Stress & Children's Development

This assignment was slightly difficult for me. We were asked to write about a time when we or someone we know experienced a stressful situation such as

• war
• poverty
• racism
• natural disaster
• isolation
• hunger
• noise
• chaos
• disease
• environmental pollution
• violence

and how we/they coped/survived the situation. Well, I can't personally think of anyone who has experienced any of these things as a child. As a child, I didn't experience of any these stressors. However, as an adult, I know the effects of these experiences all too well. But, if anyone comes to mind (or if my memory improves), I'll be sure to update this post.

The other half of the assignment was to research how some of these stressors are dealt with in other parts of the world. I chose to look at environmental pollution in China because they have high levels of pollution and I was curious about how it's all being handled. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported estimates that diseases triggered by indoor and outdoor air pollution kill 656,000 Chinese citizens each year, and polluted drinking water kills another 95,600. Even with China having a large population, that's a large number of people dying each year. The air in China can actually be deadly. The damaging air pollutants include sulfur dioxide, particulate matter—a mixture of extremely small particles and water droplets—ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. China accounts for roughly one-third of the global total for these pollutants. It is amazing that the air quality is so bad, yet their population is so large. Why isn’t anyone doing anything about this problem? It is estimated that air pollution causes approximately 2 million premature deaths worldwide. In the United States, it is estimated that 41,200 premature deaths are from toxic air pollutants. Something clearly has to change!!

Not only do they have to worry about air pollution, they also have to deal with water pollution. Unfortunately, after all that I read, I didn’t see any information on how they plan to fix their pollution problems. These pollutants are seriously harmful to children and can have lasting effects. I wonder if they have a “Go Green” initiative in China…

For more information, check out the following...

• http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/26china.html
• http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8416
• http://www.benthamscience.com/open/toenvirj/articles/V002/1TOENVIRSJ.pdf
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070709-china-pollution.html

Child Development & Public Health

For this week’s assignment, we were asked to research different public health measures that impact children’s development all over the world. I chose to research sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). I chose this area of concern because there is so much uncertainty when it comes to this issue. Doctors and researchers are still unsure of the exact cause of SIDS but they are trying many different ways to prevent it from occurring.  

SIDS is the unexpected, sudden death of a child under the age of 1 in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death. In the United States, thousands of babies die each year. In looking at the data, the US has the highest SIDS rates worldwide. Babies between the ages of 2-4 months are most likely to die from SIDS. Most of these occur during the winter months, especially in January. I did not see a reason why this is, but I’m assuming it is because parents are more likely to have their babies under thick covers to keep them warm. It is known that politically, socially, economically marginalized, and often indigenous groups around the world experience significantly higher SIDS rates. Again, I’m assuming that this is due to the lack of prenatal care.

In Japanese, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, English, and Israeli populations, SIDS rates appear to be the lowest. The caregivers in these countries put their infants to sleep in the supine (lying on the back) position and most of the mothers breastfeed.

There are organizations (national and worldwide) currently trying to determine a cause for SIDS. However, with autopsy’s being so inconclusive, this is a difficult task. These organizations do offer suggestions on how to prevent SIDS from happening, such as placing an infant on their back while sleeping instead of on their stomach.

Learning about SIDS will help me in the future because I will know what not to do in order to keep my children out of harm’s way. I will also be able to share this information with other parents.

For more information, please visit

www.sids.org

http://www.ispid.org/

Birth Practices in the Netherlands

The second part of this week’s assignment was to research birthing practices in other countries. While searching on Google, I found some interesting information on the birthing experience in the Netherlands. The women there are spoiled compared to pregnant women here in the United States, in my opinion.

Before I walk you through a birthing experience, I thought I would share that everyone living there has health insurance because it is MANDATORY. That by itself is fascinating.

Ok, there are some differences between the birthing process here in America versus the Netherlands. A notable one is the fact that certified midwives guide almost all pregnancies. An obstetrician is only called if there is a problem during the pregnancy or delivery. The midwife performs all checkups and provides you with information on the delivery. Prenatal tests are only given if the mother has a health risk. An ultrasound is part of the basic health insurance package and is done at 20 weeks.

Along with a midwife, each mother-to-be has a doula. The doula is an experienced, non-medical assistant who provides physical, emotional, and informed choice support in prenatal care and childbirth. I read somewhere that after the child is born, mother and baby are allowed to return home (if there were no complications) and then the maternity home care begins. I’m not sure if this is the same as a doula, but this person comes into your home and takes care of you and your newborn baby. She also cleans your home, does the cooking, takes care of your other children, and gives you parenting lessons. She sounds like a God send! Her services are all covered by your insurance!

Majority of births in the Netherlands take place in the home, without anesthesiology, and are supervised by the midwife. A mother is only sent to the hospital if there are complications with the delivery.

With majority of the births taking place in the home, it was interesting to find out that their infant mortality rate is lower than here in the United States. We are supposed to be a country that is more advanced than everyone, yet our infant mortality rate is high. Why is that? What are we doing wrong or not doing? I had a discussion with my Granny about this topic because I was just shocked. How come other countries are able to provide healthcare to all of their citizens? Why are pregnant women in other countries treated like princesses (for lack of a better word), but here it has a negative view? These are just some thoughts I had.

If you want to read the full story of the Dutch woman, check out this site:

http://www.ahd.tudelft.nl/~jerry/jw2/Suzie/Birth_in_Holland.html

For some other information, visit these sites:

http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/

http://www.midwiferytoday.com/enews/enews0241.asp (scroll down to the section titled “Birth Rituals”…very interesting stuff)

Personal Birthing Experience

For our first assignment, we were asked to share information about a personal birthing experience. Well, this was a difficult assignment for me. 1 - I do not have any children of my own; and 2 - I have never seen a live birth (I'm assuming watching Discovery Health doesn't count). So, I will share the little I know about my own birth.

My mother shared with me that she was in labor for 19 1/2 hours. They told her that if I didn't come within the next hour, they were going to have to perform a C-section. She said that I popped out 10 minutes later. At 9:39 pm on December 24, 1982, I was born. Unfortunately, that is all I know. Hopefully, she will share more information with me so that I may update you. So, I will keep you posted....

Class #2

Hello all!!!

I am in Week 1 of class #2. This class is all about child development. Although it is the first week, I am loving it already!!

So for the next 8 weeks, I will be sharing information related to child development from conception to age 8. This should be some interesting information. Stay tuned...