PRECIS:
The earlier part of my book starts out with my personal experiences with the cavader, the experience with my mothers body and the way that I initially feel about them. Death shouldn’t be limited to cremation and funerals. As the book progresses it talks about other topics, and things that happen to dead bodies. Such as the decay of the body, using the body for dissection and donating different parts of the body. The beginning part of the book starts to cover different ways of handling bodies, the idea of surgery, the decay and crimes like body snatching.
QUOTES:
"In a lovely silver of poetic justice, Burke's corpse was, in keeping with the law of the day, dissected"
"If the trend continues, medicine may find itself with something unimaginable two centuries ago: a surplus of cadavers."
"Let me tell you about my first cadaver. I was thirty-six, and it was eighty-one."
"All were strangers to me. I would not want to watch an experiment, no matter how interesting or important, that involved the remains of someone I knew and loved."
"Death. It doesn't have to be boring."
PARAGRAPH:
The most interesting part of the opening part of the book is the very beginning during the introduction. Usually I don’t read the introduction of anything because they never really told me much and I would rather be reading about the actual story behind the book. I got tricked into reading it thinking it was the start of the book. The idea that the author comes up with during the very first few pages is death is done differently, and could be done in a better way if there weren’t only funerals and cremations. I guess this is the thesis of the book, considering that the author goes on to talk about the decay of a body and dissection of dead bodies. Both things that I have never read about and the dissection of dead bodies being something I have never heard about. This book seems a lot more interesting compared to the other books read during this course because there are less stories packed with statistics and constant citations. However it gives the reader more of an connection with the actual story.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
HOMEWORK 45 - Interview w/ Family Members
Christopher R
Interview with my mother:
What are some of your initial thoughts about the care of the dead?
I don’t know anything about the care of the dead. I know that at funerals there are people who take care of the body. They keep it so that it is preserved and during the funeral the person still looks like they did when they were alive. The funerals that I have been too had the person who died dressed up very nice. They were presented the way I think everyone wants to be presented when they are dead. Very well dressed and it just looks like the person is there sleeping. If the person looked like they were dead it would probably be a lot harder for people to want to view the body. This could bring back negative memories instead of positive memories, and the funeral is supposed to be a place where everyone comes to celebrate and say goodbye to the person who died. I have been to a lot of funerals of people who are very close to me, and even though I tend to cry and feel very upset I realize that they go to another place that’s better than here on earth. It is still very hard for people to get used to not having these people around though.
What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
I don’t think there is a difference between a funeral and a memorial. A funeral is where people go to view the body and say goodbye, and people speak on their behalf. For someone who thinks they are attending a memorial, I don’t think things would be much different. In a memorial I feel like someone would speak on the person’s behalf and everyone would be there to celebrate the life of the person. I think these two can get confused by someone who has never been to a funeral in their life. Someone who has never been to a funeral could feel like there is a difference because they don’t have firsthand experience. However someone like me who goes to a funeral almost two times a year, I think they can be very depressing but at the same time they can be very good. The family of the deceased gets to be around all of people who cared a lot about their family member.
Have you ever been to a funeral where the body was cremated after?
I have been to one. It was the exact same thing. I have only been to about 8 actual burials and probably more than 20 funerals/ wakes. It’s not like I was at the cremation. I don’t really know what that whole thing is about. I was raised always thinking that people are buried, then when my father died I wanted to be buried next to him in that cemetery along with everyone else in my family.
Can you tell me about some personal experiences you’ve had at funerals?
I have been to a lot of funerals so I guess I can tell you about the one that affected me the most. Your godmother, my best friend Barbara passed away. It affected me a lot because she was my best friend. When I moved to New York she was one of the first people that I met. Then she use to live down the street from us and she moved upstate. So I wasn’t able to go to her house and see her whenever I wanted. The day she died was very unexpected. She was missing for a little while and then I think one of her sons found her in the basement. No one knew why she was going to the basement and why she died on her way down to the basement. She didn’t have many medical problems, so it was concluded that she had fallen down the stairs. It’s like she just died out of nowhere there wasn’t anything I could say to her before she died. There was no warning. With my friend Denise who had off and on cancer, I was able to be with her before she died. With Barbara, she just passed away. She was dressed up very nice and her sons both spoke on her behalf.
Any other thoughts?
I don’t think people should be afraid of dying, but I think they should be presented however they want, no one can tell them how they should be presented.
Interview with Cousin
What are some of your initial thoughts about the care of the dead?
Care of the dead. Is that like funerals, and the way that the dead people are treated? I haven’t been to many funerals except my father’s funeral. I was a little kid when he died, so I haven’t seen how things are done at funerals in a long time. At his funeral though everyone was in all black. He was dressed up really well, my mother was speaking, I was speaking. Everyone was crying. That doesn’t have a lot to do with the care of the dead though. People treated him with a lot of respect; there was no one who had anything negative to say about him. Even some people who didn’t like him were there and saying nice things trying to comfort me. They were trying to comfort my mother. I guess that is care of the dead.
What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
A funeral is a memorial. People at the funeral are remembered. They are celebrated. People come to say good things in the memory of this person. That is the same thing as a funeral. I guess a funeral is only with a dead person and a memorial can be for someone who is alive. Michael Jordan has a memorial outside of the Bulls arena. That’s almost the same thing as what happens in a funeral. Except at a funeral the person is dead and there is no statue there is just a coffin/ casket.
Have you ever been to a funeral where the body was cremated after?
I have been to one funeral. My father was not cremated. What is the point of burning him?
Can you tell me about some personal experiences you’ve had at funerals?
There isn’t much to talk about. I barely remember this. It was the exact same thing that your mother talked about. Funerals don’t really change. Just your connection to the person.
Analysis: The most interesting part about this interview and the interview from the last homework is the care of the dead is something many people don’t know about. I don’t know what it is and I am still confused what exactly we are going to learn about in this unit. But my mother knows a lot about funerals because it seems like she goes to one at least every few months. Her brother, aunt, many of her best friends have died, usually all near the same time. The females in our family usually outlive the men. However she didn’t talk about the care of the dead either she talked more about illness and dying. She has a lot of stories about people that have died, and I don’t think she went off on a different topic on purpose, I think for the most part what she did was talk about what she thought care of the dead was. However I think that care of the dead is what happens to the body and not the ceremony that the person who is dead is having. The most thought provoking thing (because the word insightful is overused in this course) that she said was “She didn’t have many medical problems, so it was concluded that she had fallen down the stairs. It’s like she just died out of nowhere there wasn’t anything I could say to her before she died. There was no warning. With my friend Denise who had off and on cancer, I was able to be with her before she died. With Barbara, she just passed away.” This made me think about what my cousin said in his interview. My mom was able to be with her friend Denise because there was evidence that she could be very close to death. However Barbara who is another one of her best friends died without any type of warning. This leading me to think that my cousin was correct when he said funerals are all the same, the only thing that changes are your connection to the person.
