which process seems more important, terminal illness or death itself? Majority of people would say that death its self is more important. Without the terminal illness there would be nothing leading to death besides natural causes. People tend to prolong death as long as they can but, “When someone is ill no one mentions it, no one pays a visit; but if a person shall die, there is a big outpouring of people at the funeral.” (My Brother, 146)

“50 million people in the United states are without health care.”(Sicko) Health care is very significant to one’s health and in this country our health care isn't living up to our potential. “American medicine remains the envy if the world...Yet the same country has constructed a health care system that is wasteful.” (Landmark, 65) Healthcare is supposed to be aiding us but in most ways they are taking from us. Leaving people in debt and giving people false hope for care when a good percentage of people are denied care.

When people think about hospitals they think about people who are ill or people who are injured. People also believe that this would be the best place for the person to be. Most people believe that when people enter the hospital they will leave the hospital in good health but, “Today more Americans die in hospitals than anywhere else.” (A time to die, 25) Even though that most hospitals try their best to help everyone, everyone is not aided, “Boston's Largest medical Facility was closing its emergency room to patients 45 hours per week.” (Sick, Intro) Now and for years to come, the health care we receive is not the health care we deserve.

Sources: Landmark. Public affairs. New York.2010

  And a time to die: How Americas Hospitals 

  My Brother By Jamaica Kincaid