Prenatal
Amish view pregnancy and childbirth as normal biological functions of the female body, however; due to their cultural beliefs they will not seek out prenatal care until late in their pregnancy, if no problems arise. Women who are primiparous, giving birth for the first time, will generally seek prenatal care at around four months, while those who are multiparous, those who have given birth multiple times, generally seek prenatal care during the third trimester. Amish women typically do not outright reject the use of modern medical technology and practices if it can assist in the pregnancy, however; they must determine which practices coincide with their cultural and spiritual belief system. Many Amish women will seek the advice and care from modern medical professionals as well as family and friends, such as taking prenatal vitamins as well as herbal remedies (Campanella et all, 1993). Amish women tend to adhere to a “regular” diet of fresh fruits, vegetables and protein. However, many women do believe in the necessity of increasing their intake of dairy, especially milk during their pregnancy (Kulig et all, 2004).
Several barriers are present that dissuade many Amish women from receiving modern prenatal care due to their cultural and spiritual beliefs. Cost can be a major factor when it comes to modern prenatal treatment, as many Amish families could not afford it. Transportation is also a factor when it comes to prenatal treatment. The overwhelming majority of Amish transport is the horse-drawn carriage. Perhaps the largest barrier present is the cultural system of the Amish itself. The Amish are humble and modest, and as such, are loathe revealing their nudity, so much so that many women would not permit physical asse...
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...heir diet during their pregnancy to treat all types of ailments. It is important to rule out any side effects, drug interactions or harm if any associated during pregnancy.
Five Nursing Diagnoses
1. Ineffective Childbearing Process R/T Inconsistent and lack of prenatal health visits AEB Insufficient transportation and most Amish women do not seek medical treatment until second trimester or third trimester.
2. Risk for Constipation R/T effects of prenatal iron supplements
3. Risk for ineffective Self-Health Management R/T Health beliefs and Cultural influences.
4. Ineffective Health Maintenance R/T Insufficient resources and finances AEB Most Amish do not have health insurance and cannot afford healthcare.
5. Decisional Conflict R/T Cultural, religious and family beliefs AEB Amish typically do not believe in preventative medicine (Prenatal testing and immunizations).
The family provides a dense web of social support from cradle to grave. […] Family members help each other during an emergency, a fire or flood, and, of course, at a death”. The Amish community would not have withstood the drastically shifting eras had it not been for their foundation built on solid family and community relationships. Within Amish homes, bonds between siblings, parents and their children, as well as potentially extended families ties including aging grandparents or other relatives, are of utmost importance. Importantly, these interrelationships are not left within the household as the Amish community holds an interconnectedness inclusive to the community that creates an additional support network. This patchwork community of benevolence is not a gift, but a reward. There are expectations and consequences, as the BBC reports “[…] Members are expected to believe the same things and follow the same code of behaviour (called the Ordnung). The purpose of the ordnung is to help the community lead a godly life. […] If a person breaks the rules they may be 'shunned', which means that no-one (including their family) will eat with them or talk to them”. Expectations must be met for an Amish individual to earn and maintain their spot within the community. Despite guidelines wavering depending on each community and their location, the Amish are expected to follow God and seek salvation in a preset and dictated manner. Punishments for breaking the ordnung are strictly enforced and the insubordinate individual is completely excommunicated as a result of their disobedience. Since family connectedness is universally valued amongst Amish communities, if an individual is shunned, they will lose not only their community status but communications will be severed between immediate family members. When applied to education, if prohibited by that particular Ordnung, pursing a higher
The disparities may be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester--the m...
Watching the Amish riding their horse drawn carriages through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, you catch a glimpse of how life would have been 150 years ago. The Amish, without their electricity, cars, and television appear to be a static culture, never changing. This, however, is just an illusion. In fact, the Amish are a dynamic culture which is, through market forces and other means, continually interacting with the enormously tempting culture of America. So, one might be led to wonder how a culture like the Amish, one that seems so anachronistic, has not only survived but has grown and flourished while surrounded by a culture that would seem to be so detrimental to its basic ideals. The Amish, through biological reproduction, resistance to outside culture, compromise, and a strong ethnic symbolism have managed to stave off a culture that waits to engulf them. Why study the Amish? One answer would be, of course, to learn about their seemingly pure cooperative society and value system (called Ordung). From this, one may hope to learn how to better America's problem of individualism and lack of moral or ethical beliefs. However, there is another reason to study the Amish. Because the Amish have remained such a large and distinct culture from our own, they provide an opportunity to study the effects of cultural transmission, resistance, and change, as well as the results of strong symbolism in maintaining ethnic and cultural isolation.
There are many different cultures throughout the world. They each have their own distinct customs and beliefs relating to marriage, rites of passage, conflict resolutions, education etc... The most interesting aspect of each culture is how they incorporate their religious beliefs into the healthcare they receive. Some cultures are not affected by their religious beliefs when dealing with healthcare. They are not regulated in the terms of medical procedures and practices they can obtain from healthcare professionals. However, this is not true for every culture in this world. The Amish and Mennonite culture is depicted upon separating themselves from this world and living a plain life. These two cultures are heavily rooted in their religious beliefs and have tendencies not to stray away from those beliefs regardless of the possible benefits of modern technology. Amish and Mennonite culture may share some similarities, but they have some differences also. A culture’s religious beliefs will be the main determining factor in the healthcare they choose.