This was probably the closest thing to care of the dead in the entire interview. I think the idea that all funerals are the same, but your connection is what makes it special or not special is very true. This makes me wonder why some people who do not have strong connections go to others funerals. If someone died and you are not very close to them then this celebration/ memorial is not going to affect you as much as someone who does have a strong connection with a person. I also noticed that the cremation topic was also something that we (as a family) barely know anything about. I was raised, going to a good amount of funerals, and them all being burials. The idea of burning the body of a person you love, when you can keep a memorial of them seems stupid. At the same time I understand why people do cremate their loved ones because at the same time it is still that persons last decision.
Interview with my mother:
What are some of your initial thoughts about the care of the dead?
I don’t know anything about the care of the dead. I know that at funerals there are people who take care of the body. They keep it so that it is preserved and during the funeral the person still looks like they did when they were alive. The funerals that I have been too had the person who died dressed up very nice. They were presented the way I think everyone wants to be presented when they are dead. Very well dressed and it just looks like the person is there sleeping. If the person looked like they were dead it would probably be a lot harder for people to want to view the body. This could bring back negative memories instead of positive memories, and the funeral is supposed to be a place where everyone comes to celebrate and say goodbye to the person who died. I have been to a lot of funerals of people who are very close to me, and even though I tend to cry and feel very upset I realize that they go to another place that’s better than here on earth. It is still very hard for people to get used to not having these people around though.
What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
I don’t think there is a difference between a funeral and a memorial. A funeral is where people go to view the body and say goodbye, and people speak on their behalf. For someone who thinks they are attending a memorial, I don’t think things would be much different. In a memorial I feel like someone would speak on the person’s behalf and everyone would be there to celebrate the life of the person. I think these two can get confused by someone who has never been to a funeral in their life. Someone who has never been to a funeral could feel like there is a difference because they don’t have firsthand experience. However someone like me who goes to a funeral almost two times a year, I think they can be very depressing but at the same time they can be very good. The family of the deceased gets to be around all of people who cared a lot about their family member.
Have you ever been to a funeral where the body was cremated after?
I have been to one. It was the exact same thing. I have only been to about 8 actual burials and probably more than 20 funerals/ wakes. It’s not like I was at the cremation. I don’t really know what that whole thing is about. I was raised always thinking that people are buried, then when my father died I wanted to be buried next to him in that cemetery along with everyone else in my family.
Can you tell me about some personal experiences you’ve had at funerals?
I have been to a lot of funerals so I guess I can tell you about the one that affected me the most. Your godmother, my best friend Barbara passed away. It affected me a lot because she was my best friend. When I moved to New York she was one of the first people that I met. Then she use to live down the street from us and she moved upstate. So I wasn’t able to go to her house and see her whenever I wanted. The day she died was very unexpected. She was missing for a little while and then I think one of her sons found her in the basement. No one knew why she was going to the basement and why she died on her way down to the basement. She didn’t have many medical problems, so it was concluded that she had fallen down the stairs. It’s like she just died out of nowhere there wasn’t anything I could say to her before she died. There was no warning. With my friend Denise who had off and on cancer, I was able to be with her before she died. With Barbara, she just passed away. She was dressed up very nice and her sons both spoke on her behalf.
Any other thoughts?
I don’t think people should be afraid of dying, but I think they should be presented however they want, no one can tell them how they should be presented.
Interview with Cousin
What are some of your initial thoughts about the care of the dead?
Care of the dead. Is that like funerals, and the way that the dead people are treated? I haven’t been to many funerals except my father’s funeral. I was a little kid when he died, so I haven’t seen how things are done at funerals in a long time. At his funeral though everyone was in all black. He was dressed up really well, my mother was speaking, I was speaking. Everyone was crying. That doesn’t have a lot to do with the care of the dead though. People treated him with a lot of respect; there was no one who had anything negative to say about him. Even some people who didn’t like him were there and saying nice things trying to comfort me. They were trying to comfort my mother. I guess that is care of the dead.
What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
A funeral is a memorial. People at the funeral are remembered. They are celebrated. People come to say good things in the memory of this person. That is the same thing as a funeral. I guess a funeral is only with a dead person and a memorial can be for someone who is alive. Michael Jordan has a memorial outside of the Bulls arena. That’s almost the same thing as what happens in a funeral. Except at a funeral the person is dead and there is no statue there is just a coffin/ casket.
Have you ever been to a funeral where the body was cremated after?
I have been to one funeral. My father was not cremated. What is the point of burning him?
Can you tell me about some personal experiences you’ve had at funerals?
There isn’t much to talk about. I barely remember this. It was the exact same thing that your mother talked about. Funerals don’t really change. Just your connection to the person.
Analysis: The most interesting part about this interview and the interview from the last homework is the care of the dead is something many people don’t know about. I don’t know what it is and I am still confused what exactly we are going to learn about in this unit. But my mother knows a lot about funerals because it seems like she goes to one at least every few months. Her brother, aunt, many of her best friends have died, usually all near the same time. The females in our family usually outlive the men. However she didn’t talk about the care of the dead either she talked more about illness and dying. She has a lot of stories about people that have died, and I don’t think she went off on a different topic on purpose, I think for the most part what she did was talk about what she thought care of the dead was. However I think that care of the dead is what happens to the body and not the ceremony that the person who is dead is having. The most thought provoking thing (because the word insightful is overused in this course) that she said was “She didn’t have many medical problems, so it was concluded that she had fallen down the stairs. It’s like she just died out of nowhere there wasn’t anything I could say to her before she died. There was no warning. With my friend Denise who had off and on cancer, I was able to be with her before she died. With Barbara, she just passed away.” This made me think about what my cousin said in his interview. My mom was able to be with her friend Denise because there was evidence that she could be very close to death. However Barbara who is another one of her best friends died without any type of warning. This leading me to think that my cousin was correct when he said funerals are all the same, the only thing that changes are your connection to the person.
This was probably the closest thing to care of the dead in the entire interview. I think the idea that all funerals are the same, but your connection is what makes it special or not special is very true. This makes me wonder why some people who do not have strong connections go to others funerals. If someone died and you are not very close to them then this celebration/ memorial is not going to affect you as much as someone who does have a strong connection with a person. I also noticed that the cremation topic was also something that we (as a family) barely know anything about. I was raised, going to a good amount of funerals, and them all being burials. The idea of burning the body of a person you love, when you can keep a memorial of them seems stupid. At the same time I understand why people do cremate their loved ones because at the same time it is still that persons last decision.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Homework 47
Christopher R
First Question: What are your initial thoughts on care of the dead?
