Childbirth In My Life and In China

At the age of 17 and in the first weeks of my senior year in high school, I found out that I was pregnant. Boy, was I scared to death!!! I had no idea what to expect and didn't know what to do. My pregnancy was a difficult one with being in and out of the hospital, from being dehydrated to preterm labor. At 30 weeks I started spotting and leaking fluid. I had to go on complete bed rest  only being able to go to the bathroom. I asked to go to my senior prom but at 34 weeks the baby's lungs were not ready. At 37 weeks I was allowed to attend my graduation, where afterwards I began having contractions and when we got to the hospital I was told that we would have a baby by morning. After a couple of hours the contractions just stop!!! I was told it was because of the medication they had me taking before to keep me from going into labor, being off it for a few days and the excitement of graduation just started the contractions. I went home and it was 2 weeks later at 39 weeks my water officially broke. I felt excited and scared at the same time. I ended up getting a epidural too early and they left it on too long. After 18 hours of labor I was finally able to start pushing, but I couldn't feel anything from the waist down. I had a nurse on one side and my husband on the other holding my legs and watching the monitor and telling me when to push. After 5 hours of exhausting pushing I was unable to continue, they had to use forceps to pull my son out. He ended up having a dent in his forehead. He was beautiful, I worried throughout my pregnancy what was I gonna do with a baby....it was so natural when I saw him I just knew what to do. I miscarried 2 years later and 3 years later I had another beautiful baby boy. 


I chose China to research about childbirth. Chinese culture traditionally has preferred males to females. Male children are preferred because they continue ancestral rites that care
for the soul after death (Myers, 1997). Males also have the responsibility to care for elderly parents. Because daughters tend to leave home to join the husband’s family, elderly people are concerned about who will care for them if they do not have a son. Extended female family members help the new mother during the birthing period. Traditionally, women from the extended family attend the birth rather than the husband. Childbirth is seen as “women’s business,” and most health care providers are female. Zuo yue zi (“doing the month”) is a unique aspect of Chinese childbearing. A Chinese woman will typically stay indoors for 1 month after giving birth (considered a vulnerable period) to allow her body to recover, regain balance, and avoid present and future illness. Other rituals surrounding zuo yue zi include washing the mother’s and family’s clothes separately, avoiding sexual relations, and limiting movement so the mother can rest as much as possible. A postpartum woman should also avoid drafts, stemming from the belief that any wind or cold can enter the body and cause future disease, like arthritis. Clothing must cover the entire body. A woman should not shower, brush her teeth, or wash her hair for a month following childbirth, although she may take a bath with ginger and red wine a week after childbirth (Hao & Moore, 2000).

References:



Hao, G. L., & Moore, J. F. (2000). Perinatal care: Cultural and technical differences between China and the United States. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 11(1), 47-54

Myers, J. H. (1997). Birth-planning policy in rural China: The cultural imbalance between innovation and tradition. Journal of International and Area Studies, 7, 22-31