When reading about this assignment, the birth of my first son. He was born at 2:35 p.m. on March 24, 1997. This was quite an experience. When I arrived at the hospital on Friday with contractions 3 minutes apart, I had no idea I would not deliver for another 4 days! Long story short, I failed to progress,pushed for 6 hours and eventually the baby and I went into distress and I had an emergency c-section. My son was 9.12 oz 24 3/4 inches long and jaundice, he was the "freak of nature" in the nursery. My father said he looked like he had the hell beat out of him. He had a huge cone for a head. :( After all that I have been learning about child development, I can't help but think this must have been a traumatic experience for him.
At any rate, for the second part of this assignment I chose to research birth in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, a woman visits her doctor to confirm her pregnancy and upon confirmation, chooses a midwife. Unless there are worries of complications, most women prepare for an at home natural birth. This is not at all like my experience as I saw an OB and planned a hospital birth the entire pregnancy. I received an epidural and pain meds. In the Netherlands, mothers must "sign-up" for a hospital birth and make their intentions of using pain meds known in writing. When a woman enters labor, the midwife visits and soon a nurse to aid with the birth and check the child out after birth. If a birth occurs in a hospital, mothers are sent home within hours of birth. In my experience, had I had a vaginal birth I would have to stay only 24-48 hours, but since I had a C-section I stayed for 4 days. In the Netherlands, there is a post natal program that all mothers are entitled to. A nurse visits for a week to help with the baby and even house chores! I wish that would have been the case for me! Being a young mother I was "clueless" and felt overwhelmed. Another interesting thing I learned about birth in the Netherlands was that Maternity leave must be taken for 10 weeks and it is paid! If the mother is sick after the leave is up, she is entitled to 100% of her daily pay while she is home. Unfortunately, I had to return to work, even after an infection, after 8 weeks or I would not be paid. :(
Reference:www.expatica.com/nl/family/kids/Maternity-matters-What-to-expect-in-the-Netherlands
