The birthing experience that I remember is that of my nephew's. It was a very memorable day that I don't think I will ever forget. It kind of played out to be that of a textbook birth. His mother went in, and 9 hours later she had a healthy baby boy. I picked this birth because it really is the only birth that I have clear memory about. I do not remember my own birth and I am just now pregnant with my first (due in January), so I have not personally experienced birth. I think birth plays a huge role on child development because a baby that born without complications will likely develop at the expected rate. Opposed to a baby who is born early or with medical issues, they might struggle in developing early on only to catch up in the end.
Giving birth in Africa differs a lot from that of the United States. Many women in Africa come to the facility they are giving birth at when they are in labor and are told they are lying and may get hit, kicked out, or hurt because they are not trusted. Here in the United States, a women would be hooked to monitors and checked to assure real labor was occurring. Pain medication for birthing mothers in Africa is not always available either and from my personal experience above, I do not know how she would have given birth without some pain medication throughout the process! The rates of mortality in Africa are much larger that in the United States as well because of their lack of hospital care, since many births there take place at home or other facilities that are not medically related.
