A Difficult Birth Case Study Summary

When reviewing this case-study, “A Difficult Birth,” by Karen Peterson-Iyer (2008), I learned about a pregnant immigrant, Ana, who is illiterate and unable to speak English. At nearly 36 weeks pregnant, Ana is admitted to East Valley Hospital with cramping and vaginal bleeding, where the medical personnel discover that Ana is severely anemic. Being severely anemic and pregnant, the medical team decides to perform an emergency Cesarean section. As Ana is only fluent in Mixteco, the staff attempts to get Ana’s consent before surgery, but decide to follow through regardless of if Ana understands them since it is declared an emergency situation. After the C-section, the medical team discovers that the newborn baby has low APGAR scores and is immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care

In this case-study, Ana and Hugo are clearly the minority as they are both Hispanic, traditionally cultured, illiterate, and not fluent in English. It can be argued whether or not the East Valley Hospital acted in a culturally competent manner regarding Ana’s situation. In the hospital’s defense, it can be argued that the best resources available (social workers and translators) were used and that the medical personnel recognized that Ana was in an emergency situation and acted on it. From Ana and Hugo’s perspective, it can be argued that Ana did not have the opportunity to give explicit consent due to her language barrier and that their newborn son did not have the opportunity to potentially be healed by a curandero. On Ana and Hugo’s behalf, they could also accuse the nurse of discriminating against their culture by refusing any alternative treatments for their ill son without providing proof that those treatments could not