South African Women’s Experience of Giving Birth: Guilt, Shame, Resilience, and Culture Related to the ‘Goddess Myth’

Mothers-to-beMothers-to-be have much information pertaining to giving birth which can be at home or in a hospital context. The majority of women worldwide give birth using some form of pain medication. In South Africa over 25% of women have caesarean sections in public hospitals and 75% in private facilities. However, in most of the literature natural birthNatural birth is encouraged as being best for baby and mother. A natural birth emphasises birth with no pain medication. Many women become invested in the thought of a natural birthNatural birth and, if they do not succeed in giving birth without pain medication, feel guilt and shameShame. The same occurs if women are unable to breastfeed. This is due to the pressure of the ‘Goddess Myth’; that is, a woman should be able to have a natural vaginal birth and then nurture her offspring as ‘breast is best’. This hermeneutic phenomenological research uses narrative inquiry where three mothers (1 Black, 1 White, and 1 Indian) recount their birth stories which are analysed using narrative data analysis underpinned by salutogenesis. Their personal accounts offer an in-depth view of their experiences of childbirth.