Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

The one natural disaster that comes to mind when I think about children is Hurricane Katrina.  I met one of my very good friends just after this storm occurred, who at the time had a five year old son.  When Katrina struck they lived in Mississippi.  They had to stay in a shelter in order to be safe and have food and water to drink.  This unfortunately was traumatic in itself for her son.  They were in tight living quarters in a shelter and her son was not able to move around as freely as young children do.  There were struggles to get food and water as the supply was limited and so many people were all in one place trying to stay safe.  Unfortunately, her five year old son was hospitalized for dehydration and was admitted for two days.  I can only imagine what was going through this young child’s mind.  His home and all of his belonging were left behind. After the storm had passed and they were able to return to their home, they learned that a lot of their stuff had been destroyed by the high waters and rain, including their car and home.  For a child his sense of security and what he knew as safe had been torn away.  Shortly after hurricane Katrina they were relocated to Virginia due to military orders.  Whenever, I would go to their home my friend would show me or tell me about things that had been damaged during the storm.  There were several things that were valuable to her son that were either damaged, destroyed or lost during the hurricane.  His sense of security was threatened by the experiences he had from hurricane Katrina.  Still today, nearly eight years later and lots of therapy, this child does not have good experiences when it rains, he still worries and asks if it is going to flood.  He also is frightened quite easily by loud noises due to the loud thunder and wind noises he heard during the storm.  It is more than likely safe to say because of the experiences that this child has had dealing with the effects of a hurricane, he will handle preparing for a hurricane, differently than someone who has never actually experienced a natural disaster such as a hurricane.

            A major stressor that affect the children of Africa is hunger. The lack of rain, diminishing crops and high food prices make it hard for families to provide healthy food for their children (Save the Children, 2014a).  The lack of healthy food set the children up for poor growth and development and a weak immune system, therefore making them vulnerable to many diseases (Save the Children, 2014a).  Unfortunately, children of South Sudan are affected by Africa’s longest running civil war, where over 2 million people have died and four million have fled (Save the Children, 2014b).  Children are facing many challenges that include high infant mortality rates, low education and children are dealing with severe emotional and psychosocial needs because they have been forced to be soldiers of war and or have become orphaned (Save the Children, 2014b).  The children are faced with infectious diseases spreading because there is little access to clean water, sanitation, hygiene and they are without basic healthcare (Save the Children, 2014b).  

A recent survey found that for children under the age of five:

1. Over one in four children are underweight
2. Nearly one in three children are stunted (short and underdeveloped due to chronic malnutrition)
3. Nearly one in four children are wasted (suffered rapid loss of muscle and fat due to acute malnutrition) (Save the Children, 2014b)

Save the children is an organization that creates change for children in the United States and around the World (Save the Children, 2014b).  The organization is working to help children be reunited with their families, offering aid supplies, food, healthcare and psychosocial support for children to be able to deal with the trauma they have experienced(Save the Children, 2014b).  

Save the Children. (2014a). Fighting Hunger in Africa. Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.8197811/k.616B/Fighting_Hunger_in_Africa.htm

Save the Children. (2014b). South Sudan. Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150459/k.96D1/South_Sudan.htm

Child Development and Public Health

The public health topic I chose to write about is breastfeeding.  Breastfeeding was something I decided to give a try when my first son was born in 1995. I wasn’t sure if it would be something I could do, as I was attending college full time when I had him.  Luckily, there were pumps available that allowed me to express milk into bottles so his father and other caregivers were able to help feed him.  My son was fortunate to be solely breastfed for the first six months of his life and then solids and breast milk until he was a year old.  Since I was successful with breastfeeding my first son, I had a strong commitment to offer my other four children breast milk as well. Luckily, I was successful, however because my last two were twins nursing often presented a challenge in the beginning.  There were many nights and days that I cried as I didn’t think that I was going to be able to solely nurse them, like I did the other three.  I was often encouraged to give them formula, but I always declined.  I felt that the twins needed the breast milk as they were five weeks premature.  I wanted them to have the same milk that my other children had.  The thought of giving them formula made me cry.  I was strong and stuck with my desires of only breast milk and we successfully made it to sixteen months.  The motto I go by is Mother’s Milk Is Best!  I always encourage expecting moms to at least give breastfeeding a try,  as I once believed there was no way that I could successfully breastfeed.  Often times, when I interview with families to enroll their newborn in my family childcare program, they ask me if I have a problem with feeding their newborn breast milk.  This is something I do not have a problem with as I believe in supporting parents who want to breastfeed. I also provide an area where they are able to nurse their infants if they choose to while at my home.  Breastfeeding offers the infant and mother so many benefits. For the infant they have a better chance of not catching and infection or developing health issues such as diabetes, obesity and asthma (American Pregnancy Association, 2014).  Breastfeeding offers mothers a time to relax and bond with their little bundle of joy.  It may also help to reduce the risk of ovarian and breast cancer (American Pregnancy Association, 2014). More place these days offer moms places to breastfeed.

