Consequences of Stress on Children's development

Thankful I have never struggled with hunger, racism, or many of the other stressors that often affect children’s development today. As a child I was raised in poverty. My parents had a few large gardens and we raised chickens and hen; therefore, we always had vegetables and meat to eat. I was often teased because I didn’t have many clothes to wear. I was also raised as a Pentecostal, so it really didn’t help that the clothes that I did wear were large and covered the majority of my body. I was content however because I knew that I was well taken care of. Of course there were always things that I wanted but I always had what I needed to survive.

As an adult, I have two mixed children. I feel that as a result of them being mixed they have gone thru social acceptance issues. At times I feel like they don’t know if how they are behaving or what they are doing is accepted with the set of people they are with. My family is white and their dad’s family is black. When they are at their dad’s I feel like they are judged and at times they are told, “Oh that is a white thing.”  Things are often said in a joking manner however I feel that it affect them socially. Things such as, “He can’t throw a ball because he is white.” I know that it hurt my son when things are said to him or about him like this. I fear that it will have a negative impact on him.  

            I light of stressors on children I researched Earthquakes in Asia. I have a friend that lives in Asia on a mission’s tour. She has been there for four years and plans to be there for many years to come. When they came to our church recently she told us about the large amount of earthquakes in Asia. For instance just four days ago they had one of the largest earthquakes since 2010 in Asia. This 7.7-magnitude earthquake killed 230 people. This past July they also had one that killed 95 people. I can imagine the negative impact of this may have on a child. I can’t imagine living in fear of an earthquake.

     

 

Deadliest earthquakes in Asia since 2010 . (2013, Septemeber ). Retrieved from South China Morning Post-Asia: http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1317686/deadliest-earthquakes-asia-2010

 

Breastfeeding My personal Experience!

Personally I was never really able to successfully breast feed my children. I tried really hard with my second child because I did a lot of research on the positive health affects from breastfeeding.  As we all know breastfeed does not only protect your infant against many common illnesses it helps them become stronger. With my first child all I could think about was how painful breastfeeding was. I felt very uncomfortable and gave up easily. With my second child I breastfeed for about two months. I found that working, going to school, and taking care of two children wasn't easy. I couldn't find the time to pump and never had enough to supply for the daycare to feed my child. I ended up having to take a lot of time off of work to try to make sure she was fed. I finally gave up because it seemed like to big of a hassle.

   

Breastfeeding in Africa

In Africa statstics state that 95% of infants are breastfeed. There are many reasons that they have such a high amount of breastfeed children in Africa. Poverty bounds most families into breastfeeding. Breastfeeding in public is common in Africa seeing as to how they go topless while doing chores. "Breastfeeding is said to be a part of tradition in Africa." (Aguayo, 2007) I was a little shocked about how woman just breastfeed anywhere in Africa. I am sure I shouldn't have been because they do typically go topless. I guess I just felt that breastfeeding was a personal experience a type of bond between mother and child. If you are feeding out in public it seems like it becomes a public bond. I feel like this information helps me understand why some people from Africa do the things that they do. I think that it helped me to relate their traditional values within breastfeeding as well. 

Aguayo V, C. D. (2007). PROTECTING BREASTFEEDING. Retrieved from unicef: http://www.unicef.org/wcaro/WCARO_Pub_Breastfeeding.pdf

