Person #1:
Emotionally the pregnancy made me anxious. Physically I was exhausted and frustrated, being that my mobility was limited and I needed assistance with many things. I was also unable to do things that I normally would, like clean, since the chemicals from the products could potentially hard the baby. As a pregnant woman I did many things as I prepared for birth. The main thing that was different about my life was my diet. There were so many things that I had to change about it. I also began eating in smaller portions for some reason. The pregnancy process was made much easier by the support that I had from my family, especially my husband. He made life easier for me whenever possible and made the process much less stressful overall. My doctor also helped a great deal, clearing up any confusion and answering any questions that we had.
Pregnancy interests me a great deal. Like most people, I hope to have a family and kids one day. Understanding the situation above, it makes me wonder how this process would have been for her had she not had the assistance that she did. I imagine that she would not have been in such a good mood as often. Generally women, especially pregnant women, tend to be moody. Had her husband not been there to satisfy her needs when possible, then she would have likely been more angry and more often.
Person #2
It made me gain weight, obviously, and I became depressed. I have always been someone that cares a lot about my appearance and with this weight and appearance I had very low self esteem, even though I knew it was baby weight. I also became lonely. Although I had support from others I was still lonely at times. I used a lot of lotion on my stomach to prevent stretch marks and this was a big deal to me since I care so much about my appearance. My mother made the process easier as a supportive role model. She helped me and took lots of stress away by just being there for me. She had gone through the process several times herself which made her advice, opinions, and tips more valuable and reliable to me. Pain is the main feeling that comes back to me when I remember giving birth, but I also remember feeling the joy in realizing that all the pain is worth it once the baby is born.
It confuses me how she can feel lonely when she has support from her mother. She seemed extremely appreciative of her mother's presence when talking, so I would assume that her mother was there a lot of the time. The only thing that I can imagine is if the few times her mother was not there that she was basically entirely alone. It is possible that culture was not very supportive of her situation, possibly based on age, so she did not have much support from others aside from her mother.
Person #3:
Growing up and in my youth I was always one that enjoyed parties. I would party with my friends and family all of the time. This even applied as I married my wife. At this time she had three other kids and I had none. Even so, we still found time to have our fun. When she got pregnant, this changed. There was no longer time for these things. I was always with my wife. The main reason for having the baby must be that I wanted my own. Although I had her kids and I loved and treated them as I would my own, it was not the same. While pregnant, I got my wife all of her cravings no matter how unreasonable some of them may have been. I am generally a calm person and this is how I was throughout the pregnancy, despite the fact that it was my first child.
The idea of the cravings is very intriguing to me. As a male I will never be able to fully understand the myth about pregnant women and their cravings, however in my experiences it is merely a desire, a want. Supposedly you are not supposed to deny pregnant women their cravings, however it sounds to me like a way for the women to get what they want. According to women fitness.net, denying a woman their cravings will lead to the baby having fluid ooze from their ears. This sounds completely ridiculous and I do not believe it. Doing further research I found information supporting the idea to give them what they want however they fail to provide reason. This is one aspect about pregnancy that I have always been very in the dark about, yet very interested. It seems to just be an excuse to spoil the woman, and of course she takes advantage.
The topic that I am most interested in exploring would be myths about birth and how certain diets can affect the mother and/or the baby