WILLIAM: I mean i think its necessary. I think the great thing about a funeral is that you remember all the great things they did everyone they knew, comes back and reminds us all how they were affected by that person cremation is good too I mean to put it simply "the only thing that counts when you die is what they thought of you" so honoring the memory is important.
SASCHA:I personally want to be cremated because I don't see a point in being buried but I think if someone wants to be buried then they have the right to be.
AMANDA: I think the families/loved ones/ or people involved should dispose of the bodies in what ever way works for them. For example I froze my gold fish when i was 9 after it died. Now im not saying they should be allowed to be laying out in the street. There should be guide lines so that the public space is safe and comfortable for others.
Second Question: Have you ever attended a funeral/ritual dedicated to someone who has died? If so, what was it like?
WILLIAM: Well, At first it was really sad and I was upset because it really means coming to terms with the fact that they are dead and not coming back but then you realize that life goes on you have to continue on and usually everyone starts talking and the after "party" is good because everyone really needs to have a good time with family and friend. thats about it
i mean like you can't be depressed for ever you need to move on and continue to do you
and try and make that person proud of you.
SASCHA: I have, it was very touching to see such a large amount of people come together in honor of one person. It was very moving to see that one person could touch so many peoples lives. It was also interesting to see that most people weren't sad but instead celebrating the person.
AMANDA: Yes i have, it was boring...I was sad about their death either before or after the funeral but never during.I think this is because in our culture funerals are supposed to represent acceptance of the death and I felt if i was sad at the funeral then it wouldnt be acceptable.
Third Question:What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
WILLIAM: Funeral is literally when we put the body underground. Memorial is more just rememebering them everyone says how the deceased person helped them they are similar
but without the body .
SASCHA: A funeral is when someone is being buried I believe, and a memorial is just when the person who has passed is being honored. I believe they get confused because a funeral usually goes along with a memorial so people mix them up.
AMANDA: I'm not sure i think its basically the same think except maybe differences in how the rituals are preformed. The two get confused cause they overall symbolize the same thing.
Fourth Question: How would you want your body to be handled once you die? And if you have not made the decision yet, who would you like to decide and why?
WILLIAM: Well it depends on how i go, if i get shot then i want to be buried in the ground
but if i live a full life. I would consider cremation because its all like going back to the earth and what not plus i'm going to already be dead but if i hadn't decided. I would like it to be my wife's decision if i have a wife.
SASCHA: I wish to be cremated because I feel that land for a cemetery could be used in so many different ways. There are huge cemeteries all over the city that will never be used for anything except for the place to put people who have passed when it could be used for housing, schools, hospitals, and much more.
AMANDA: I haven't thought about what I want to be done with my body but I have thought about my funeral. I guess i'd want to be an organ donner and if i am I don't know what would happen to my body after that...if my family gets it back then it'd be cool to be burned and thrown in the ocean (haha). Or maybe i would just want my husband/boyfriend or children to decide what they think would be the easiest way to get rid of me. I would want my husband/boyfriend or children to decide amusing i die after my parents because I presume they would have the hardest time getting over my death so they should take care of it which ever way would help them ease their pain assuming im missed on the other hand maybe leaving it up to them would cause too much drama. I want make sure that when i die my funeral is in some hot beachy place where none of my family has been so they could just relax for a week and enjoy the sun and pina coladas.
Fifth Question: Is their any reason that you think their are more burials than cremations?
WILLIAM: I think that burials have been around longer and the idea of burning someone doesn't exactly sit well with some people for example Jewish people. While also many people feel as if they bury someone near them then they can go visit them and "talk" to them and "talk" to thier grave it makes the dead person closer to home which can be important because death is very hard to deal with.
SASCHA: I think that burials are more seen in the media obviously. It might have something to do with religion. Like if people believe in a certain god they might feel that a burial is more appropriate. There are billions of people that are Christian and America was based off of Christianity so I think this is why so many people believe in funerals. Cremation doesn't have as much back up.
AMANDA: I didnt know that statistic, I guess burials are a way of getting rid of the evidence of the persons existence with out completely letting go or having a constant reminder. ex: the body/symoblsim of the body is somewhere in a grave yard and not in a yurn above your fire place. If the ashes are scattered then they are gone forever so its almost as if cremation is all or nothing while burial is a happy medium. Also fire might remind people of hell and they may feel guilty for causing their dead loved one "pain" expessialy if the family/ friends are in denile about the death.
Sixth Question: Do you think their are any specific reasons that people don't talk about the dead, after the funeral/ memorial?
WILLIAM: I think that its hard to bring back all those memories and that when you move on
you don't want to think about that person because then your going to miss them again it brings hardship.
SASCHA: I think it is because it is easier not to. Why talk about someone who you won't be able to see. I don't know if this is exactly true though because when someone dies it is common to talk about the things that they did in their life but talking about their death is something that doesn't happen.
AMANDA: Like I said earlier I think funerals are supposed show that those attending are accepting of the persons death, and talking about the dead guy after they die or showing that they STILL miss them is a sign of weakness. People are going to think less of them. It could also be that the person isnt in their day to day active life any more and there isnt much to say about them in terms of "I went to the park with grandma yesterday and she bought me ice cream". I think also maybe people feel that those around them wouldnt care to hear about a memory someone had with a relitive that had passed away....and maybe ignorance is a large part of acceptance.
Seventh Question: Do you feel like there is anything you want to say on this topic?
WILLIAM: Death can be hard, but it's part of life so we have to deal with it thats all
hope I helped.
SASCHA: Let me know how this goes.
I think the most interesting part of these interviews was the answers from Sascha and Amanda because they gave the answers that I didn’t really think about. Sascha made me the most interested when she talked about how cremation seems like a smarter idea because it makes it so your body doesn’t sit in a funeral taking up space that could be used. I always wondered about how many less homeless people there could be if we took some of this land and made a homeless shelter, or if we took this land and made it into a hospital. It seems like with the 6,000 that someone spends on the funeral parlor, the hoarse, and the spot to be buried in this money could have easily gone to something else. Especially because not a lot of people feel comfortable talking about the person that died openly, why spend this money on a person when you could have an equally good memorial and spend the money on something else. This makes me think that a funeral has something to do with a bigger mass of people supporting it because; the numbers of cremations in the United States is near 34%. I want to know why so many people decided to be buried and why it has been set up so that more people think that having a burial makes more sense. All the funerals that I have been to have been funerals where the deceased person was buried after. This space to me can be used very well and I don’t know why the cremated person cannot be buried. This takes up less space and in a way I think it has the same meaning. The body goes back into the earth as William said.
