Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Chaos

When I was in first grade, my father left my family.  My life became very chaotic because he decided to no longer provide for our family.  Our electricity was turned off and we were evicted from our home.  We were forced to move in with my grandparents.

While living with my grandparents, my grandmother made sure my sister and I came home from school safely.  Since my mother was forced to find a job to support herself and two children, she was no able to be home with my sister and I.  My grandmother compensated for the absence of my father.  My grandfather also compensated for the absence of my father by being a consistent male figure in my life.

Grandparents high in near-parental roles use coping strategies to a greater degree than did those who considered themselves low in this role.  The near- parental -role grandparents reported using problem-focused strategies and dealing with the problems causing the stress head-on with a plan of action.  They rely on their faith to make something good out of the situation.

http://go.gategroup.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ps/i.do?

Chaos may interfere with development and sustainability of proximal processes because it shortens their duration and increases interruptions, rendering exchanges of energy between the developing child and her or his surroundings less predictable.  Chaos may also lower the intensity of proximal processes, given stress and fatigue in parents and other caregivers who must also contend with chaos.  Chaotic living conditions might also interfere with the development of competency, the belief that one is an effective agent in coping with one's surroundings.  Unpredictable, nonroutine, inconsistent, and noncontingent physical and social surroundings can interfere with a sense of mastery and lead to helplessness in the developing person.

www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3psygs/05PSY210F/Evans.pdf

Africa Recovery

A troubled decade for Africa's children

Over a decade after world leaders gathered at the 1990 World Summit for Children to set ambitious targets for improvements in child health and welfare, life for tens of millions of Africa's youngest and most vulnerable inhabitants remains difficult, dangerous and, all too often, tragically short.  Despite the unprecedented global prosperity of the 1990s, and modest advances for children in some African countries, children in sub-Saharan Africa are more likely to be ill, less likely to be in school and far more likely to die before the age of five than children in any other region.  Trapped in a downward spiral of war, disease and deepening poverty, African children and their parents were, by some measures, worse off at the end of the decade than they were at the beginning.

Not all of the news is bad.  Primary school enrollment in Africa rose from 54 percent in 1990 to 60 percent in 1998.  Immunization against three common killers- diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus -- stands at 72 percent of children worldwide, but actually declined in Africa during the 1990s to just 46 percent of African children inoculated.  The slippage has come despite offsetting progress in 13 African countries which have achieved the target of 80 percent coverage.  Measles, another ancient scourge, has declined by nearly two thirds globally over the past decade but remains among the top five killers of African children today.  A 1998 UNICEF study found that barely half of African children were immunized against the disease despite the low cost and effectiveness of the vaccine.
In Mali and other countries, government and civil society have forged new alliances to challenge the spread of HIV/AIDS and other diseases, strengthen health and education systems, open up the political process and strengthen transparency and accountability in budgeting and governance.  The efforts of individual countries were reinforced by the adoption of an African Common Position by governments and NGOs at the Pan-African Forum on Children in Cairo last year.  The statement affirmed children's rights to health, education and peace and declared that "concerns of children and youth of Africa must be at the centre of the global agenda."
www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/afrec/vol16no1/161child.htm

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Child Development and Public Health

Breastfeeding

Health Benefits to Babies Who Breastfeed

• Children receive the most complete and optimal mix of nutrients & antibodies
• The varying composition of breastmilk keeps pace with the infant's individual growth and changing nutritional needs
• Have fewer incidences of vomiting and diarrhea in the US
• Protection against gastroenteritis, necrotizing entercolitis
• Reduced risk of chronic constipation, colic, and other stomach upsets
• Reduced risk of childhood diabetes
• Protection against ear infections, respiratory illnesses, pneumonia, bronchitis, kidney infections, septicemia (blood poisoning)
• Protection against allergies, asthma, eczema, and severity of allergic disease
• Reduced risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome)
• Protection against meningitis, botulism, childhood lymphoma, crohn's disease and ulcerative entercolits
• Decreased risk of tooth decay (cavities)
• Nursing promotes facial structure development, enhanced speech, straighter teeth and enhances vision
• Breastfed infants develop higher IQ's and have improved brain and nervous system development
• Reduced risk of heart disease later in life
• Increased bone density
• Breastfeeding plays an important role in the emotional and spiritual development of babies
• Breastfed babies enjoy a special warm bonding and emotional relationship with their mothers
• Antibody response to vaccines are higher
• Are hospitalized ten times less than formula fed infants in the first year of life
• The colostrum (first milk) coats the GI tract, preventing harmful bacteria and allergy-triggering protein molecules from crossing into baby's blood
• Decreased risk for vitamin E and Iron deficiency anemia
• Decreased risk for acute appedictis, rheumatoid arthritis, inguinal hernia, pyloric stenosis
• There are factors in human milk that destroy E coli, salmonella, shigella, streptococcus, pneumococcus..... and many others
• Less risk of childhood obesity

