HW-36 Pregnancy and Birth Stories

For this interview I decided that it would be interesting to see the pregnancy and birth rituals over time. So I interviewed my grandmother, Iris my mom, Luz and my aunt Sandra who just had a baby girl named Jade Celeste on February 22. I wanted to keep the interview more like a conversation rather than an actual interview. So my mother, grandmother and I discussed this over a plate of spaghetti.

I started the interview by asking them what was the most surprising thing about being pregnant...
My grandmother said nothing was really surprising it was all a little expected because she had helped raise her siblings. She did however find it “weird” to see her stomach shift from side to side, she even told me a story about when the butt of my uncle Tony was pressed up against her belly for three days and you could see the outline.

My mother on the other hand has a rather intriguing story, because she did not know she was pregnant with me until she was seven months pregnant. She said she was laying down on her back in bed with her cousin Tanya, and her belly just made a huge wave, I had moved. She then went to the hospital and they told her the news. Until that point she had no symptoms or signs, no huge belly nothing to indicate that she was about to have her first child in the next two months. She showed me a picture of her on the beach in a bikini smiling a few weeks before finding out she was pregnant.

My aunt Sandra and I talked over the phone, the baby was a few days old at this point but I saw this as the perfect opportunity, still I didn’t want to trouble her too much. She had no surprises, it was just different. “Different?” I asked, “What do you mean different?” She said, “ I just feel different about people, pregnancy has a huge affect on your emotions. This time around I was really annoyed by people and things. Like sometimes I just woke up and felt annoyed” Then we laughed because the thought of my 4’11 aunt who was a sweet as sugar was very unusual. I then remembered about six years ago, when she had my little cousin Ruby, her first child. It was about two in the morning and we were changing 1 month old Ruby’s diaper and she literally shot poop out straight like a water faucet. We could not stop laughing!

When I interviewed my family I found that they all still felt excited and happy about something that had all experienced. They seemed to still feel like they were going through it again as they smiled and laughed and told me little stories that they asked not to share. My mother and grandmother, although they had children more then 10 years ago were still bubbly, Sandra was too but I think because she has a 24-hour job on her hands was a little more tired and a little bit more reserved. Either way I felt connected to my family through these stories. I don’t know if that’s because its a “girl-thing” .

Culturally I think that we as woman always find the weird things about being pregnant and make them cute or adorable. We see the gross things that happen as a gateway to connect, making it a funny story. During pregnancy and birth you don’t know what to expect so you try your best and share the rest, kind of like a survival guide for other soon to be pregnant mothers.
Something I would like to explore, complications at birth and their affect on the child /family later on in life.

W 35 - Other Peoples' Perspectives 1

I decided to interview 3 of my friends from outside of school, Avery Ellie and Vicky. I've grown up with them and they are some of my closest friends.
Questions asked:
When do you plan on having children if you plan on having children?
Will you camera record the birth of your child?
Would you rather have a boy or a girl?
Do you think a woman should be married before she has children?

I interviewed all three of them together do that may have affected my results, they might have felt like they had to give a specific answer similar to what someone else was saying.

During the interview we sat at a table myself alone on one side. It was typical girl talk at first to try and make everyone feel like this was a comfortable regular conversation. When asked the first question they all replied with different variations of when they are stable and have a home of there own, they gave me bubbles. So I asked what makes one stable? Avery said a good job nice that pays a lot and my own home. Vicky said the same thing but Ellie said when I'm happy and I feel like I'm ready to love someone else. I found there answers typical yet relatable, I think all of those factors are extremely important when deciding if you're ready or not to have a child. I knew my next question would probably result in them feeling squeamish, society allows people to think that showing these things are wrong, not beauteous. Recording the birth of a child is the closest thing we have to exeriencing it without being there. They replied with squirmy faces then said maybe or yes or " I don't know I'd have to be pregnant to say" ( shrug).

I found that with their slight variations in replies they thought they couldn't do anything or know exactly how they would feel until they were actually pregnant. We've all (with the exception of Ellie) have been raised with younger siblings or family members or a pregnant woman to have some experience with the topic however we cannot say for sure. Every pregnancy is different eveu pregnancy has different cravings and different social situations. I don't knowbif the fact that we all come from different social backgrounds affected the withhold I answered and the answers they gave but I do know that they might have a big impact on it. One thing they were certain of was that a woman did not need to be married to have a child, a woman only needed a man to make the baby.

Homework 34-Some initial thoughts on birth

Typically I think of happy babies taking on a new life with happy families ready to love them. The joy that new born babies bring into the lives of families.The goo-goo gaa-gaa cute stuff. However, this doesn’t happen all of the time, there are families that do not want the children, the reasons behind adoption alternatives or abortions. It’s interesting to think of the contrast between bringing a life into the world that can end your own. The families that cannot support the child financially or emotionally. Babies that are born into situations that are considered inappropriate and as a result they suffer. Its terrible really but it is life. I suppose that life must simply go on.

Growing up I have always had some involvement with a child younger then myself. I’ve come across my fair share of babies and I must say they are quite interesting beings. I love them! The power such a small being can obtain without being able to remember to swallow their saliva represents a lot about the world. I think that people all over the world have this general Idea that we should take care of this mini-helpless person because it is what someone did for us be it our parents or another guardian. Even if the person who really took care of us is ourselves then we would want that same tough skin to grow up with. My baby cousin Ryan is such a loving baby, due to legal complications when he was born my mother took care of him. Since then he has gone back and forth visiting us and I anticipate his visits. I can’t imagine someone not wanting their child or loving their child. I have this cousin that is not my child yet I want to do all I can for him.
Questions:
1. Can babies think, like in the movie “Look whos Talking”?
2. Why can’t people remember things from when they were infants?
3. Why are woman drawn to other woman naturally who are pregnant?
4. The truth behind the myths about pregnancy