Two-thirds of infants die during the first month of life due to low birth weight (Lia-Hoagberg et al, 1990). One reason for this outcome is primarily due to difficulties in accessing prenatal care. Prenatal health care encompasses the health of women in both pre and post childbearing years and provides the support for a healthy lifestyle for the mother and fetus and/or infant. This form of care plays an important role in the prevention of poor birth outcomes, such as prematurity, low birth weight and infant mortality, where education, risk assessment, treatment of complications, and monitoring of fetus development are vital (McKenzie, Pinger,& Kotecki, 2012). Although every woman is recommended to receive prenatal health care, low-income and disadvantaged minority women do not seek care due to structural and individual barriers.
Although the history of how abortion became such a taboo act, forcing many women to attempt to self-induce, may be unclear, one thing is evident: the criminalization of abortions has greatly harmed women in America. The change from common law, which allowed abortions prior to quickening, to codified laws that prohibited it, was the beginning of the criminalization of abortion. In addition, the actions of the American Medical Association to get rid of non-traditional practitioners, and the way the Church changed its perspectives on abortion played a crucial role in making it harder for women to obtain abortions. Due to these actions, the danger of abortions increased because the only ones that were accessible were often underground, and unsafe. If it were not these occurrences many women would have been more likely to survive abortions.
Stanner, S. (2005). Safe Diet for Pregnancy. In B. Caballero, L. Allen, & A. Prentice (Eds.),
Many communities throughout the United States, contain large populations of religiously observant Jews. The intent of this research is to provide a comprehensive, descriptive guide to specific laws, customs, and practices of traditional, religious observant Jews for the culturally sensitive management of labor, delivery, and postpartum. Discussion includes intimacy issues between husband and wife, modesty issues, labor and birth customs and Sabbath observance, . Doctors and other health care professionals can tailor their practice by integrating their knowledge, and becoming culturally competent in regards to the Jewish culture to help facilitate a specific plan of care. In society today when the word intimacy is interchanged in a sentence,
She decided to tackle the health problems of a small area of few roads and no physicians, called Leslie County in Eastern Kentucky. Here she tested to her health care plans, thinking that if she succeed here, she could succeed anywhere. Horse backing around Leslie County, she asked residents about health care needs and local lay-midwives about birth practices. The results from her surveys revealed that these nursing mothers were lacking prenatal care and that they were giving birth to large quantities of children often by invasive practice.
The large majority of female concerns are tremendously private and the action of childbearing and birth are of no exception. The average pregnancy is 280 days or about 9 months which holds true to the culture as well, but it is so strongly believed that it is Gods will that one becomes pregnant that in many cases it is unknown until positive physical changes have occurred (Jarvis, 2016; Kulig et al., 2008). Most often even if pregnancy is known, Mennonite women do not go for prenatal care until late in the pregnancy or if an issue is encountered. In a study of low-German speaking Mennonites from Mexico and Canada many women stated or agreed with the statement of one
Imagine living life without technology and cars. Many people would be lost without a cell phone or a car to drive; however, traditional Amish people live without all the technological tools most people have throughout their daily lives. Think of the “Old West” ideology, that is similar to the way the Amish live, without the gunfights of course. Amish live without technology, most of the clothes they wear are self-made, and their funeral services are special to their culture.
Disadvantages of giving birth in Mali are numerous as one would be deprived of excellent medical facilities provided in any other country in a safe and clean hospital environment. Due to poverty, scarcity of midwives and proper child bearing centers, women have to give birth to children at home many a times. Also birth process is culturally related in Mali where circumcision of male and clitoridectomy for female is performed on the eighth day of the child’s birth in the cities of Mali. But in rest of the areas circumcision is incorporated along with other set of rituals which are performed on the occasion of the naming ceremony of the child. In Mali traditionally male and female development marked the growth from childhood to adulthood and they believe in passing of traditional and religious knowledge from old to new generation.
According to Schub, (2006), author concludes that the Amish view herbal medicine as safe, and western medicine are seen to be more harmful than beneficial. Although, Amish culture are said to be more active because of their labor and are more productive, they are also expected to follow a diet and do daily activities to stay fit. Compared to the U.S population, Amish men are declared to be more physically fit and have low rates of obesity. Regarding a study done in Canada, it’s found an average of 10 hours and physical service for 43 hours of moderate activity per week, are said to be much higher than a none-Amish typical
One of the primary prevention methods in maternal health is the utilization of prenatal care. During the provision of prenatal care, a healthcare provider counsels and discusses information with the expecting mother. Conversations about smoking and alcohol use, what to expect during pregnancy, when to seek help, and limitations on activities are put in place (Kirkham, Harris, & Grzybowski, 2005). Discussions about possible complications and potential warning signs are also an important part of prenatal education. Providing supplements, such as, calcium (1,000 to 1,300 mg per day), folic acid (0.4 to 0.8 mg), and iron (30 mg per day) to an expecting mother is also an important part of primary prevention, as they aid in the fight against blood pressure disorders, anemias, and defects in the unborn child (Kirkham, Harris, & Grzybowski, 2005). Additionally, the vaccination of expecting mothers has been shown to keep mothers and the unborn child healthy during pregnancy. Certain vaccinations, such as Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) and inactivated influenza vaccinations, have been shown to be protective to the fetus, as the mother’s antibodies against the disease are transferred to the unborn child (Esposito et al., 2012).