The other thing that I found interesting from doing these interviews is, people think that the person they are committed to will have to make the decision of what happens. There is an argument that the person who is dead should make the decision of what they do with their own body but then again this will last in the memories of the people they are committed to and children as well. This makes me think of a few questions related to the care of the dead.
• What roles does the family of the deceased play in the care of the deceased person?
• Is there any religious reason that people respect the wishes of the dead although they won’t know what happens to their bodies?
• What are the differences in the memorial where the deceased person has a family that has been cremated? How is this versus those who are buried?
• What are the cost differences between cremation and burials?
• If there is superstition against building on top of burial sites, how much of America’s land is cemetery, can this land be built on?
First Question: What are your initial thoughts on care of the dead?
WILLIAM: I mean i think its necessary. I think the great thing about a funeral is that you remember all the great things they did everyone they knew, comes back and reminds us all how they were affected by that person cremation is good too I mean to put it simply "the only thing that counts when you die is what they thought of you" so honoring the memory is important.
SASCHA:I personally want to be cremated because I don't see a point in being buried but I think if someone wants to be buried then they have the right to be.
AMANDA: I think the families/loved ones/ or people involved should dispose of the bodies in what ever way works for them. For example I froze my gold fish when i was 9 after it died. Now im not saying they should be allowed to be laying out in the street. There should be guide lines so that the public space is safe and comfortable for others.
Second Question: Have you ever attended a funeral/ritual dedicated to someone who has died? If so, what was it like?
WILLIAM: Well, At first it was really sad and I was upset because it really means coming to terms with the fact that they are dead and not coming back but then you realize that life goes on you have to continue on and usually everyone starts talking and the after "party" is good because everyone really needs to have a good time with family and friend. thats about it
i mean like you can't be depressed for ever you need to move on and continue to do you
and try and make that person proud of you.
SASCHA: I have, it was very touching to see such a large amount of people come together in honor of one person. It was very moving to see that one person could touch so many peoples lives. It was also interesting to see that most people weren't sad but instead celebrating the person.
AMANDA: Yes i have, it was boring...I was sad about their death either before or after the funeral but never during.I think this is because in our culture funerals are supposed to represent acceptance of the death and I felt if i was sad at the funeral then it wouldnt be acceptable.
Third Question:What is the difference between a funeral and a memorial, and how/why do the two get confused?
WILLIAM: Funeral is literally when we put the body underground. Memorial is more just rememebering them everyone says how the deceased person helped them they are similar
but without the body .
SASCHA: A funeral is when someone is being buried I believe, and a memorial is just when the person who has passed is being honored. I believe they get confused because a funeral usually goes along with a memorial so people mix them up.
AMANDA: I'm not sure i think its basically the same think except maybe differences in how the rituals are preformed. The two get confused cause they overall symbolize the same thing.
Fourth Question: How would you want your body to be handled once you die? And if you have not made the decision yet, who would you like to decide and why?
WILLIAM: Well it depends on how i go, if i get shot then i want to be buried in the ground
but if i live a full life. I would consider cremation because its all like going back to the earth and what not plus i'm going to already be dead but if i hadn't decided. I would like it to be my wife's decision if i have a wife.
SASCHA: I wish to be cremated because I feel that land for a cemetery could be used in so many different ways. There are huge cemeteries all over the city that will never be used for anything except for the place to put people who have passed when it could be used for housing, schools, hospitals, and much more.
AMANDA: I haven't thought about what I want to be done with my body but I have thought about my funeral. I guess i'd want to be an organ donner and if i am I don't know what would happen to my body after that...if my family gets it back then it'd be cool to be burned and thrown in the ocean (haha). Or maybe i would just want my husband/boyfriend or children to decide what they think would be the easiest way to get rid of me. I would want my husband/boyfriend or children to decide amusing i die after my parents because I presume they would have the hardest time getting over my death so they should take care of it which ever way would help them ease their pain assuming im missed on the other hand maybe leaving it up to them would cause too much drama. I want make sure that when i die my funeral is in some hot beachy place where none of my family has been so they could just relax for a week and enjoy the sun and pina coladas.
Fifth Question: Is their any reason that you think their are more burials than cremations?
WILLIAM: I think that burials have been around longer and the idea of burning someone doesn't exactly sit well with some people for example Jewish people. While also many people feel as if they bury someone near them then they can go visit them and "talk" to them and "talk" to thier grave it makes the dead person closer to home which can be important because death is very hard to deal with.
SASCHA: I think that burials are more seen in the media obviously. It might have something to do with religion. Like if people believe in a certain god they might feel that a burial is more appropriate. There are billions of people that are Christian and America was based off of Christianity so I think this is why so many people believe in funerals. Cremation doesn't have as much back up.
AMANDA: I didnt know that statistic, I guess burials are a way of getting rid of the evidence of the persons existence with out completely letting go or having a constant reminder. ex: the body/symoblsim of the body is somewhere in a grave yard and not in a yurn above your fire place. If the ashes are scattered then they are gone forever so its almost as if cremation is all or nothing while burial is a happy medium. Also fire might remind people of hell and they may feel guilty for causing their dead loved one "pain" expessialy if the family/ friends are in denile about the death.
Sixth Question: Do you think their are any specific reasons that people don't talk about the dead, after the funeral/ memorial?
WILLIAM: I think that its hard to bring back all those memories and that when you move on
you don't want to think about that person because then your going to miss them again it brings hardship.
SASCHA: I think it is because it is easier not to. Why talk about someone who you won't be able to see. I don't know if this is exactly true though because when someone dies it is common to talk about the things that they did in their life but talking about their death is something that doesn't happen.
AMANDA: Like I said earlier I think funerals are supposed show that those attending are accepting of the persons death, and talking about the dead guy after they die or showing that they STILL miss them is a sign of weakness. People are going to think less of them. It could also be that the person isnt in their day to day active life any more and there isnt much to say about them in terms of "I went to the park with grandma yesterday and she bought me ice cream". I think also maybe people feel that those around them wouldnt care to hear about a memory someone had with a relitive that had passed away....and maybe ignorance is a large part of acceptance.
Seventh Question: Do you feel like there is anything you want to say on this topic?
WILLIAM: Death can be hard, but it's part of life so we have to deal with it thats all
hope I helped.
SASCHA: Let me know how this goes.
