Nursing and Birthing Environments - Essay Example

?Nursing College: Childbirth Environments Childbirth process has garnered a lot of attention recently due to the high rateof maternal deaths in the various birth environments that are offered by the society today. The perception of the birth process as a mere biological process is slowly fading after the re-invention of the childbirth as an experience that cuts across the social and cultural boundaries. Despite the cultural diversity that exists in the world, the birth process is a normal process in every society and a lot of importance is attached to it. Modern medicine has re-evaluated the childbirth process to enhance the design of the physical birth environment to suit the social and cultural aspects that come along with it. The design of the birth environment has remained a great concern in the society right from the olden days when maternity hospitals were scarce and unpopular for many societies in the world. The essence of this paper is to evaluate the social and cultural aspects associated with childbirth as a normal life event and to which these aspects are integrated while designing the physical birth environment. Childbirth as an ordinary life event has a great significance in all societies of the world because it provides the society with the capacity to propagate its generations into the future. Even long before the invention of medicine, earlier generations regarded childbirth as a sensitive and attention-demanding process that required proper preparation right from the pregnancy period up to the moment of child delivery. In fact, the modern design of physical child birth environment has borrowed a lot of its features from the traditional practices. Emphasis of nursing care during childbirth today can be perceived as an improved version of mid-wifely that was common in the past and is still persistent today in some cultures. Although medical practice has refined the childbirth process, there is still much that remains unsatisfying among many women who still feel the need for improvement of the design of the birth environment. Even with the introduction of maternity facilities in the medical sector, women are still yet to be contented with the birth environment provided in these hospital facilities (Squire, 2009). The social and cultural aspects of childbirth define the ideal environment that birthing should take place. While the older generations experienced home birth, currently a great number of women populations receives medical pregnancy care and deliver on the maternal environment. For instance, Australia recorded 0.2% home births among all women who delivered in 2004, while the rest delivered maternity care units in the country (Foureur, Leap, & Homer, 2013). Whether childbirth occurs at home or in the hospital, the serenity and the conduciveness of the environment during this process will determine the comfort that the woman receives while delivering. For instance, the privacy and freedom of the woman during the process are paramount and in some extent determines the ease of delivery. The environment, to some extent, determines the nature of the birth process, whether natural or caesarean. In this view, the physical environment where a woman delivers affects the ease of the process, comfort and care that are available for a woman to deliver successfully. The cultural perspective of child birth is historical and varies from society one society to another, but it is indisputable that each society accords great significance to the process. For instance, in the Hawaiian society, the birthing stones provided a physical environment for birth among Wahianas. In this society, childbirth was a process that started right from the time a woman became pregnant and ended when the baby was delivered. The cultural significance that this society attached to the entire process emanates from equal importance that is accorded to the child that is delivered in the process. The Wahianas believed that Kukaniloko was a birth environment who those children who had a spiritual tie to the gods, also regarded as the birth place for the royal families. During the pregnancy period, the woman would be provided with herbal concoctions to facilitate the birthing process as part of preparation for an easy and painless birth. When the birthing day arrived, the Kahunas, birth retainers carried the expectant woman to the Kukanilokos birthing stones on a woven mat to ensure that she is comfortable and unhurt during the transportation process. The retainers provided physical support to the woman during birth and one of them would receive the baby during the gravity-type birth to ensure child safety (Kukaniloko, 2001). The so born child was referred to as Alii, a royal name, and celebrations and drum beating were a unique characteristic of such a successful birth. Although the practice is diversified in different hospitals, features that are always available in maternity environment include bedding facilities, a supportive nurse, and the provision of caesarean birth process. During the pregnancy period, the woman undergoes through a clinic program whose significance is to monitor the child development during this period. This kind of care ensures that the baby is in the right position and that the it undergoes a normal development process to eliminate the chances of childbirth complications in the last leg of child delivery. During actual birth, the nurses strive to ensure that the process is as painless and natural as possible by providing support to the delivery mother (Mellisa, 2013). Caesarean processes are available if a