My personal Birthing Experience

 My Birthing Experience

My two personal birthing experiences have been different. I had my daughter right after high school. I was 18 years old. I had two jobs trying to make ends meet. My parents were gracious enough to let me live with them. I worked in childcare and only made minimum wage. I was constantly picking up children, bending, and lifting object to heavy. I started dilating months early. I was dilated to a 4 for two weeks. I had chosen to have a midwife verses a doctor. I wanted to have a couch per say, seeing as to how I was doing this all on my own. The midwife finally broke my water two weeks before my due date. On April 15, 2005, my daughter’s heart rate went down and she stopped moving. My midwife broke my water at 9:00 in the morning. At 12:30 I started feeling the contraction and was dilated to a 6. I immediately wanted an epidural. I had initially wanted a water birth; however, the reality of labor pains got to me. I have to say having a midwife was a great experience. She couched me thru the whole birth. She tried different things such as a ball, the tub, various exercises, and was there thru my tears. I only pushed for twenty minutes and my angel was finally born at 5:30 pm. I also had a wonderful support system with me; my mom, dad, and sister stood by to watch the whole experience. Jaydyn Ellis was a healthy 6 pounds 15 ounce, 19 ½ inches long, and beautiful. They let me pull her out and my sister cut the umbilical cord. I thought that this was a pretty amazing experience. I was able to hold her for about 5 minutes before they took her to clean her up. The way they had set up the hospital room my daughter never left the room during delivery. They washed her, did test, and let the family take turns holding her. After I was all cleaned up they let me hold my baby.

 

My second birthing experience was a horse of a different color. I had a wonderful man that stood by the whole pregnancy and birth. My whole life setting was different. I graduated with my associates’ degree in Early Childhood when I was 5 months pregnant. I was an instructional assistant with the more at four programs. I had a great pregnancy up until the very end. My stubborn son would not turn in position for me to give birth. The doctor tried to turn my son two times prior to my due date. I was informed that I would have to have a c section. I was already dilated to a 4 two weeks prior to my due date. So on October 19^th, 2009 I was scheduled my C-section. This was a very uncomfortable experience for me. I was scared out of my mind. The doctors reassured me that I would not feel them cut me open. For some reason I just had this anxiety about the procedure. Questions of how I would feel, the pain, the experience all on its own. At 5:00 am prepped me and my fiancé for the procedure. My family was happily awaiting the birth of our son. At 5:20 am they wheeled me back to start the procedure. I immediately became faint and passed out. They started new medications in my IV. I came back to and the doctor talked me thru the procedure. Brandon Caldwell Jr. was born at 5:25 am. Getting my son out only took 5 minutes. I was astonished at that. They held him against my cheek for a few seconds and then started washing him off. I had told my fiancé to make sure that he didn’t leave my son’s side. I have always been scared about mix ups and children being stolen from the hospital. My fiancé brought my son out and let the family see out wonderful creation. I didn’t come out of recovery until 3:30 that afternoon. I have to say that the after effects of a C-section are way worse than the after effect of vaginal delivery. I could barely move for days. I had to stay in the hospital for four days. 

 

 

When I was born my mother had cervical cancer. The doctors told her to abort me. They said that having me would be harmful to both her and me. She also had diabetes. My mother is a strong believer in God and believed that he had his hand what was going on. The doctors tried to discourage her. They said that I wouldn’t be healthy; I would be mentally disabled, and a burden on her. She told them no and trusted God and prayed that his will be done. When my mother had me she chose to have no pain medication. I can’t even imagine what that would be like. She went thru a 12 hour delivery. I was turned and really fat, they had a really hard time getting me out. I weighed 10 pounds 9 ounces. My arm was hurt when I came out. It got caught and turned back during delivery. They had to do an immediate hysterectomy on my mom. To God be the glory I was healthy and didn’t have any mental disabilities. 

 

I chose to look into the birthing experience in the Netherlands. I was surprised to find that half of expecting mothers choose to deliver within their home. When a woman finds out she is pregnant she is referred to a midwife. I was also surprised to find that an epidural is rarely given. The only way you get an epidural is by having a hospital delivery during the anesthesiologist’s hours. All expectant mothers are required to get a Kraampakket which is a pack of medical supplies that would be needed for a home delivery. If you have a baby in the hospital you typically go home within two hours. What I found to be most surprising was the Dutch System Kraamhulp. “Kraamhulp is a maternity home care system; a nurse comes into your home for 7 days. The nurse provides medical services, cleans your home, cooks, and instructs you on basic parenting skills. This is a part of coverage by insurance.” (Schalken, 2013) I think that this would be a very good thing to do in the US. There are so many parents that really need one on one parent’s instructions. The whole birthing experience made me thankful for such amazing doctor care. I felt a little spoiled but also blessed.

References

Schalken, L. (2013, 09). Birth Customs Around the World. Retrieved from Parents: http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=2