Abstract This paper discusses one of the most contentious issues in contemporary American life, birth control.
This paper examines birth control in America and argues that birth control is something which should be readily available to all citizens just as long as certain protocols are followed. In so doing, however, this paper also points out the arguments of those who are unconvinced that wide spread birth control is desirable. In the end, this paper's central contention is that having a child is an enormously challenging development in the lives of young people (or old people, for that matter) and it should only be undertaken if the parents (or parent) possess the maturity, the desire and the resources necessary to do the job well.
Abstract This paper examines and compares two articles on how birth order affects a person's behavior. The two articles, "Born for Each Other" by Pamela Withers and "How Your Birth Order Influences Your Life Adjustment" by Lucille K. Forer, both express a general agreement that birth order does shape our attitudes and behavior.
From the Paper "The two articles to be compared in this report each focus on questions related to birth order. Pamela Withers, in "Born for Each Other", provides a list of common birth order characteristics and also discusses some aspects of what it means to be an only child. Lucille K. Forer in, "How Your Birth Order Influences Your Life Adjustment", considers the effect of birth order on relationships with parents siblings and self development. This essay will compare and contrast these two related articles each..."
Abstract This paper looks at studies which discuss whether the order of child's birth (first born, second born, etc) influences their personality and future. It compares how different children function according to their birth order and whether there are similarities in these. Psychological examinations are also performed and examined.
From the Paper "In previous years there have been quite a bit of research conducted on the subject of birth order and personality. However research on this matter has declined in at least the last 10 to 20 years. In all regards, it is the common perception that people who are first-born have the strongest disposition and have leadership tendencies. Research also tends to point out that children who are first-born usually have greater achievements in their professional careers. By the same token, these students are also more likely to have more mental disturbances than their younger siblings ( Nyman). There are conflicting results as to the popularity factor concerning the first born. Some researchers content that the first-born are generally more popular, thus more out-going. While others contend that the first-born are less popular?and perhaps more stand-offish (Nyman)."
Tags: sibling, rival, pressure, leader, follower, birth, order
Abstract This work delves into the process of locating the adolescent's birth mother; the effect on the adoptee, adoptive family and birth family; the adjustments required during the search and discovery phases; and the support system from the adopted family required to realize a successful search. This paper makes the assumption that the adopted parents are living and able to make reasonable contributions to the process.
From the Paper "The 2004 State Statute Reports issued by the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse that nearly all states continue to require sealed record adoptions with only 'non-identifying' birthparent information publicly available. Some states are relaxing these rigid rules (e.g., Illinois and Wisconsin) but the pervasive and often overriding legal concern for the individual's privacy continues to protect birthparents who have opted for adoption."
Abstract This paper examines some of the advantages and disadvantages associated with giving birth vaginally after having previously delivered by a Cesarean (VBAC). The paper looks at why doctors try to avoid them, but also gives support from the literature for their safety and success. The paper further discusses contraindications and the major problem which is uterine rupture following prior C-section. It points out that uterine rupture is usually due to Pitocin use, and that VBACs have a 98 percent success rate.
From the Paper "Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) is becoming increasingly popular and the medical profession has tried somewhat to discourage it because of the risk of uterine rupture. While postpartum fever seemed to correlate with uterine rupture at VBAC in a recent study there was no relationship between single or double..."
Tags: Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC), VBA2C, VBA2+C, VBA3+C
Abstract This paper discusses the prophecy about the birth of Jesus found in Isaiah. The paper explains that this prophecy, which tells the story of Jesus' birth to the virgin Mary, is probably the most famous of all the prophecies about Jesus and chronicles the interactions between the prophet Isaiah and King Ahaz.
From the Paper "There are a number of messianic prophecies about Jesus' birth -- prophecies about the location, manner and time of his birth, about his genealogy and about events that were to occur at the time of his birth. Probably the most famous of these prophecies is the prophecy that Jesus would be born to a virgin found in Isaiah. Isaiah chronicles the interactions between the prophet Isaiah and King Ahaz. In Isaiah we read: "Then said the LORD unto Isaiah Go forth now to meet Ahaz..."
Tags: Bible, old and new testament, Isaiah, prophet, god, jesus, immanual, prince of peace, virgin birth
Abstract This paper discusses the idea that many people believe that birth order has some kind of an impact on personality formation. This paper analyses the evidence, as documented in academic and scientific literature, in an attempt to answer the question if these ideas are valid, or are they like the claims of astrology - too vague, and too subject to myriad other influences, to be substantiated in any way? This paper shows there is in fact clear empirical evidence that birth order can have a significant impact on at least some important aspects of human personality.
