The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down Language Analysis

Communication in healthcare is a key component to treating illness and receiving adequate care. If the patient and healthcare professional are unable to communicate effectively then the patient will not be receiving the care that they need and the healthcare professional will not be doing their job in the best way possible. There are many different obstacles that need to be overcome when dealing with different cultures. One of these boundaries is language. As a patient it is difficult to tell the doctor what is going on and what they need. As a doctor it is difficult to explain to the patient what is happening and what steps need to be taken in order to make the patient better. Having the doctor and patient speak a different language can cause …show more content…
This is demonstrated frequently throughout “The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down,” a book written by Anne Fadiman. It is important when treating a patient to understand the cultural differences that you have and still be able to find a way to effectively treat the patient, while still respecting their cultural beliefs. An example of this in Fadiman’s book is when Foua, on of the main characters , has one of her babies in the hospital for the first time. Many Hmong believe that having cold food after giving birth is not good for you and can cause blood clotting, however after Foua gave birth she was offered ice water. She was not able to eat anything made by the hospital or offered to her because it did not follow her beliefs of what to ingest after childbirth (Fadiman Pg. 8). While the actual birthing went fine, the doctors should be more aware of what the cultural beliefs of their patients are in order to give them the best care. Foua’s stay in the hospital was not comfortable because the people around her did not understand what her beliefs are. As for the actual childbirth Foua didn’t have many criticisms. However she might have felt more comfortable if the physicians understood how Hmong people usually have their children. If they knew this information they may be able to communicate with Foua how they could make her childbirth more how she wants it. it is important to communicate with the patient and understand what their beliefs are in order to give them the type of care that goes along with their beliefs. If the doctor asked their patient more questions about their beliefs, or knew some information about different cultures the patient would be able to feel like the doctor cares about them and can treat them more