Keeping the Child Alive: Ethnographic Account of Childbirth

Keeping the Child Alive
An Ethnographic Account of Childbirth
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Introduction
When a child is born, joy, happiness and a celebratory mood sets in with the mother and the baby being showered with gifts. A child is seen as a blessing in a society with few individuals characterizing it as a curse due to recklessness and unwanted pregnancies. However, the process of transition from the womb to the real world comes with tremendous anxieties. Childbirth is an exciting moment as a family puts to an end the long wait for the newborn’s arrival. On the other hand, it is a painful and agonizing moment for the mother. I narrate the information I have gathered regarding child birth giving an opinion on both the natural and technocratic methods based on economic and political intuitions.
Background information
Childbirth is a process celebrated and conducted under the influence of culture, norms and beliefs of each society. Hence, the existence of natural and technocratic methods. Natural forms of delivery have been in existence prior to the modernization and westernization of many cultures. For natural birth, it takes place at home with traditionally trained midwives. Usually, there is a house exclusively set apart for such an event designed as, per the traditions of the parties involved. For instance, it would be a one-room house either modern or traditional, made in Yucatecan birth setting (Forma, 1993, p. 23). The natural way of birth describes the home setting of delivering a child without medics, hospital set up and inducements or equipment to assist the expectant mother in giving birth. However, just like in the technocratic model, this holistic methodology may also incorporate the use of prenatal visits to the traditional midwife. The western form of this pre-visits encompasses massage and prenatal care like pregnant woman taking the required vitamins (Forma, 1993, p. 31). Apart from the midwife, the husband, mother, grandmother and sisters act as ‘helpers’ depending on the circumstances surrounding the birth.
On the other hand, the technocratic model of childbirth derives its name from technology. This means that modern forms of machinery presume the work of the traditional midwives in child delivery. Technology and hospital environs characterize the birth process. According to this model, “it is not just that a baby is produced, but how it is produced that matters” (Davis-Floyd, 1992, p. 152). The presumption of the natural process of birth is untrustworthy and unpredictable exposing the mother and child to danger. Therefore, technology, science and obstetric interventions are key to safe and sound child delivery. Moreover, the midwives are professionally trained unlike in the ‘holy’ setup where being a midwife is a se...