Birth Stories

Birth Stories

(Mom)

Me: Hospital birth. (She, once again, started off by saying that I didn’t have a birth story, she picked me up off the street.) A hospital called Downtown Hospital now it’s NYU Bickman or something like that. (It was hard to ask her the questions and communicate with her smoothly with everything I wanted to ask because I had to do everything in Chinese and not everything translates easily from English to Chinese.) Car service. She was still working in the factory back then with no maternity leave.
7 pounds 12 ounces September 13th, 1992 approximately 12:30PM Third child.

How was it?
A big stomach ache.

Worst part?
Did not dislike anything. Doctors and nurses treated her good. She had an Asian doctor.

Expected?
Natural birth. It was as expected because I am her third child.

Best part?
Waited fro 5 hours in hospital before I was born. Wanted me out of her stomach ASAP. So 5 hours was “regular time” for her so she was glad I came out “fast.” My dad was with her, it was his choice to wait outside of the room but she had no preference. There was no one else at the hospital.

Technology?
She had a single epidural shot.

Process?
The process of the birth was fine, she doesn’t think anything could be changed, she deemed it a normal birth.

Sister: Hospital birth. Sat on the back of a bike to go to the hospital in China. She was still working on the farms while pregnant. Hard labor. Poor country-side. Small village.
Approximately 7 pounds October 10th, 1977 approximately 12:30PM First child.

How was it?
A big stomach ache.

Worst part?
No dislike. Doctors were good. Hospital was good.

Expected?
Natural birth. Painful. Thought it was going to be an immediate birth. 6 hours in hospital before birth.

Best part?
Nice doctors. My aunt was with her (an aunt in china whom I’ve never met.) She waited outside of the room; the hospital did not allow people to be inside with my mom. There was no one else at the hospital.

Technology?
There was no technology what so ever in a small village in China. No epidural. VERY painful.

Process?
She wouldn’t have wanted an epidural shot to make things better.

Brother: Same hospital as my sister. Same bike situation. Same working status.
Approximately 8 pounds July 6th, 1979 12:55PM

How was it?
A big stomach ache.

Worst part?
No dislike. Good help.

Expected?
Natural birth. Things went as expected.

Best part?
Waited for 5 hours, not too long. Good doctor.

Technology?
No technology, no epidural = great pain.

Process?
The epidural shot would have mad things run smoother.


I don’t have a fourth birth story but I know someone who is currently pregnant and she was way easier to communicate with since we were speak English.

My pregnant sister in law: 2 months

How does it feel?
She doesn’t feel alienated yet, but it’s possible for her to feel alienated later on in the pregnancy when her stomach gets bigger and things get harder. She’s glad to be pregnant. Her taste buds change to the likes and dislikes of the baby.

Worst part?
The worst part for her is waiting. She hates waiting. She is currently waiting for all the tests to come back to make sure everything is ok.

Expectations?
She expects the pregnancy to get harder, uncomfortable and a little stressful. She expects to drive herself to the hospital all through the pain. (I was extremely surprised; I don’t think it’s safe. The due should be before school starts again for me so I’m planning on getting my permit soon so I can stay home with her when it’s late in the pregnancy. Haha I also thought to myself, “dam this girl got guts but when the time comes I don’t think she would be able to bring herself to the hospital.”) She expects it to be a long process when she gets to the hospital. Nurses will admit her right away and how long she stays depends on how her contractions (or rushes) are. When she is dues to give birth, she expects someone to help her right away. She hopes that her regular doctor that she is seeing now for the pregnancy will be there but if not, any doctor will do as long as they get the baby out healthy. She definitely expects her husband (my brother) to be in the room with her but she does not want anyone else to be at the hospital because it will put more stress on her with people she knows around.