In China breastfeeding has declined.  Unfortunately, according to UNICEF China only twenty-eight percent of Chinese infants younger than 6 months are breast-fed exclusively (Tang, 2013).  The low numbers of those that breastfeed began in the 1970’s when infant formula was introduced.  Workplaces do not encourage breastfeeding and many infants are left with grandparents in the country while mom works in the city, therefore, powder formula must be used.  Moms want what is best for their infants and they are inspired by the many baby formula ads and the free samples. China has had many safety scares from commercially prepared milk, which has resulted in recalls. They are hoping this will help mothers and policy makers realize that breast is best (Tang, 2013). China has plans to try an increase breastfeeding over the next seven years. 

American Pregnancy Association. (2014). What’s In Breast Milk? Retrieved from http://americanpregnancy.org/firstyearoflife/whatsinbreastmilk.html

Tang, Didi. (2013, August 9). How China Plans To Raise Breastfeeding Rate 50 Percent In 7 Years. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/china-breastfeeding-rate_n_3744038.html

Childbirth In My LIfe and Around the World

Child birth I must say was and still is one of the most awesome and exciting experiences that I have experienced.  The birthing experience that I chose to write about is the birth of my fourth and fifth child.  Early in my pregnancy, I learned that I would be having twins.  It was a big shock for both my husband and myself.  The twins came into the world at 35 weeks, unfortunately, via cesarean section.  Up to minutes before they were delivered I insisted on not having a cesarean delivery.  The doctor that delivered the twins agreed that he would deliver them without cesarean section. However, due to the fact that one of them was breech, he could not guarantee that he wouldn’t have to deliver the first one and then the second one via cesarean section.  This brought great amount of fear into my mind.  There was no way that I wanted to endure two different types of deliveries. I insisted on an ultrasound, in order to see if the breech baby had possibly changed his position.  They rushed to quickly honor my wishes to do the ultrasound, unfortunately, he was still in the breech position.  Therefore, I made the decision to go forward with delivering via cesarean section.  The twins were born within minutes of each other both weighing 5 pounds 2 oz and they were the exact same length.  There were no complications during the birth.  The twins were both taken to the nursery immediately as they were only 35 weeks.  After much time had passed and I hadn’t seen the twins, I sent my husband to find out if I could see them.  They were only able to bring one of the twins to me as one was having minor issues with temperature stabilization and bradycardia. This landed him in the hospital for a week longer.  The minor issues that he endured did not affect his development. Fortunately, the hospital had a complementary room that I could stay in that was across the hall from the nursery.  I did not want to go home with just one twin.  Both twins ended up developing jaundice and had to be placed under the bilirubin lights, luckily they were still in the hospital and we didn’t have to go through the process of readmitting.  Staying at the hospital until the twins were released made it possible for me to breastfeed without having to supplement with formula.  I was very thankful that they had the complimentary room and that it was available, as I was released a week before they were. 

One of my best friends lives in Canada, though I wasn’t able to be with her when she delivered, I was able to hear about her birthing experience.  Her experience was similar to mine.  When she was ready to deliver she went to the hospital to deliver.  She did not have any complications. What I found from talking with her to be different, was the process of seeing a specialist during her pregnancy.  It takes a long time to get in with the obstetrician, therefore, she had to see her general doctor several times before seeing her obstetrician.  I also found it unique that they are allowed to take a year of maternity after having a baby.

A Note of Thanks and Support

 

Dear Colleagues,

I wanted to take a minute to THANK everyone for making my first experience at Walden University Outstanding!  Reading your post and feedback to my discussion board post and blogs has taught me a lot and provided me with deeper thoughts about the early childhood field.  It has been interesting to read about the different views and aspects of the field, that I am so passionate about.  I am sad that our eight weeks together has come to an end.  I hope that we will meet up again in future classes!  Good Luck to each and every one of you as you follow your heart and pursue your passion! 

Randee