I think the most interesting part of these interviews was the answers from Sascha and Amanda because they gave the answers that I didn’t really think about. Sascha made me the most interested when she talked about how cremation seems like a smarter idea because it makes it so your body doesn’t sit in a funeral taking up space that could be used. I always wondered about how many less homeless people there could be if we took some of this land and made a homeless shelter, or if we took this land and made it into a hospital. It seems like with the 6,000 that someone spends on the funeral parlor, the hoarse, and the spot to be buried in this money could have easily gone to something else. Especially because not a lot of people feel comfortable talking about the person that died openly, why spend this money on a person when you could have an equally good memorial and spend the money on something else. This makes me think that a funeral has something to do with a bigger mass of people supporting it because; the numbers of cremations in the United States is near 34%. I want to know why so many people decided to be buried and why it has been set up so that more people think that having a burial makes more sense. All the funerals that I have been to have been funerals where the deceased person was buried after. This space to me can be used very well and I don’t know why the cremated person cannot be buried. This takes up less space and in a way I think it has the same meaning. The body goes back into the earth as William said.
The other thing that I found interesting from doing these interviews is, people think that the person they are committed to will have to make the decision of what happens. There is an argument that the person who is dead should make the decision of what they do with their own body but then again this will last in the memories of the people they are committed to and children as well. This makes me think of a few questions related to the care of the dead.
• What roles does the family of the deceased play in the care of the deceased person?
• Is there any religious reason that people respect the wishes of the dead although they won’t know what happens to their bodies?
• What are the differences in the memorial where the deceased person has a family that has been cremated? How is this versus those who are buried?
• What are the cost differences between cremation and burials?
• If there is superstition against building on top of burial sites, how much of America’s land is cemetery, can this land be built on?
Sunday, April 17, 2011
HW 46 - Initial Thoughts on the Care of the Dead (BEST HW OVER BREAK)
Christopher R
I realized that I don’t know too much about care of the dead because the only time that I was ever around someone who was dead is at a funeral. I see funerals as more of the celebration of a loved one more than the care of the dead. I honestly don’t even know what would be classified as the care of the dead. I think the burial of someone who is dead, and the way they are presented, such as clothing and who speaks at the funeral is care of the dead. I also feel like cremation is care of the dead, because it is what happens to the body after the person is dead. After knowing that less than one percent of my life I have been around someone who is dead, I don’t feel like I can strongly say anything about the care of the dead because it is something that I doubt many people know a lot about. Out of the 10 or so funerals that I have attended I haven’t been to one where the person was cremated afterwards, and I have only been to one of the burials of a person.
I think the most insightful thing I can put into this post seeing as I know literally nothing about care of the dead is the way I act towards someone who dies. For many different reasons I would rather not be around someone who has died. This is because it is something that we all have to go through but many people tend to put the idea of it in the back of their minds. When hearing about someone who died on television, the focus is not about the person who died but it is usually about the person who killed. Being near someone who actually is dead or thinking about someone who has died makes you wonder about your own death. Since people like to put off the idea that they are going to die it is more comfortable to be able to think about something else then about when you die. The idea of not being able to interact with anyone who you know in the present is scary. The fact that many people are unsure what happens in the afterlife is also scary. Personally I have a fear of death because I always wonder how it would affect my mother if I died. It’s hard to face the fact that the people we have set up relationships with already in this world can go away instantly. In this sense it seems like the dead are treated terribly, once dead we burn and bury them never to be seen again. Not able to push them back in memory but able to push them physically off the earth. I would say most people feel as if being around dead people changes the mood in a negative way, although they remain with us in memory it’s preferred to have them buried away.
• Is the dominant social practice of the United States based off the dominant social practices of a religion?
• Who are the experts on care of the dead, why do they believe this form of care of the dead is ideal?
• What are alternatives to the dominant social practice of care of the dead?
• How has the care of the dead changed over time?
• What is some useful, basic information of the care of the dead?
• In what ways are the alternatives better than the dominant social practices?
I realized that I don’t know too much about care of the dead because the only time that I was ever around someone who was dead is at a funeral. I see funerals as more of the celebration of a loved one more than the care of the dead. I honestly don’t even know what would be classified as the care of the dead. I think the burial of someone who is dead, and the way they are presented, such as clothing and who speaks at the funeral is care of the dead. I also feel like cremation is care of the dead, because it is what happens to the body after the person is dead. After knowing that less than one percent of my life I have been around someone who is dead, I don’t feel like I can strongly say anything about the care of the dead because it is something that I doubt many people know a lot about. Out of the 10 or so funerals that I have attended I haven’t been to one where the person was cremated afterwards, and I have only been to one of the burials of a person.
I think the most insightful thing I can put into this post seeing as I know literally nothing about care of the dead is the way I act towards someone who dies. For many different reasons I would rather not be around someone who has died. This is because it is something that we all have to go through but many people tend to put the idea of it in the back of their minds. When hearing about someone who died on television, the focus is not about the person who died but it is usually about the person who killed. Being near someone who actually is dead or thinking about someone who has died makes you wonder about your own death. Since people like to put off the idea that they are going to die it is more comfortable to be able to think about something else then about when you die. The idea of not being able to interact with anyone who you know in the present is scary. The fact that many people are unsure what happens in the afterlife is also scary. Personally I have a fear of death because I always wonder how it would affect my mother if I died. It’s hard to face the fact that the people we have set up relationships with already in this world can go away instantly. In this sense it seems like the dead are treated terribly, once dead we burn and bury them never to be seen again. Not able to push them back in memory but able to push them physically off the earth. I would say most people feel as if being around dead people changes the mood in a negative way, although they remain with us in memory it’s preferred to have them buried away.
• Is the dominant social practice of the United States based off the dominant social practices of a religion?
• Who are the experts on care of the dead, why do they believe this form of care of the dead is ideal?
• What are alternatives to the dominant social practice of care of the dead?
• How has the care of the dead changed over time?
• What is some useful, basic information of the care of the dead?
• In what ways are the alternatives better than the dominant social practices?
Monday, April 11, 2011
Comments HW 44
TO JASPER
Your post was about interviewing women about different aspects on birth. I think that your post could have talked more about the experiences before we got the interviews because you do reflect on things but you don't establish anything about how you felt before. Something that I think your post had of value was the video of the interview because the interpretation of what someone said and the way they actually sad things makes a big difference. Your project was valuable to me because we did the same project and I like that we tried to learn about something not taught in class
FROM JASPER (Lower Person)
Chris: Christ great post sounds like you're group project was the best in the whole class... You're project was supposed to be about procedures conducted in hospitals during births. But after you and this Jasper guy were rejected you found people outside to interview about their views on birth and you also interviewed a very knowledgable pediatrician. I like how you still went into what you originally wanted to do the project on and gave some statistics. I also like how you talked to regular people outside but then got knowledgeable source also that you could ask some questions to. This project matters to me because it's the same thing I did and I think it's important to know what the society thinks not just the people you know! P.S. you make us seem very stupid in your post. And me more than you..
