My Birth

I have struggled on how to write this assignment all week. I have never given birth or participated in a birth so I cannot write on either one of those. My birth Mother gave me up for adoption when I was born and the files are sealed so I don’t know anything about the type of prenatal care she had or the experience she had while giving birth to me. I also do not know the reason why she gave me up. So I am going to write about the experiences I had for the first three months of my life while I was in foster care and write about my “birth” my parents experienced after they adopted me.

All I know about my foster care parents is that the husband worked mid-shift, so when he got home at 11:00pm or 12:00am he woke me up and played with me for several hours. So that explains why I am a night owl and my parents cursed home for the first several years after bringing me home. To tell you the truth I would like to find him and ask him what he was thinking!

I am the youngest child in my family; my sister who is 2 ½ years older was a very quiet and content baby. So when they decided to adopt a second child they were sure that child would be the same way. Imagine their surprise when they brought me home and all I did was cry all night because I wanted to play. I am still reminded to this day of this. ;-)

As I said earlier I do not know the circumstances of my birth or my birth mother’s life. However I am very thankful that I was adopted into the Snyder family. Even though I did not sleep they gave me unconditional love no matter what. They taught me the importance of education and supported me in the paths that I chose. I am going to describe them as very nurturing, caring, supportive, and loving parents who are appreciative that I came into their lives and that I was a healthy baby.

In Afghanistan most woman do not get prenatal care and most births occur at home. Sadly I learned that infant mortality is very high there, as I found to be similar in other underdeveloped countries I read about. Most Afghan woman gives birth to 5 children and on average 3 of those children dies. The good news is those numbers are starting to change and more infants are surviving because of different World Organizations investing money to open birthing centers and train woman to be mid-wives in the rural areas of Afghanistan.