Interview report on pregnancy and childbirth

I interviewed my mother and father through video call as I am an international student and my parents are not live in the U. S. , so we are not able to talk to each other face to face. My mother was thirty-three years old when she was pregnant with me. I was born on April 24th, 1997, so my mom should be 54 years old now. Although my mother gave birth to me very late, I was their first child in theory. Before me, my parents had a child, but unfortunately my mom slipped from the stairs when she was pregnant, which led them to lose their “ first” child.

After the accidental abortion, my mother felt hard to forget her“ first” child. She was suffering for it, and it had a little impact on their marital relationship. People always say “ God closes a door for you but also opens a window for you. ” For my parents, I am one of their other windows. My parents were excited when they found that they were pregnant again, as they had no plans to get pregnant, but at the same time my father had some concerns because he knew my mother’s pregnancy age was a bit high and there was a certain risk they had to take if they decided to give birth to me. “ Elderly parturient women need to experience requirement of assisted reproductive technologies frequently, and have higher risk of abortion, preterm labor, fetal malformation, and maternal cardio metabolic disease has been mentioned by Trillingsgaard and Sommer”. The doctors at the hospital also told them that older pregnant women should be more careful pre-pregnancy preparations and pregnancy tests than younger mothers. At that time, it was the peak of my mother’s career. Many colleagues around her advised her to grasp the opportunity of promotion and told her that fertility at this age is not a wise choice; her body and physical strength may not be able to take good care of her child well as the child grow older.

Despite the many concerns and dangers that they might encounter, my parents still chose to give birth to me. I asked them what made them make up their minds, and I was so touched when I heard them say that I am a gift from God, giving them a second chance to experience the feelings of being parents and to dilute the bad memories before. During pregnancy, mom always felt she was not sleeping enough and easy to get tired along with many other symptoms such as vomiting, emotional changes and dizziness. One of the distinguishing features of pregnancy is that the breasts begin to become sensitive, bloated, and sore. In the early stages of pregnancy, the breasts will increase and become firmer and heavier. The breast has a feeling of fullness and tingling. Small particles on the deep yellow areola around the teat are particularly prominent.

Another significant feature was that my mom’s weight was keep growing. It’s normal to gain weight for women during pregnancy. During the first three months, the weight grows slowly; after that, the weight would grow two kilogram per month as fetus develop. In addition, in order to keep my health and adequate nutrition my mother’s diet has changed and improved a lot. She was used to drink a small glass of wine before going to bed and a cup of tea in the morning, but she quit these habits after she got pregnant. She even didn’t take medicine when she was sick because she was afraid that the medicine would affect my health. In the first three months, the fetus is very sensitive to medicine, and pregnant women should try to avoid taking it. In the later stage, tea, coffee and alcohol will also have a certain impact on fetus’ development. My mom was not as afraid of gaining weight as some other pregnant women. She ate fresh fruits and vegetables, whole-wheat food, and enough protein and fat every day. Normal weight gain during pregnancy is essential. Excessive diet and poor eating can restrict baby’s development, but too much weight gain will cause high blood pressure, which creates other health problem for mother and child.

Consequently, it’s quit important for pregnant women to have a healthy balanced diet plan. According to the expected date of delivery, my mother is admitted to the hospital one week in advance to prepare for labor. Because my mother had accidentally miscarried once, my father felt that he did not take care of my mother well, and he has been very guilty. Therefore, during the time of pregnancy and childbirth, he accompanied my mother in the hospital along with my grandparents. Although they could take care of my mom and me well, they still hoped to have more professional people to help them, thus they hired a maternity matron to take care of me, and help my mother recover better after childbirth. The main tasks of maternity matron include helping children change diapers, coaxing children into sleeping, preparing nutritious food for mothers and so on.

Maternal women in China are different from maternal women in other countries. They need a month to recover after childbirth, which takes longer time compare to other countries’ mom. During this time, they can’t blow the air conditioner and get cold, watch TV or mobile phone for a long time, and they can’t wash their hair for a month. These restrictions will help them recover better and avoid leaving the root cause of diseases after childbirth. On the third day of the hospital, my mother’s amniotic fluid was broken，and her lower abdomen felt oppressed and accompanied by pain. When my father heard the pain from my mother, he called the doctor to prepare for labor induction suddenly. Within a few seconds, the nurse and the doctor came and pushed my mom into the delivery room. My mother chose natural labor because she learned from the doctor that the baby’s lung function can be exercised, the nerve endings of the skin are stimulated, the nerves and sensory system are able to develop well, and the body function can develop better from the birth canal.

In the delivery process, she didn’t use anesthesia even she hurt to cry cause she knew anesthetic may damage the baby’s nerves. Since the baby’s head is too big, the uterus is too small; the doctor opened a knife on the uterus to help the baby come out smoothly. The surrounding nurses also help mom to adjust the breathing, and measure the body within all normal ranges. At two o’clock in the afternoon, I finally came out of my mother’s body. The doctor cut the umbilical cord, cleaned the secretions in the vagina to prevent infection, and sutured the cut that was previously opened in the vagina. The nurse was responsible for cleaning the secretions on my body, measuring body temperature, heart, blood pressure and weight to ensure my health. When everything was arranged, they took me to my mother’s arms. The nurse told them that I was a seven-pound healthy girl. My mother cried happily. When she saw me at first sight, she felt that ten months of hard work and abandoned work were worthwhile. After birth, my mother chose to breastfeed, and feed once every two hours. Then, about six months old, I started eating complementary food. During infancy, I used to squat like a frog while I was sleeping and touch my mother’s earlobe to sleep. My mother’s body recovered well after childbirth, and there was no postpartum depression. The happiest thing is that my parents’ relationship is better than before.

After this interview, I realized how precious I was to them. I am also very happy that I have chosen this class fortunately, and learned a lot of knowledge about making children in the classroom. I used to think that having a child is a normal and simple thing, but now I understand the pain and risks that a pregnant woman has to experience during pregnancy, and its importance to a family relationship. I am so grateful to my parents for bringing me to this world. I love them!