Abstract This paper examines the medical ethics of whether a low weight birth infant should receive life sustaining efforts from the ethical and legal perspective of the medical staff and the family members involved. The author points out the percentages of survival and legal statutes. The paper relates why these issues are crucial and how physicians are expected to assess the infants.
From the Paper "When we discuss the birth of a child, what comes to mind immediately is the beginning of life. No one thinks of imminent death or ailments that may indeed cause death. However, it is a cruel fact of life, for whatever reason that infants will die and that death does not discriminate. Sometimes, this fate involves those born prematurely or suffering from an extremely low body weight. These conditions will push a medical team into overdrive as they attempt to assess the viability of the child. This is not to determine if the child will die but to determine if the child will live. In addition to this, doctors must assess what type of quality of survival will occur, or will there be severe defects and will the child always be dependent on machines to exist."
Abstract This paper examines whether the sociobiological approach of a person's personality holds true in the field of juvenile crime. Specifically, the paper evaluates whether birth order is a significant determinant in whether or not a young person commits crimes and in the rates of juvenile recidivism. It takes interdisciplinary approach to the issue of birth order and juvenile delinquency, drawing on diverse literature from fields including psychology, law, criminology and sociology. The extent of birth order on youth crime is explored through a critical survey and integration of current research on the various determinants of juvenile delinquency.
Outline
Birth Order and Social Behavior
Effects of Birth Order on Criminal Behavior
A Critique of Birth Order Theory
Other Predictors of Criminal Behavior
Conclusion
From the Paper "Sulloway maintains that the effects of birth order do not stem merely from biology. Rather, he ascribes this to children's innate tendency to develop attitudes and personalities that are best suited for maximizing the resources that they get from their parents. Since siblings must compete for their parents? attentions, they carve out their own "family niches" relative to their brothers and sisters, a niche that is often defined by birth order (Sulloway 1996: 48). Meri Wallace, a child development expert, locates the social construction of birth order roles on the part of the parents. According to Wallace, many of the characteristics resulting from a child's birth order and family position actually stem from their early relationship with their parents."
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that the matter of births out of wedlock is a continuous issue that has its causation deeply linked to values, morals and beliefs. The writer points out that statistical information gathered by census bureaus and departments of health indicate that in nearly all industrialized nations, including the United States, the number of births out of wedlock has increased dramatically over the past thirty years. The writer maintains that the number of opposing explanations for the increase in the number of births out of wedlock over the past thirty years is equal to the variety of opinions concerning the act of having a child out of wedlock. This paper argues that the increase over the past thirty years in births out of wedlock is due to the concurrent increase in women's rights, with a specific emphasis on the increase in reproductive rights. The writer concludes that although it is possible that other explanations do exist for the increase in births out of wedlock, such as the epidemic of teenage pregnancies, for the most part the increase in births out of wedlock among adult women can be attributed primarily to the increase in women's rights, and not to a decrease in morality.
From the Paper " The number of births out of wedlock has continued to increase, and these increases can constantly be tied to the increases in women's rights and reproductive freedoms. As reproductive technology became more advanced, and as women gained more equal ground in the career force, more and more women began to choose the option of intentionally becoming pregnant out of wedlock. This explanation for the increase in out of wedlock births has been all but ignored by the far moralistic right who point to promiscuity and lack of moral behavior as the cause for increased out of wedlock births. On the contrary, many women are far from promiscuous, but have decided to put their desire for having a child and raising a family above society's dogma that children are only appropriate after marriage. Reproductive technologies now allow women to use sperm donors, and also allow women to wait much later in life before having children. Thus, the stigma associated with having a child out of wedlock has decreased in direct proportion to the increase in women's rights, which is concurrently related, in a positive manner, to the increase in births out of wedlock."
Tags: pregnancies, single, mothers, child, premarital, sex
Presents ethnographer Brigitte Jordan's anthropological book "Birth in Four Cultures", about giving birth in Holland, Sweden, the U.S. and the Yucatan.
Abstract This paper explains that, in Brigitte Jordan's book "Birth in Four Cultures", the author outlines the birthing events of four different cultures and identifies the Western technology based perspective responsible for the high mortality rates in the U.S. Her research premise is based on the hypothesis that traditional methods are better than the modern ones. The paper includes critiques of this research by later birthing researchers; however, the author concludes that Jordan's work is pioneering and foundational birthing ethnology.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Brief Summary of "Birth in Four Cultures"
Method
Critique
Conclude
From the Paper "In another publication Davis-Floyd, Pigg, and Cosminsky (2001) the authors knowledge and provide evidence that traditional midwives are more professional than they are given credit for. They are not only highly educated, open to new methods but they also have experience in the field of their respective community birth system. Unlike the Western cosmopolitical birth authorities such as hospitals and obstetricians, traditional midwives vision and mission is to collaborate with the processes of nature."
