Homework 35- Other peoples perspectives (1)

As I interviewed people from my peer group, I noticed a lot of them, at least the ones from outside the course, didn't think a lot about birth. Which I expected because before we started the unit I didn't think about it either.
In interviews with girls, one of the biggest worries that came up was the pain that a woman goes through during child birth. One interesting insight I got from my friend Christina was, "I know it's going to hurt, every girl or woman does, but it is only natural to feel that pain, birth is a natural thing so it should be done naturally. I know it will probably different when I'm actually going through it though." What I found interesting was the last of that quote. It's true, how can we really say a lot about child birth and how it should be done when we haven't gone through it. I can stand up and say "C-sections aren't the natural way to give birth, so they shouldn't be done." But I also haven't to go through the immense pain associated with giving birth, so what gives me the right to say that? Maybe I don't have the right to.
A thought provoking, yet simple question a couple of the people had was "Who should be in the room at the time of birth?" All of us agreed upon the mother (obviously) and the father, because they created this soon to be child. We also agreed that there should be somebody assisting the mother, such as a doctor. Then the divide came after that, friends? Family? Neither? My friend Danny said, "It should be up to the mother to decide who is in that room with her. It is her child so she can be the only one to say for sure. It's like as I am pro-choice, that mother to be has the CHOICE to have an abortion or not. Why? Because its her child." I agreed with him. Under normal circumstances it isn't fair to have somebody tell you who is allowed to watch YOU give birth.
Based on the interviews I conducted people in my age group don't have a very clear idea of birth, or know much about it in general. The most experience that they/we have with it is televisions portrayal or with the births of family members. But I also think that this subject doesn't really affect many people in my age group, as most people in our society don't have children in their 20's and 30's. It isn't like food, which everyone has to eat and illness, which everyone has to experience.