Counsequences of Stress on Children's Development

The stressor in which I chose to talk about is violence. I chose this topic because I have had to live with violence.  A lot of my older cousins were gang members and sold drugs.  My mother worked two jobs and so did my Aunts so we stayed at our grandparents house majority of the time.  I was exposed to a lot. I saw gang fights and drugs being cooked up and sold.  My father was absent and my brother's father soon passed.  My mother ended up re-marrying and that presented us with an abusive stepfather.  He never touched me or my brother but the physical and emotional abuse my mother endured really took a toll on me and my brother.  He was three years older than me so he moved out at the age of 18.  It took me longer, I didn’t move out until the age of 24.  I was working and making money but I refused to leave my mom until I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. I took refuge in sports but I couldn't play to my full potential because of the restless nights and the constant worry about the health and safety of my mom.  I wasn't very social in high school and didn't have many friends although people treated me as if I was popular.  I was very smart, dressed nicely, and was a gifted athlete. Many people said that I had pro potential in the sports that I played which were football and basketball.  Those things made me who I am today both good and bad.  I am still not very social but I love my wife and kids and cherish them like they are gold. 

I read this article which discussed violent men in Germany.  I don’t know why I chose it but I did.  Those men are forcibly removed from their homes if they are abusive to their partners. I wish that were the case when I was coming up, but since our home was in both my mother’s and stepmother’s name, he could not be removed. I also learned that 2 women a week are killed because of domestic violence in Germany.  That is so sad, I feel that if you have to abuse a woman than you don’t need her and should let her go.

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Breastfeeding

The public health topic that I chose is breastfeeding.  I chose this topic because I am fascinated by the beauty of it.  Honestly, I was against breastfeeding in the first birth of my child.  I didn’t really understand it nor did I try to listen to people talk about it, but coming up to the birth of my second child, my wife and I discussed it with our doctor and decided to try it. That didn’t go so well. My son never really latched on to the breast. We then turned to the breast pump. After a month, her breast seemed to stop producing milk, so we then had no choice other than to turn to formula.

Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing for the baby if the mother is healthy. The benefits of breastfeeding include; a strong bond between the baby and the mother, antibodies from breast milk which increases immunity, fewer allergies, more effective brain development, and fewer diarrhoeal diseases (Wainright, 2002).  According to Oddy (2004), breast-feeding also decreases the risks of many diseases that appear in childhood and adulthood, such as asthma, obesity, and heart disease.

Most American women are told that they should breastfeed up to six months. After researching about breast feeding in Mexico, I read that the length of breastfeeding is determined by the income and education of the mother. Mothers with low income and education often breastfeed for more than two years of age because they can’t afford the formula. Moms with a high education and income tend to breastfeed for only six months because they believe that the breast milk begins to lose its benefits because infants beginning to eat solid foods. 

Oddy, W. H. (2004). A review of the effects of breastfeeding on respiratory infections, atopy, and childhood asthma. Journal of Asthma, 41, 605-621.

U.S. Breast Feeding versus Other Countries. Retrieved November  12, 2011 from http://www.circleofmoms.com/welcome-to-circle-of-moms/us-breastfeeding-versus-other-countries-546424

Wainright, P. (2002). Dietary essential fatty acids and brain function: a developmental prospective on mechanisms, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 61(1):61-9.

Child Births

Kamrin’s birth

It was October 14^th, 2009.  We were at the Northwest Regional Medical Center in Clarksdale, MS.  This was also the birth place of my daughter and me.  It was around 12:00 noon.  My wife had just pushed out Kamrin, I was so excited.  Finally I had the son that I longed for, but something was wrong.  He was lifeless it seemed.  No crying, no motion, no breathing, this was momentarily but it seemed like forever.  The nurses rushed him to the incubator to clear out his airway, finally we heard that all too familiar sound.  He cried, his eyes, opened and he looked for the first time.  It was such a relief.  The birth of his sister wasn’t this complicated a year earlier.  She came out, I cut the cord, they gave her to her mom and her mom swiftly gave her to me. I held her with pure love and excitement, so when this happened with Kamrin, I was thrown completely off balance, but thanks to God everything was fine.

Australia

Birth in Australia is given in different ways as opposed to the traditional way here in the U.S., which is mostly given in a hospital. The country of Australia offers Birth Centre and home birth. In the Birth Centre a small team of midwives are involved in all phases of prenatal care, during pregnancy, and postnatal care. The midwives are mostly responsible for delivery, but obstetricians are available if needed.  The Birth Centre is setup like a home to give the birth a more natural feel.  They try to keep the intervention as minimal as possible.  They have bean bags, large double beds, and large baths.  There are about 2.5 percent of Australian births occurring in the Birth Centre.  Australia also does home births, even though only a small percent of births are done in the homes. A professional midwife is in the attendance.  It is usually the same one who will deliver the baby.  She also monitors the mother throughout the pregnancy.

http://www.huggies.com.au/childbirth/giving-birth/choice