Tags: fieldwork, social dynamics, midwives cosmopolitical convergence
Abstract The paper gives a brief history of these types of centers. The writer then brings sources that illustrate the need for alternative birthing options. The paper looks at the history of the development, licensure, accreditation and reimbursement of birth centers and nurse-midwives, and explores the research that gives evidence of the safety, satisfaction to mothers and the economic savings of birth centers.
From the Paper "The MCA in New York used their own two decades of experience with home birth and the services of these two centers to develop the Childbearing Center to serve women who sought an alternative to the increasing routine medical intervention given during normal births in hospitals (Birth Center 1, 1998, p. 45). Women seeking care at this center were usually well-educated, middle class women with insurance to cover hospital maternity care, and exhibited the same demographics as the previous generation of women who began the childbirth education and breast feeding movement in the United States. These women wanted to make informed decisions about healthcare and wanted more from the birth experience than women had previously."
Abstract The majority of low birth weight (LBW), pre-term births are preventable with the proper pre-natal care and wise decision making by the birth mother. The paper begins by describing the problems connected with pre-term births, including the high costs, retardation, developmental problems, etc. It then provides demographic statistics about pre-term birth rates in the United States. Finally, the paper proposes a program modeled on a mentoring system, which could be implemented by a local hospital in order to positively effect changes in the LBW among teens and minority families.
From the Paper "Many individual programs have been designed and implemented by individual agencies, but if the at risk population is still not making use of these programs, there will be only small positive effects felt by the women in the highest need of help. In order to draw together the resources with the target community, any program must have a solid theoretical basis, and for this purpose, this proposal turns to the Health Belief Model (HBM). The HBM is a psychosocial model ( Rosenstock, 1990) which is designed to draw together the various resources while at the same time equipping the target population with the needed tools to take advantage of the resources."
Abstract This paper explains that research shows that prenatal care is positively associated with improved birth outcomes including reduced incidences of premature births and infant mortality. The author points out that low birth weight is a key indicator of infant health, as low birth weight babies have much higher mortality rates. The paper relates that research also shows that, of all the environmental threats to a fetus, the most harmful clearly is smoking, which women can control.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Review and Analysis
Background and Overview
Prenatal Care and Premature Births Prenatal Care and Infant Mortality
Constraints
Conclusion
From the Paper "Interestingly, the geographic place of birth may also be a risk; for example, Mexican-American mothers born within the United States have higher rates of SGA than those born outside the U.S.. In fact, one of the main reasons for the inordinately high incidences of infant mortality is that birth weights are too low. According to a 1985 report from the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, "Preventing Low Birthweight": "Low birthweight is a major determinant of infant mortality in the United States." On a positive note, during the 1990s, studies have shown that more American women sought prenatal care and refrained from smoking during pregnancy; however, the number of births to women who were not married increased, as well as the number of premature and underweight infants. A report from Child Trends and the Kids Count Special Report of the Annie E. Casey Foundation in 2001 compared how the 50 states and the 50 largest cities, including Washington, D.C., in eight categories that can provide an infant with "the right start" to life."
Abstract This paper discusses the increasing preference of women to give birth in birthing rooms. It discusses the benefits of the relaxed and comfortable environment of the birth rooms and how many hospitals are now beginning to build birthing rooms. The paper discusses the necessary amenities that should be available in all birthing rooms for a comfortable, yet safe delivery.
From the Paper "Recent research has shown that the place of birth has a direct impact on the pace and quality of delivery, and when the woman feels confident and satisfied with the choice that she has made about her place of delivery, then she can be sure that her delivery would be as uncomplicated and natural as she desired it to be. A birthing room in a hospital, with the bare minimum of medical intervention and a homely atmosphere, with provisions for the partner and the family of the woman to take part in the amazing phenomenon of birth would be the ideal option for today's woman having a baby, unless she has had complications during her pregnancy, for which a hospital setting would be a much better option. Having a safe and comfortable and natural delivery is the ideal of every woman on earth, and if a hospital facilitates this, then the woman would be obliged forever to the hospital and the medical team that helped create this setting and put it into action. (Evidence regarding place of birth)"