TO AMHARA
The main idea of your post seemed to be finding out what a woman with kids thought about birth. But at the same time you introduced it as a decision of whether or not your mother should have another kid. The only thing that is confusing about this is you say your mom knows a lot of information so I find it confusing how you would go about informing her more. Maybe i'm just lost. Also I'm confused about parts 2-4. But anyway I think all these projects are useful pieces of information but at the same time I like that you mother was more informed about birth then "common people". For whatever reason I thought people who gave birth wouldn't know as much as I did but 9 months of thinking gives more information then a month of what we did. I think this project matters because the video was actually very entertaining. Most birth stories are, they are rarely talked about and usually great stories.
TO RUBEN
Ruben,
It seems like what your overall goal was learning about hospital births. I know this because that was what I tried to do as well. You asked a few questions to a nurse at a hospital which was something that I wanted to do. One aspect that I valued about your posted is you were actually able to come up with some information from a person who worked at a hospital. I tried very hard towards the end of the project to go into a hospital, however it didn't work. This would have been valuable to my project. This matters to me because it is some information that I wanted however if I was you I would have made a push to learn more about how birth is done because anyone from anywhere can give an opinion on anything. A few spelling errors too, usually I don't notice spelling errors but you have some rather obvious ones.
TO HARRY
Harry,
I think you choose a good topic because it was something that we never talked about in class. It is not completely related to birth however some people give their children up for adoption before they are born. These are good questions, I never thought about being adopted but I think it would raise a lot of questions. The aspect that I valued the most about this project was the background research because it shows that you had a real desire to learn a bit more about adoption. Also the interview with Flywalker's dad makes the post more interesting, its always more entertaining to know what people think instead of how you interpret what they think. I think this project matters because it is one of the more creative. I have commented on 3 peoples blogs and they all related to mine in a way. This is something different.
Farve.
TO LUCAS
Lucas,
Your project is looking shakes because it doesn't have any sound. But I did watch this video before so I do know somethings about it. I think your project was similar to mine because you also wanted to see how hospital birth was done in contrast to what we learned. You got farther then me and Jasper. The thing that was the most interesting though was the private rooms because being able to be by yourself with your family and the baby cost extra. I think the ending was good too, there were people with different levels of knowledge. One person did not know what a "Cesarean" Section was and one person had a family of all C-Sections. I think you could have written something about what you thought before and after making this film to make the project better.
Chris.
From Ruben
Chris,
The main focus for your project, was to find out more information about babies being born based of your research, and interviews. I really valued the way you didn't stop trying to find someone to talk to about birth, even if it was a random person. This project matters to me, because it encourages me to ask whoever I want, in a polite manner, about what I was studying or focusing on.
From Sophia
Chris,
You explained how what you learned in class led you to want to interview a nurse or doctor, and then you told the story of you quest to find someone to interview. You also documented this journey, along with the responses from the doctor you interviewed.
I particularly valued the fact that you interviewed various people after you couldn't find a doctor, and that you were willing to get kicked out of Babies R Us for the sake of this project.
Your project matters to me because you wanted to hear other people's opinions about pregnancy and birth, and why they had these opinions.
One thing I thought you could have done would be to analyze one of the interviews, or how what the doctor told you did or didn't match up with what you knew previously.
From Isabel (Higher Person)
Chris! Your post seemed to focus on two different ideas. You talk about wanting to know an alternative to the things that you learned in class. The videos show that you went to interview people though and then you have an interview. It seems to be a few different ideas that you try to learn about. One thing that I did like about this post was there were three different ways that you try to show people what you are learning. You have some research then you use interviews from people and an interview from a doctor. I think this project matters because it is good information that can be used for something bigger. I think in this project you set up for something that could have been larger. Good start keep going!
Response to Sophia,
Sophia,
Thanks for reading my blog, I wanted to focus on hospital births, and I was hoping that someone would read this. The best part of the experience was being kicked out of Babies R Us because I don't really understand why its not okay to record. It wasn't because we were recording people, we just were not allowed to record. I wish I would have been able to get more people though this was all a last second thought. I also agree with your criticism because it kind of just leaves it to the reader to interpret things. My project would have been better if I were to go into more detail about this. I hope you enjoyed it still.
Chris.
Response to Ruben
Ruben,
Thanks for reading my blog RUBEN. I did try to get some information about hospital births just like you did and we got about the same amount of information. You should ask some people if you ever have anything to say, the worse they can say is no. Its also easier if you go with friends but people tend to like to talk about themselves because they always know the right answer and they just enjoy letting others know.
Response to Beatrice
Beatrice, I just saw your comment on the youtube video, that comes from Kevin giving us the video the day after the project was done...Kevin...
Thanks for reading my blog though, I'm sorry if I disappointed you when I made you believe we got chased by the cops. However that pitch worked. It got you to view my blog and comment on it. I wanted to be able to do more with the project, but I think that this met a few of my standards not all of them. I also watched your video. It is a really good video, I saw you recording a few people but this is very good. I agree with your suggestion though, I wanted to do a lot more, and I think I would have if I had gotten an actual interview. However thats no excuse. I'll remember that for next year and next project.
Response to Jasper
In the post I did not make anyone seem stupid I promise. I just make it seem like that in the comment because we did the same project as a joke. Duh Winning! Anyway, I appreciated the comment and have very little to say in response because we did the same thing. You and I should work together again for other projects but actually be able to do the idea we want to do.
Your post was about interviewing women about different aspects on birth. I think that your post could have talked more about the experiences before we got the interviews because you do reflect on things but you don't establish anything about how you felt before. Something that I think your post had of value was the video of the interview because the interpretation of what someone said and the way they actually sad things makes a big difference. Your project was valuable to me because we did the same project and I like that we tried to learn about something not taught in class
FROM JASPER (Lower Person)
Chris: Christ great post sounds like you're group project was the best in the whole class... You're project was supposed to be about procedures conducted in hospitals during births. But after you and this Jasper guy were rejected you found people outside to interview about their views on birth and you also interviewed a very knowledgable pediatrician. I like how you still went into what you originally wanted to do the project on and gave some statistics. I also like how you talked to regular people outside but then got knowledgeable source also that you could ask some questions to. This project matters to me because it's the same thing I did and I think it's important to know what the society thinks not just the people you know! P.S. you make us seem very stupid in your post. And me more than you..
