HW 36

Interview 1 (Keri Ann, professional musician/mother)
Keri-Ann shared that during her "expected" pregnancy the core emotions felt were excited, joyful, and scared. Even through all the laughter she had secret worries that every expectant parent goes through. She explained "Questions always overwhelmed me, I kept on asking myself if I was ready to do a good job. I wanted to be able to provide my child the same way my mother had. Being a bit of a perfectionist(laughter), it was much harder to let fate decide the outcome of the baby".

She described the process of being pregnant as "incomparable". She would constantly have to run to the restroom to urinate, nausea changed on day to day basis, but on the other hand it helped her allergies clear up. A significant change was found in her dietary habits, she would have strong cravings for a variety of foods which often altered throughout her pregnancy. "Near the last few months and the beginning of the pregnancy was the scariest since every day was full of surprises. My feelings and emotions would fluctuate at any given time, it made me very uncomfortable".

I found Keri-Ann's perspective on pregnancy to be quite normal in our standards. Many of the responses were expected more or less with a personal twist somewhere in the middle. As far as I can tell from the interview with her, the emotional aspect of the process seems to be very generic, but the environment really sways how extremely they are portrayed. When I first asked her if the pregnancy was expected or a surprise she answered expected which I find to be a bit odd. I've heard people state that they wanted to have a baby, but was surprised to hear that they were pregnant, but Keri-Ann wouldn't consider it an unexpected birth. This didn't stand out to me much until I read over the Q&A interview sheet. I think it can be controversial depending on the parent's mentality pre-pregnancy.

Interview 2 (My Mom)
My mom had me at an age that many parents would consider old. Being a 38 year old pregnant mother, she worried about her health and ability to give birth. What motivated her through the process was the urge to bless my older brother with a sibling to grow up with. The oldest sibling of a relatively large family with 3 younger sibling, 2 sisters and 1 brother, she supposed that growing up amongst siblings would be a happier and healthier way to live. "Being an older sibling brings wonders. It teaches responsibility at a very young age, and I think it helped me advance into becoming who I am now" she explained.

At the time of my birth, she faced many conflicts, especially financial issues. Prioritizing her health and my health over everything, she decided to take it easy and refrain from working while raising my brother. She commented on the situation saying "It wasn't the smartest move to raise a second child, but putting financial issues aside, it felt right". Living in a small studio apartment in the East Village with my Dad and my brother, she thrived to find a better life for me and my brother even if she would have to work harder than ever to pay back the loans. When I asked her why she did it she responded "Even if I have to hide my emotions and stress, at least it would make life easier for my kids".

Though I've heard my story millions of times, I always find it interesting that she never talks about the physical factors of being pregnant. I think what was happening around her was too much to stop and pity herself for going through the pain of giving birth. No matter who I ask, no one shares her birth stories like my mom, possibly because it is less personal being asked by her own son. It is hard to fit my mom's story into what is normal in our culture, but I think that living for your child/children should be a norm for any parent.

Interview 3 (Nancy, girlfriend's grandmother)
Like many pregnancies, Nancy had all the typical symptoms, cravings, and worries, but the main difference in this expected pregnancy was that her husband and Nancy herself were overly expecting a male son. This did not happen of course. To make things worse, her new born girl was born sickly. "The pregnancy was easy enough considering it was my first, but what I really can't get over is how much trouble I had accepting the fact that now I would have to care for this sick baby all by myself." She went through a very depressive state at that time, where she even furthered her actions by going to a few different hospitals to see if she could abort the baby even after birth. "I was young and scared, it was my first time dealing with such a big gift and a burden all at the same time. My mother told me, 'That's life,' but unfortunately, I was the type to give up very easily over the smallest of things. I know that what I did back then was very childish of me. Like many young adults who are transitioning into adults, I felt like too many things were happening at once and was being thrown in my face."

Possibly due to the generation gap, I found this birth story to be the most unique and impacting. I always thought that unconditional love was a must, but it is quite upsetting to hear how a mother could not love her child even after birth. It seems like their relationship had grown stronger overtime, but their is still partial regret. I guess personally experiencing the possible flaws in birth at a young age can overwhelm a mother's hopes and desires. This interview was slightly depressing but highly informative and insightful.


After hearing various perspectives and stories on birth, I am inspired to focus more on differences of pregnancies through the generations in American culture.

HW 34

What I find to be the most striking about birth is how controversial it is for humans, but not for other non-human animals. A necessary process that keeps the population from depleting, a natural process, but it doesn't seem that way for us people. Due to us being more "advanced" we analyze and think too much, causing us to see from various angles such as the negative aspects of giving birth. All animals give birth to contribute to the resistance of extinction, but because we are the dominant species in smarts and numbers, we have the luxury to even choose what is needed in one's life. It really tells us how much of a team player we really are. It seems like with anything natural, our goal is to take it and exploit it until we have full control.

Other than the relations between animal birth and human birth, the psychological state of the mother undergoing the process and the newborn child. What do the babies feel when they first come out? A majority of the time newborn's tend to come out of the womb crying. For me crying implicates fear or pain causing me to assume that babies might possibly be feeling fear the moment of their birth, or possibly pain from the cold temperature of the outside world. It is hard to tell what a baby is thinking, when crying is one of the few ways they can communicate with another human.