Interview # 1
Diana, the oldest sister of my uncle had a tragic complication regarding birth. She was ready to give birth to a girl, when complications led to her having to give birth to a still-born baby. The emotional distress that surrounded her was obvious whenever we had a celebration during Thanksgiving and Christmas, however I wanted to see what else it affected around her life.
One of the questions I asked her was, What feelings come back to you when you remember labor and giving birth? Her response was something like this: "I try not to think of it for obvious reasons, but it is a part of my life I can never forget, all the trauma it has left me makes it unforgettable.
I felt it was extremely relevant that she mentioned that although she experienced tremendous trauma behind her labor process and the still-born, she could never forget it because it is a part of her life that regardless of the reasons for it, she can never forget it.
- How does the memory of a birth change depending on how successful your birth was?
Interview # 2
My older cousin Brandon, described to me his point of view during the pregnancy that he witnessed first, his sisters. He explained to me that he was scared for his sister, because he knew of all the possibilities of sickness that come along with pregnancy. He told me that in the moments leading to the birth, he did last-minute research on pregnancy to inform himself. All the extra information he obtained made him slightly paranoid.
A question I asked him, was : "Do you feel that informing yourself made you feel safer knowing that your sister is giving birth?"
His response was, yes. He felt that since he was less ignorant about the topic that he could help his sister along the process more. Since he knew that he could help more, he was more confident in changing his life and surroundings for his sisters child. This made me think that researching something before you make your life involved in it, will help you tremendously. Brandon was a good example of this to me.
When analyzing this, I thought about connecting this to taking a test/exam in school. You lose confidence in doing well on your exam if you don't study for it, however once you study for an exam, you feel that your much more confident in taking your test. The same concept can be applied to most real-life application such as in this case, birth/pregnancy. Brandon researched something that he was about to be involved in, and in doing so, he gained confidence and was better suited for the birthing process of his sister.
- How does researching something improve your ability to prepare for something?
Firstly, wow you are brave approaching such a painful subject with someone. That must have been so traumatising for her. I would like to know whether it has changed her opinions on birth though, has it discouraged her? Does she still want children? And has it changed her perception on life? As something so traumatic must bring the harsh reality of how fragile life is.
ReplyDeleteI loved your connection in the second paragraph too, I thought it was really insightful the way you compared the two subjects. As Andy would say you are not just 'bubbling' but 'thinking.'