woman fails to achieve a natural birth, where the baby is removed through a surgical process. The Hawaii traditions have a great similarity to the maternity care practice that is available today, especially in terms of preparing for the birth process. Just like in the maternity care services evident today, pre-birth care in the Hawaiian society was a priority for the community. Dietary and medical measures formed a crucial part of the preparation of a peaceful and successful birth, just like clinical nurses insist today. The use of sap to ensure a painless birth in the Hawaiian people is similar to the pain killer prescriptions that nurses administer to expectant mothers just before the process. Another similarity between the Hawaiian practice and the practice today is the availability of a physical birth environment and the presence of helper during the process. The Kahunas, birth assistants, play the same role of supporting the woman and receiving the baby just like nurses do today. In a nutshell, the significance of birth as a normal life event makes it a priority for the society, both traditional and current, to prioritize protection of the child and mother during the delivery process (Kukaniloko, 2001: Mellisa, 2013). However, numerous differences between the traditional and modern practice are notable especially in the physical environment available during childbirth. In the traditional practice, including the Hawaiian community, the natural physical environment was provided during the delivery process. For instance, Child delivery in the Hawaiian traditions took place in the Kukaniloko birthing stones in the open atmosphere (Kukaniloko, 2001). Provision of such an environment ensured that the woman is in a familiar environment, full of freedom and well prepared. On the other hand, the modern birthing environment is unnatural and women have to adapt to an environment that they are not familiar with. For instance, they do not know where to get the lavatories, bathroom, or even beddings. The space is limited and an un-isolated due to the crowding of women in the maternity room, and it is normal to listen to the screams of other women undergoing the delivery process. Also, while women in the traditional set up are helped by familiar faces, in modern practice the number of helpers is limited and the delivering mothers are served by new faces (Kukaniloko, 2001: Mellisa, 2013). It is indisputable that the variation of the environment during child delivery has a great impact on the woman’s capacity to deliver successfully. The physical environment is a crucial factor during the delivery process and the outcome of the largely depends on its conduciveness. Many professional in mid-wife and nursing field regard a home environment as ideal for childbirth, and therefore design for maternity rooms should provide an environment that is as homely as possible for birthing women. Forbes, Homer, Leap and Foureur (2013) point out that women who deliver in environments that provide them with freedom, familiarity, social comfort and privacy are ideal allow women to relax and gather their energies while delivering. Consequently, the risk of surgical operation or still birth is minimized in such an environment. Odent (2013), supports the traditional set up delivery where a woman delivers in the presence of a familiar person and in a familiar environment. The idea of Odent is that such a woman will have little tension since the physical environment is private, giving the woman the freedom to scream and use or her energies, which is essential during the delivery process. In this view, the professional in this field have proposed that maternity care be designed to provide a homelike environment for women by availing privacy, comfort, care and flexibility during the delivery process (Squire, 2009). The provision of a homely environment comes along with a social aspect that is paramount to efficient child delivery in the maternity care. In conclusion, childbirth is a natural and ordinary life event that each society attaches great significance to. Although the traditional set up of physical environment for delivery varies, it is indisputable that the ultimate goal is to provide the best suitable condition for a peaceful delivery process. Medical developments are founded on the same agenda of providing a serene environment for safe child delivery using advanced medical technology that dominates today. In fact, the modern practice has a lot of similarity to the traditional practice, apart from the physical constraints that have challenges child birth process enhancement. One of the failures of the modern maternity services is the inability to provide a conducive physical environment that is essential for successful child delivery. Most medical experts have recognized the merit of homelike environment that will allow women deliver more efficiently in a relaxing environment. By providing a homelike environment, the maternity care units can reduce the number surgical operations and cases of stillbirths in the hospitals. References Foureur, M., Leap, N. and Homer, C., (2013). Birthing Unit Design: Researching New Principles. Retrieved from:< http://www.worldhealthdesign.com/Birthing-Unit-Design-Researching-New-Principles.aspx> Kukaniloko, (2001). Cultural Significance: Kukaniloko, Birthing Stone. Retrieved from: Mellisa, D., (2013). Supporting a Physiologic Approach to Pregnancy and Birth. London: John Wiley and Sons Odent, M., (2013). Rediscovering the Best Environment for Easy Birth. Retrieved from: Squire, C., (2009). The Social Context of Birth. New York: Radcliffe Publishing. Read More