Pregnancy Traditions of Hispanic and Japanese Cultures
Childbirth is an extraordinary event that occurs daily around the world. Cultural preferences make this common event dramatically different. For this discussion, I chose to compare and contrast Hispanic culture and Japanese culture when it comes to childrearing.
Hispanic women’s access to prenatal care is problematic due to lack of insurance, language barriers, and low levels of education in the U.S. (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). The importance of prenatal visits need to be emphasized, otherwise many Hispanic women will stop the visits because they are feeling fine and they are used to crisis intervention (Poma, 1987). Many Hispanic women live in extended households (Andrews & Boyle, …show more content…
Generally, babies are birthed in the squatting position (Dinsmore). Oxytocin is widely used by midwives during labor (Dinsmore). The placenta is seen as the companion to the baby and it is handled with great care and ceremony and it is the father 's responsibility to bury the placenta in the appropriate place to insure the health if the baby (Dinsmore). Many women are afraid to give birth in the hospital because there is little understanding in the bio-medical realm of the importance of the placenta to the culture (Dinsmore). Women of the Yucatan believe in an abdominal organ called the tipté and believe that the tipté is pushed out of shape during childbirth (Dinsmore). It is one of the most important tasks of the traditional midwife to fix the tipté at her last postpartum visit with the mother (Dinsmore). If this is not done, it is believed that the mother will suffer health problems and may compromise her fertility in the future (Dinsmore). Japanese births occur in hospitals rather than at home. Like Hispanic deliveries, midwives also deliver Japanese babies. The Japanese woman is dressed in a floral pregnancy robe during labor and labors in a hotel suite like room (Zidonis). Labor is allowed to progress at its own pace because the prevailing belief is that babies are born on their own schedule. When her water breaks, she walks with her husband to the delivery …show more content…
At the end of the Cuarentena the mother is seen by the physician and examined for normal regression from the pregnant state and for education (Poma, 1987). This is a time for recovery from labor and delivery and to bond with the newborn (Poma, 1987). Traditional cuarentena requires many restrictions about food, exercise and activities (Poma, 1987). Some Hispanic women even avoid bathing and washing their hair. Not following such restrictions may have serious consequences such as illness, infertility, infection, and even death (Poma, 1987). Tradition encourages eating tortillas and chicken soup. Hispanic women are also to practice abdominal binding during the postpartum stage Poma, 1987). On the day after birth, the Japanese mother is to begin a series of classes with other woman that delivered the same day she did (Zidonis). These classes cover bathing, diapering and clothing the baby (Zidonis). The baby may be with her all day but will sleep in the nursery again on the second night. The mothers are encouraged to co-sleep with their newborns by the fifth night. On the second day, the babies are put on a breastfeeding schedule but the midwives emphasize that the new mothers do not have to keep to a schedule at home and that she is to adapt with her baby (Zidonis). The parents communicate with baby through touch. The mother and baby stays in the hospital for five to seven days. After that
Childbirth is an extraordinary event that occurs daily around the world. Cultural preferences make this common event dramatically different. For this discussion, I chose to compare and contrast Hispanic culture and Japanese culture when it comes to childrearing.
Hispanic women’s access to prenatal care is problematic due to lack of insurance, language barriers, and low levels of education in the U.S. (Andrews & Boyle, 2016). The importance of prenatal visits need to be emphasized, otherwise many Hispanic women will stop the visits because they are feeling fine and they are used to crisis intervention (Poma, 1987). Many Hispanic women live in extended households (Andrews & Boyle, …show more content…
Generally, babies are birthed in the squatting position (Dinsmore). Oxytocin is widely used by midwives during labor (Dinsmore). The placenta is seen as the companion to the baby and it is handled with great care and ceremony and it is the father 's responsibility to bury the placenta in the appropriate place to insure the health if the baby (Dinsmore). Many women are afraid to give birth in the hospital because there is little understanding in the bio-medical realm of the importance of the placenta to the culture (Dinsmore). Women of the Yucatan believe in an abdominal organ called the tipté and believe that the tipté is pushed out of shape during childbirth (Dinsmore). It is one of the most important tasks of the traditional midwife to fix the tipté at her last postpartum visit with the mother (Dinsmore). If this is not done, it is believed that the mother will suffer health problems and may compromise her fertility in the future (Dinsmore). Japanese births occur in hospitals rather than at home. Like Hispanic deliveries, midwives also deliver Japanese babies. The Japanese woman is dressed in a floral pregnancy robe during labor and labors in a hotel suite like room (Zidonis). Labor is allowed to progress at its own pace because the prevailing belief is that babies are born on their own schedule. When her water breaks, she walks with her husband to the delivery …show more content…
At the end of the Cuarentena the mother is seen by the physician and examined for normal regression from the pregnant state and for education (Poma, 1987). This is a time for recovery from labor and delivery and to bond with the newborn (Poma, 1987). Traditional cuarentena requires many restrictions about food, exercise and activities (Poma, 1987). Some Hispanic women even avoid bathing and washing their hair. Not following such restrictions may have serious consequences such as illness, infertility, infection, and even death (Poma, 1987). Tradition encourages eating tortillas and chicken soup. Hispanic women are also to practice abdominal binding during the postpartum stage Poma, 1987). On the day after birth, the Japanese mother is to begin a series of classes with other woman that delivered the same day she did (Zidonis). These classes cover bathing, diapering and clothing the baby (Zidonis). The baby may be with her all day but will sleep in the nursery again on the second night. The mothers are encouraged to co-sleep with their newborns by the fifth night. On the second day, the babies are put on a breastfeeding schedule but the midwives emphasize that the new mothers do not have to keep to a schedule at home and that she is to adapt with her baby (Zidonis). The parents communicate with baby through touch. The mother and baby stays in the hospital for five to seven days. After that