Health Benefits to Moms Who Breastfeed

• Reduced risk of breast, ovarian, cervical, and endometrial cancers
• Reduced risk of anemia
• Protection against osteoporosis and hip fracture later in life
• Reduced risk of mortality for women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has been associated with total time of lactation
• Helps the mother's body return to its pre-pregnancy state faster
• Helps delay return of fertility and to space subsequent pregnancies
• Develops a special emotional relationship and bonding with her child
• Breastmilk is free - reducing or eliminating cost of formula (in the thousands of dollars/ per year)
• Breastfed babies are sick less
• Moms miss less time from work due to child related illness
• Helps the uterus contract after birth to control postpartum bleeding

www.motheringfromthe heart.com/Benefits.htm

Breastfeeding in other countries

Afghanistan

State:  Kabul

A physician stated that breastfeeding is a common practice among Afghan mothers.  As Muslims, they are required to have all parts of their bodies covered from Islam.  A mother can not nurse her baby in front of a male family member.  Doctors want to increase mother day care and feeding centers in public areas where mother is able to feed her baby in a public area.

Africa

A physician in Africa explains that it is the only culturally accepted mode of feeding babies, especially in Nigeria for the first two years of life.  It is encouraged to breastfeed your baby at any point in time be it in the open/public or in isolation.  Africans, especially the Yoruba's, believe it is an ingredient of promotion of closeness to mothers and a concept of bringing the mother and child closer to one another.  The sound and nutritionally unique concept was discarded secondary to acculturational influence of western education and introduction of feeding formula.

www.007b.com/public-breastfeeding-world.php

For the future, I would like to inform mothers about the benefits of nursing.  The health department has a program called healthy families.  I am interested in participating in the healthy families program or creating a similar program to inform parents about the benefits of breastfeeding.  Mothers need support when breastfeeding.  For some mothers, breastfeeding comes naturally.  For other mothers, breastfeeding is very difficult.  I would like to be a source to provide resources to mothers who are nursing.

"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-

Childbirth - In Your Life and Around the World

My second child was the only one of four that did not have to be induced.  I was able to use several techniques to manage my labor pain.  I chose a mid-wife in the hospital setting.  The private labor room was cozy unlike the traditional hospital room. 

My labor with my second child was the only experience I had with natural labor.  I went into labor with her at 7 pm.  My husband and I arrived at the hospital at 9 pm.  My mother and sister arrived shortly after I was set up in the labor room.  It was very special to have my mother, my sister and my husband in the room with me.  Since I was not induced, I was able to walk, use the Jacuzzi and medication for labor pains.  She was born at 3:15 am. 

The birth process is imperative to child development.  If labor lasts too long, the baby can be deprived of oxygen which can cause problems that affect development.  If the baby is not in the proper position, the baby may experience distress where the child's development is inhibited.  The place where the birth takes place needs to be relaxing and the mother needs to be supported by the father to promote healthy child development.

I love the example of the birth in Ghana presented in our course.  The mother labored in a corner.  She was curled up in a ball on her side.  That position was comfortable for her.  The midwife sat in the corner quietly until the woman sat up in the squatting position.  During the birth, it was silent.  When the baby was born, there was no crying because the birth was gentle.

Women in labor should not be held to one way of giving birth.  Society needs to be open to the woman giving birth in surrounding that are most comfortable for her.  Educators can use the birthing experience to be a more understanding teacher.  There is more than one way to reach and learn.  We need to learn to respect it instead of trying to change it.
"It takes a village to raise a child." -African Proverb-