Our world today has many different events and situations that exert undue stress on our children. Often, children's needs regarding dealing with these stressors are not met, resulting in long term and even permanent negative effects on their lives.
Someone very close to me experienced the stress of living in a country that was under military rule while he was a child. When the trucks or buses carrying soldiers arrived in his hometown, he would run to the highest floor of his house, close the shutters, and peek out, afraid of what would happen. He lived in Argentina during a time of political unrest and military control. One day, soldiers arrived, herded him, his mother, sister, and baby brother into a corner at gunpoint. They arrested his father and took him away. For months, his family did not know where his father was or even if he was still alive. After a long time, they were finally allowed limited contact with him in the detention center, until finally, his father was released. He was one of the lucky ones. The family relocated to the United States shortly thereafter, in an effort to provide a safer, more stable environment for the children and a better life for the family in general. To this day, he believes in having the tools necessary to protect one's home and family from harm, including but not limited to arming oneself. He is a strong supporter of our right to bear arms.
Children throughout the world are exposed to war, and are dramatically affected by it. In the words of Graça Machel, former First lady of Mozambique and South Africa: "War violates every right of a child – the right to life, the right to be with family and community, the right to health, the right to the development of the personality and the right to be nurtured and protected." (http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/issues/children/) As adults we need to recognize and understand how our actions impact the lives of the world's most precious resource: our children. While much has been done in an effort to address the needs of children affected by war and military conflicts, there is much more to be done. It further demonstrates that we all need to advocate for peaceful resolutions to conflicts, and avoid war that impacts all of us.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Breastfeeding
This week’s post will focus on one of the public health
measures that impacts children’s development worldwide. One area of concern
that would improve the health of many of our children on a global scale is
breastfeeding. It wasn’t until I took a class that addressed both the benefits
of breastfeeding and gave new moms some practical advice on how to accomplish
this as a new mother. My course this semester at Walden has also added some new
insight as to how important breastfeeding is to the health of our world’s children.
Breastfeeding is especially important to me because, as a first time mother to
a young son, I realized that it is the best choice for me, my son, and our
planet. Breastfeeding benefits everyone.
One benefit of breastfeeding, which has many facets, is the
health benefit for the infant. According to the World Health Organization
website, breastfeeding benefits infants by offering them protection from
infections: gastrointestinal infections, respiratory infections, and ear
infections to name a few. Breastfeeding provides optimal complete nutrition for
infants from birth through six months of age, and can provide half or more of a
child’s nutritional needs from six to twelve months. As the child grows older,
breastmilk can continue to provide a third of a child’s nutritional needs between
ages one and two. The World Health Organization goes on to say that “globally
in 2012, 162 million children under five were estimated to be stunted and
almost 100 million had low weight for height, mostly as a consequence of poor
feeding and repeated infections” (www.who.int).
Many of these problems could be prevented with more mothers breastfeeding their
children. Another staggering statistic the World Health Organization cites that
220,000 children’s lives could be saved every year if optimal breastfeeding,
appropriate complementary feeding practices were followed. Other health
benefits for infants are protection from childhood cancers, protection from
obesity, lowered risk of the infant developing asthma or allergies, enhancement
of vaccine effectiveness, and facilitation of proper dental and jaw
development. The list goes on and on.
Breastfeeding also benefits the mother in many ways as well.
Mothers will benefit from a decreased risk of breast, endometrial and ovarian
cancers, and a faster recovery from childbirth. Breastfeeding mothers also
enjoy a unique bond with their infant knowing they are providing for the infant’s
nutritional needs and delighting in knowing they are helping their baby grow. On
a financial note, breastfeeding can save families money because it is free;
there is no additional equipment to buy! Even if you decide to express breast milk
using a pump, the investment in a breast pump (usually about $250, now covered
by many insurance plans) is inexpensive compared to the cost of formula (about $1500
a year per child, sometimes more).
On an environmental note, breastfeeding has positive
environmental impacts as well. Because breast milk is produced on demand, there
is no packaging to throw away that will end up in our landfills. We would also
reduce greenhouse gases because we would reduce the amount of cow’s milk needed
for formula as well as save in fuel and shipping costs, thereby saving money and
helping our environment!
If you need more reasons to breastfeed, check out http://notmilk.com/101.html. It gives
one hundred and one reasons that support breastfeeding. I support breastfeeding
for all of these reasons, and if every child in the world was breastfeeding,
our children would reap the benefits worldwide.
References
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Childbirth in your life and around the world
My personal
experience with childbirth is a traumatic one. I will share the events
surrounding the birth of my son. I chose this experience because it is fresh in
my mind, and it also gives me hope, since my baby had a traumatic entrance into
the world, and now he is a healthy, happy child.