TO AMHARA
The main idea of your post seemed to be finding out what a woman with kids thought about birth. But at the same time you introduced it as a decision of whether or not your mother should have another kid. The only thing that is confusing about this is you say your mom knows a lot of information so I find it confusing how you would go about informing her more. Maybe i'm just lost. Also I'm confused about parts 2-4. But anyway I think all these projects are useful pieces of information but at the same time I like that you mother was more informed about birth then "common people". For whatever reason I thought people who gave birth wouldn't know as much as I did but 9 months of thinking gives more information then a month of what we did. I think this project matters because the video was actually very entertaining. Most birth stories are, they are rarely talked about and usually great stories.
TO RUBEN
Ruben,
It seems like what your overall goal was learning about hospital births. I know this because that was what I tried to do as well. You asked a few questions to a nurse at a hospital which was something that I wanted to do. One aspect that I valued about your posted is you were actually able to come up with some information from a person who worked at a hospital. I tried very hard towards the end of the project to go into a hospital, however it didn't work. This would have been valuable to my project. This matters to me because it is some information that I wanted however if I was you I would have made a push to learn more about how birth is done because anyone from anywhere can give an opinion on anything. A few spelling errors too, usually I don't notice spelling errors but you have some rather obvious ones.
TO HARRY
Harry,
I think you choose a good topic because it was something that we never talked about in class. It is not completely related to birth however some people give their children up for adoption before they are born. These are good questions, I never thought about being adopted but I think it would raise a lot of questions. The aspect that I valued the most about this project was the background research because it shows that you had a real desire to learn a bit more about adoption. Also the interview with Flywalker's dad makes the post more interesting, its always more entertaining to know what people think instead of how you interpret what they think. I think this project matters because it is one of the more creative. I have commented on 3 peoples blogs and they all related to mine in a way. This is something different.
Farve.
TO LUCAS
Lucas,
Your project is looking shakes because it doesn't have any sound. But I did watch this video before so I do know somethings about it. I think your project was similar to mine because you also wanted to see how hospital birth was done in contrast to what we learned. You got farther then me and Jasper. The thing that was the most interesting though was the private rooms because being able to be by yourself with your family and the baby cost extra. I think the ending was good too, there were people with different levels of knowledge. One person did not know what a "Cesarean" Section was and one person had a family of all C-Sections. I think you could have written something about what you thought before and after making this film to make the project better.
Chris.
From Ruben
Chris,
The main focus for your project, was to find out more information about babies being born based of your research, and interviews. I really valued the way you didn't stop trying to find someone to talk to about birth, even if it was a random person. This project matters to me, because it encourages me to ask whoever I want, in a polite manner, about what I was studying or focusing on.
From Sophia
Chris,
You explained how what you learned in class led you to want to interview a nurse or doctor, and then you told the story of you quest to find someone to interview. You also documented this journey, along with the responses from the doctor you interviewed.
I particularly valued the fact that you interviewed various people after you couldn't find a doctor, and that you were willing to get kicked out of Babies R Us for the sake of this project.
Your project matters to me because you wanted to hear other people's opinions about pregnancy and birth, and why they had these opinions.
One thing I thought you could have done would be to analyze one of the interviews, or how what the doctor told you did or didn't match up with what you knew previously.
From Isabel (Higher Person)
Chris! Your post seemed to focus on two different ideas. You talk about wanting to know an alternative to the things that you learned in class. The videos show that you went to interview people though and then you have an interview. It seems to be a few different ideas that you try to learn about. One thing that I did like about this post was there were three different ways that you try to show people what you are learning. You have some research then you use interviews from people and an interview from a doctor. I think this project matters because it is good information that can be used for something bigger. I think in this project you set up for something that could have been larger. Good start keep going!
Response to Sophia,
Sophia,
Thanks for reading my blog, I wanted to focus on hospital births, and I was hoping that someone would read this. The best part of the experience was being kicked out of Babies R Us because I don't really understand why its not okay to record. It wasn't because we were recording people, we just were not allowed to record. I wish I would have been able to get more people though this was all a last second thought. I also agree with your criticism because it kind of just leaves it to the reader to interpret things. My project would have been better if I were to go into more detail about this. I hope you enjoyed it still.
Chris.
Response to Ruben
Ruben,
Thanks for reading my blog RUBEN. I did try to get some information about hospital births just like you did and we got about the same amount of information. You should ask some people if you ever have anything to say, the worse they can say is no. Its also easier if you go with friends but people tend to like to talk about themselves because they always know the right answer and they just enjoy letting others know.
Response to Beatrice
Beatrice, I just saw your comment on the youtube video, that comes from Kevin giving us the video the day after the project was done...Kevin...
Thanks for reading my blog though, I'm sorry if I disappointed you when I made you believe we got chased by the cops. However that pitch worked. It got you to view my blog and comment on it. I wanted to be able to do more with the project, but I think that this met a few of my standards not all of them. I also watched your video. It is a really good video, I saw you recording a few people but this is very good. I agree with your suggestion though, I wanted to do a lot more, and I think I would have if I had gotten an actual interview. However thats no excuse. I'll remember that for next year and next project.
Response to Jasper
In the post I did not make anyone seem stupid I promise. I just make it seem like that in the comment because we did the same project as a joke. Duh Winning! Anyway, I appreciated the comment and have very little to say in response because we did the same thing. You and I should work together again for other projects but actually be able to do the idea we want to do.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Homework 42 - Investigating Project
Christopher R
The main idea I wanted to focus on in this project was, being able to learn a lot more about hospital births. I noticed that while we were learning about midwives and home births, as an alternate to the dominate social practice which is hospital birth. I still did not know anything about hospital births. I learned that in hospitals Pitocin can be given to induce birth if the mother is not progressing on her own. This Pitocin causes the contractions to become more frequent and also causes harder contractions, which puts the mother into pain. The pain is cured by the epidural which makes the woman not feel as much of what is going on, and this can lead to different problems. More Pitocin can be used if the pregnancy slows down. In certain situations the child can go into distress because the contractions are so hard due to the Pitocin. Then a C-Section (short for Cesarean section) can take place to try to save the life of the baby, almost in a superman-like heroic way. This all seems very bad. A lot of what I was learning seemed to be that the alternative is a more natural and therefore better way. It was also a cheaper way. Then again I thought to myself how could I be able to make a good decision on my own if I didn’t know much about the hospital birth. For this project what I wanted to do was learn a little bit more about the hospital birth because there are different aspects to everything. It is possible that the scenario described is very frequently occurring. With the hospital being the dominate practice of people in the United States there has to be a reason that people are still giving birth in hospitals. I wanted to investigate why and how birth was done. Episiotomy is also something that is frightening about the birthing process. A cut is made from the bottom of the vagina to the top of the anus.
