Stress and Child development

Poverty

I had a very close friend who grew up in poverty. She came from a family of 12 where she was the youngest. She never received new clothes or anything new. Everything she owned was handed down from one of her siblings or someone else. As for food, her family always had bread and rice and they were never allowed to have seconds. My friend would always spend the night at my house whenever possible. When we would eat dinner, she always over ate and ate quickly. Sometimes I would catch her just staring out in space. I remember when we were in middle school, my friend's grades were very poor. Also, she was dating a grown married man who was always buying her things. When I think back, I now realize that it was child abuse, but I’m sure as a young neglected teenager she did not look at it that ways because for the first time in her life someone was paying attention doing things for her.

I believe poverty, neglect, and chaos pushed my friend toward a early path of destruction filled with sex, alcohol and drugs, and prison and as a result of this she never developed properly cognitively or emotionally/socially.  

The region that I chose was Africa. Africa has some of the poorest countries in the world. As a result, famines and diseases are killing many of the children and families. Part of the reason for poverty in Africa is due to poor land,  a poor supply of natural resources, and an inadequate government.

  

http://world-poverty.org/povertyinafrica.aspx

Child Development and Public Health

Malnutrition is the topic that I chose to research. Malnutrition is when a person does not consume enough food or enough of the right foods in order for the body to receive an adequate of amount of nutrients. Some of the causes of malnutrition consist of poverty and uneducated parents and some of the symptoms are respiratory problems, depression, immune problems, fatigue, irritability, and many more.

As an educator, nutrition and malnutrition is very important to me because I know that in order for students to develop properly and be successful in class, they need to have a balance diet and some of them are not receiving a well balanced diet. Additionally, many of these children do not consume fruit or vegetables unless they are at school. They are consuming too many sweets and processed foods. They are also drinking too many soft drinks and not enough water. As a result, students are not getting the nutrients that they need to grow and develop adequately. Furthermore, school-aged children are unable to think quickly or critically, pay attention, or concentrate in class.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 4 million children die annually and over half of the deaths are due to malnutrition. Malnutrition is not only a major issue for Africa, but for many third world countries and it does not have to be. Some of the causes of malnutrition come from poverty and a lack of some of the basic necessities. Malnutrition can be resolved if countries, families, and communities would work together.

All of the information that I learned was very informative. This information will be valuable to me when I open my own childcare facility. I will be more conscious of the types of foods that I will offer the children that are in my care. Lastly, I plan to educate my children's parents on benefits of a good nutriental diet in addition to the negative effects of a poor diet.

http://www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/subjindx/113hung.htm

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1405

Childbirth in My Life and in Africa

I chose to write about my own birthing experience because it was a very a unique experience.
When I gave birth to my 18 year old daughter, it was a very traumatic experience for me. My pregnancy was a difficult one because I was sick the entire time. I was diagnosed with something call hyperemesis which caused me to vomit daily to point of dehydration. Therefore, I spent a great deal of time in and out of the hospital and emergency room. Then, about 8 months into my pregnancy I was admitted into the hospital while attending one of my weekly check-ups. It was determined that I had developed a condition called toxemia which caused my head to hurt, my feet to swell, and my blood pressure to rise at an alarming rate. So shortly after being admitted to the hospital, I was told that I would be having an emergency C-section the next morning. As a result, my daughter was delivered at 32 weeks. She weighed 3 lbs. and 1 oz and had to stay in the hospital for 8 weeks. Leaving my baby in the hospital was one of the hardest things that I ever had to do. However, some nights I would spend the night and when I could not spend the night her father or someone else in my family would. Every morning and for every feedings her father and I would be there to feed and talk to her so that she could hear our voices and bond with us. The day she came home was the happiest day of our lives. My daughter is currently very healthy and has never had any medical problems other than her premature birth. My story is proof that premature babies can grow to be healthy and normal and have a successful life when put in a stable, loving, and supportive environment. My daughter has been successful at everything she set out to do because she has always had a lot of family support. For example, she walked and talked early, was singing songs by memory by age two, won a couple of beauty pageants at age three, and reading at age four. I can go on and on with her accomplishments to date, but I will stop here. I just wanted to reiterate that premature children can be successful depending on the severity of their condition at birth, their environment, and their support system.
　
On the other hand, in some parts of Africa, premature babies are not so successful. Many of them are born to parents who live in unhealthy and unstable conditions. Furthermore, many of them are not even born in a hospital or healthcare setting. According to the World Health Organization, 17.5 percent of births are premature with a low survival rate due to the lack of effective care (U.S. Global Health Policy, 2010). I consider myself very fortunate to have had my child in a country and hospital that has some of the best doctors who provide good, quality care. If it weren’t for the high tech equipment, machines, and doctors I know my child would not have survived. My daughter’s weight dropped to 2lbs before she eventually went up to 4lbs. Therefore, I know without have effective care she would not have survived.

 

http://globalhealth.kff.org/Daily-Reports/2010/January/05/GH-010510-Preterm-Births.aspx