I
arrive at my obstetrician’s office for my 38 week appointment on a Tuesday afternoon. My ankles, legs,
and face are swollen; I can only fit into 2 pairs of shoes because of the
extensive swelling. My blood pressure is checked, and it is high. My doctor
advises me to stop working. I convince her to allow me to work a half day the
following day, so I can say goodbye to my students; she reluctantly agrees, and
writes me a doctor’s note. She informs me that it is unlikely my baby will be
born this week.
By Thursday I
have been keeping my feet up for the last few days, with minimal change in the
swelling. I am restless and uncomfortable. I begin feeling some contractions
during the afternoon, but attribute them to Braxton-Hicks contractions, which I
have been feeling regularly the last few weeks. Around 7 pm I notice they are becoming more
intense and seem to be evenly spaced. I consult the clock, and sure enough,
they are. When they reach about 10 minutes apart, I call my obstetrician for
advice. She advises me to come to the hospital. My membranes rupture shortly
before I leave and I notice they are heavily meconium stained. This is a very
bad sign. Throughout the next few hours,
the usual labor pains increase. I had been adamant about delivering my baby without
using any painkillers (especially an epidural- being numb freaks me out) and
what do I end up with? You guessed it- an epidural. My son is exhibiting signs
of being in serious distress, and as a result I am not allowed out of bed. His
heart rate begins to drop, and the obstetrician decides that she has seen
enough. She is concerned for the well being of my baby, and strongly advises me
to consent to an immediate cesarean section. I do, and my son is born at 3:59 AM on Friday
morning. There are no cries for what seems like an eternity. His initial APGAR
score is a 1. I am terrified. He is whisked off to the NICU, I am only allowed
to see him for a few seconds. The doctors there are able to get him breathing,
and his five-minute APGAR rises to a respectable 7. We are informed that he will need to spend at
least a week in the NICU, on intravenous antibiotics, due to his inhalation of
stool. They will be keeping him under observation to make sure there are no
more issues. There is also concern because his umbilical cord was wrapped
around his neck twice, and they are worried about how long he may have been
without oxygen. This new mom is incredibly afraid right now. My fears are
slightly calmed when I am finally allowed to see him, and he is beautiful! What
a little miracle. Then, he scares us even more at 24 hours old, when he has a
seizure, and another at 48 hours old. He is put on anti-convulsive medication,
and a week later, seizure-free, and having finished his antibiotics, he is
allowed to come home. Thankfully, today, at just under 5 months old, he is
healthy, growing well, and is being weaned off his medication, as his doctors
feel he no longer needs it. His scans were clear, and we will see what the
future holds. I credit my obstetrician for saving his life and possibly mine. I
feel that without the cesarean section, one or both of us may not be here
today.
From this
experience, I believe that the circumstances surrounding a birth can have
significant impact on child development. We believe my son’s response to the oxygen deprivation
and distress he experienced coming into this world was exhibited by the
seizures he had shortly after birth. There are no physical abnormalities on the
scans, nor were there any abnormalities on the brain wave test that was
administered. This experience delayed some of the mother-child bonding that
takes place after birth, since I was not permitted to hold him for about 3 days
after he was born. While I could touch and talk to him, it was definitely not
the same. Breastfeeding was also delayed because of this. We have also noticed
some increased muscle tone, especially in his arms, which is being monitored by
his doctors. Overall, we have not seen any developmental problems yet, and do
not anticipate any. Hopefully, his long term development will not be affected
by his birth experience.
After doing some research into how births happen
outside of the United States as part of an assignment for my course at Walden
University, I learned that many countries have vastly different approaches to
the event of childbirth. Take Germany, for instance; a country I chose because
of family ties there, both ancestral and current. In Germany, women see
midwives, not obstetricians, for their prenatal care. Midwives are so highly
respected and regarded in Germany that they must be present at every birth- it’s
the law. Doctors are optional, and called in only if there is a complication. One
German practice that I find appealing is that women who work full time are
secure in their position from the time they tell their employer they’re
expecting. They cannot be fired, and their position awaits them when and if
they decide to return to work. Women are permitted to stop working six weeks
prior to their due date and are barred from returning to work for eight weeks
after giving birth, all with full pay! This is a wonderful way to develop the
mother-child bond and ensure that breast feeding is well established, and that
mother and child have recovered well from the birth. Mothers are also permitted
to take up to three years of unpaid leave (with jobs guaranteed). I also
support Germany’s practice of keeping a list of accepted names that parents
must adhere to when naming their child. Their reasoning for this is to act in
the child’s best interests, by preventing potential ridicule of the child for
an incredibly unusual name. If parents choose a name not on the list, they must
give a compelling reason for an exception, and exceptions are granted on a case
by case basis. While I am not usually one that likes being told what to do, I
feel that in the United States, there has been an increase in parents choosing
names for their children that set them up for ridicule.
Information
obtained from:
http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/
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