I wanted to execute was going to Harlem Hospital and talking to doctors and nurses based off of the information that I retrieved. This website that I found had information broken down from C-Sections to Natural births. It also had a lot of information about cost, and in how many cases medicine was used. While looking at this information I did remember when the midwife who visited class said some of these websites lie. The information has to be near accurate however because it is supposed to be credible information for the public and the government. During the research I found out that in the year 2009 there were 1,719 births delivered. Out of the 1,719 births 13 percent of these births were induced by medicine which is less than the state wide 16 percent. 5 percent was attended by a midwife which is less than the 10 percent statewide. Then 67 percent of these births were vaginal births (also more than the state). Episiotomy had a small amount of the percentage in the vaginal births and epidural was used in almost half of these births. C-Section was 33 percent of the births, and 14 percent of the people who had a cesarean section in 2009 had a cesarean section before. 30 percent of the people who had a C-section were given epidurals which are less than the 40 percent who gave vaginal births. This evidence goes against the idea that epidurals help contribute to the amount of people who have C-sections. However more than 50 C-Section had spinal anesthesia compared to the 2 people who had a vaginal birth and had spinal anesthesia.
I went to Harlem Hospital with Jasper Deitzer, and we went on a Sunday night without calling ahead of time. Knowing that babies were kidnapped from there a few decades ago I figured it highly doubtful that we would be allowed to go up and this was confirmed by the not attentive desk manager. She told us that the only way we would be allowed to go up is if we called one of the head managers in the birthing center. She supplied us with a number and when that number was called that also led to another number, which lead to another number and after a while it became less likely that anyone would actually let us go up. That day we walked to the Bronx and found another hospital at about 730 pm on the same night. After walking across a bridge late on a night where we had school the next day the hope was they would let us up. According to the security guard if we were to call earlier in the day then we would have been able to get a staff member to tell us about the hospital and labor unit.
Two days after with no work done the idea was to try to get some interviews from anyone because going to a hospital was a lot harder than anyone would have expected. It takes a few days of preparation and many hospitals just don’t have it so that people can come and ask questions. The first few interviews were from Babies R’ Us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGqNiRWj_4k
The next interview was with potential parents:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKeEqRq9KX8
CHASED BY THE COPS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMJndw620lk
To top off some of the research I know a pediatrician who obviously is not an OB/ GYN but she is a very knowledgeable and well recognized pediatrician in New York City. I know her through her two children and I figured that she would know a lot more than a “common” person even if she didn’t go to school to be an obstetrician. At the beginning of the unit I asked her about her births and I also asked her about her point of view on C-Sections. She was very supportive of the idea of C-Sections and saw them as useful so I looked at this as an opportunity to get more “pro-hospital birth” information and it would also be from a doctor. Here’s my interview with Lori Rosello M.D.
My Email to her
Her Response
The main idea I wanted to focus on in this project was, being able to learn a lot more about hospital births. I noticed that while we were learning about midwives and home births, as an alternate to the dominate social practice which is hospital birth. I still did not know anything about hospital births. I learned that in hospitals Pitocin can be given to induce birth if the mother is not progressing on her own. This Pitocin causes the contractions to become more frequent and also causes harder contractions, which puts the mother into pain. The pain is cured by the epidural which makes the woman not feel as much of what is going on, and this can lead to different problems. More Pitocin can be used if the pregnancy slows down. In certain situations the child can go into distress because the contractions are so hard due to the Pitocin. Then a C-Section (short for Cesarean section) can take place to try to save the life of the baby, almost in a superman-like heroic way. This all seems very bad. A lot of what I was learning seemed to be that the alternative is a more natural and therefore better way. It was also a cheaper way. Then again I thought to myself how could I be able to make a good decision on my own if I didn’t know much about the hospital birth. For this project what I wanted to do was learn a little bit more about the hospital birth because there are different aspects to everything. It is possible that the scenario described is very frequently occurring. With the hospital being the dominate practice of people in the United States there has to be a reason that people are still giving birth in hospitals. I wanted to investigate why and how birth was done. Episiotomy is also something that is frightening about the birthing process. A cut is made from the bottom of the vagina to the top of the anus.
I wanted to execute was going to Harlem Hospital and talking to doctors and nurses based off of the information that I retrieved. This website that I found had information broken down from C-Sections to Natural births. It also had a lot of information about cost, and in how many cases medicine was used. While looking at this information I did remember when the midwife who visited class said some of these websites lie. The information has to be near accurate however because it is supposed to be credible information for the public and the government. During the research I found out that in the year 2009 there were 1,719 births delivered. Out of the 1,719 births 13 percent of these births were induced by medicine which is less than the state wide 16 percent. 5 percent was attended by a midwife which is less than the 10 percent statewide. Then 67 percent of these births were vaginal births (also more than the state). Episiotomy had a small amount of the percentage in the vaginal births and epidural was used in almost half of these births. C-Section was 33 percent of the births, and 14 percent of the people who had a cesarean section in 2009 had a cesarean section before. 30 percent of the people who had a C-section were given epidurals which are less than the 40 percent who gave vaginal births. This evidence goes against the idea that epidurals help contribute to the amount of people who have C-sections. However more than 50 C-Section had spinal anesthesia compared to the 2 people who had a vaginal birth and had spinal anesthesia.
I went to Harlem Hospital with Jasper Deitzer, and we went on a Sunday night without calling ahead of time. Knowing that babies were kidnapped from there a few decades ago I figured it highly doubtful that we would be allowed to go up and this was confirmed by the not attentive desk manager. She told us that the only way we would be allowed to go up is if we called one of the head managers in the birthing center. She supplied us with a number and when that number was called that also led to another number, which lead to another number and after a while it became less likely that anyone would actually let us go up. That day we walked to the Bronx and found another hospital at about 730 pm on the same night. After walking across a bridge late on a night where we had school the next day the hope was they would let us up. According to the security guard if we were to call earlier in the day then we would have been able to get a staff member to tell us about the hospital and labor unit.
Two days after with no work done the idea was to try to get some interviews from anyone because going to a hospital was a lot harder than anyone would have expected. It takes a few days of preparation and many hospitals just don’t have it so that people can come and ask questions. The first few interviews were from Babies R’ Us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGqNiRWj_4k
The next interview was with potential parents:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKeEqRq9KX8
CHASED BY THE COPS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMJndw620lk
To top off some of the research I know a pediatrician who obviously is not an OB/ GYN but she is a very knowledgeable and well recognized pediatrician in New York City. I know her through her two children and I figured that she would know a lot more than a “common” person even if she didn’t go to school to be an obstetrician. At the beginning of the unit I asked her about her births and I also asked her about her point of view on C-Sections. She was very supportive of the idea of C-Sections and saw them as useful so I looked at this as an opportunity to get more “pro-hospital birth” information and it would also be from a doctor. Here’s my interview with Lori Rosello M.D.
My Email to her
Her Response
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