Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

For the most part I would say I had a pretty stress free childhood.  It was just my mom and I until I was seven years old and my mom married my stepdad.  My stepdad was a wonderful person but he was an alcoholic.  He was a very functional alcoholic.  He always held a good job, took care of the family and was never violent.  When he would drink he would get very annoying and embarrassing.  He would drink every day after work and every day he wasn’t working.  It wasn’t like he would drink a couple of beers; he would drink to get drunk.  This became a stressor for me, as I got older because I was embarrassed by his behavior.  I was afraid he might come to my games drunk or do something embarrassing in front of my friends.  My stepdad’s alcoholism caused me to avoid him and have disgust towards him.  His alcoholism created a barrier between us and negatively affected our relationship.  I also saw my mom struggle with his alcoholism and keeping their marriage together.  Having this experience when I was growing up made me realize two things:  I knew I would never let alcohol control my life and I would never marry someone with an alcohol problem.  Don’t get me wrong there were great times with my stepdad but they always seemed to be overshadowed by his drinking.  Thankfully I had my mother who was amazing and a wonderful caregiver for me.  The relationship with my mom made everything better!  I am now thirty-five years old and happy to say that my stepdad has been alcohol free for over one year!!  I am so proud of him for this accomplishment!!  I feel this has brought us closer and strengthened our relationship and his relationship with my children.

Alcoholism is prevalent all over the world but I chose to look at alcoholism in Australia.

Roughly 13% of Australian children live in a home with at least one adult who misuses alcohol.  Research has shown that alcoholism affects people of all levels of society, regardless of education, religion, gender or age.  Alcohol plays a significant role in increasing risks of child neglect.  This includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and neglect of a child’s basic needs.  Alcohol can have a negative affect on a child’s development prior to birth and all the way through adulthood.  There are many places people can go for help with alcoholism.  You have to believe you have a problem and want to fix the problem before help is going to work for you.

References

http://alcoholism.about.com/od/effect/a/The-Effects-Of-Parental-Alcoholism-On-Children.htm

http://www.aifs.gov.au/nch/pubs/sheets/rs27/

Child Development and Public Health

I chose breastfeeding because I feel it is important and beneficial to babies.  I also breastfed both of my children and know some of the challenges that come along with breastfeeding. I breastfed my son for six months and my daughter for one year.  Breastfeeding is work but it is well worth the work.  I believe it is important for employers to be supportive of mothers who are breastfeeding.  If you can get a good routine down then it is actually very convenient. I believe breastfeeding does create a special bond between the child and mother. 

When I was researching about breastfeeding I was surprised at the low number of babies in the United States that are still exclusively  breastfed by the time they are three months old.  While 75 percent of American babies are initially breastfed, only 35 percent are being breastfed exclusively at 3 months. This is true not only in the United States but all over the world.  I chose to look more closely at Norway because it is a nation that has a very high percentage of breastfed babies.  In Norway 99 percent of babies are breastfed initially and 70 percent are breastfed exclusively at 3 months.  The parental leave policy that Norwegian mothers receive probably has a lot to do with the high breastfeeding success.  According to Save the Children (2012) Norwegian mothers enjoy one of the most generous parental leave policies in the developed world. After giving birth, mothers can take up to 36 weeks off work with 100 percent of their pay, or they may opt for 46 weeks with 80 percent pay (or less if the leave period is shared with the father). In addition, Norwegian law provides for up to 12 months of additional child care leave, which can be taken by both fathers and mothers. When they return to work, mothers have the right to nursing breaks as they need them.

Breastfeeding can have a big impact on a child’s health and future health.  

Experts recommend that children be breastfed within one hour of birth, exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months, and then breastfed until age 2 with age-appropriate, nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods. Optimal feeding according to these standards can prevent an estimated 19 per- cent of all under-5 deaths, more than any other child survival intervention.  Yet worldwide, the vast majority of children are not breastfed optimally (Gareth, Steketee, Black, Bhutta and Morris (2003). 

It is always important to remember the impact good nutrition can have on a baby and a child.  A child’s nutritional wellbeing can have an impact on their ability to learn in a classroom. 

References

Jones, Gareth, Richard Steketee, Robert E. Black, Zulfiqar Bhutta, and Saul Morris. “How Many Child Deaths Can We Prevent This Year?” The Lancet. Vol. 362, Issue 9377. July 5, 2003. pp.65-71.

Save the Children. (2012). Nutrition in the first 1,000 days.  State of the World’s Mothers 2012. Retrieved from http://www.savethechildren.ca/document.doc?id=195.

Childbirth In My Life and Iceland

On June 7 at about 3 a.m. I thought my water broke.  I wasn’t exactly sure because this was my first pregnancy and it wasn’t much water.  I was exactly 40 weeks pregnant with my first child and it was my due date!  At about 6 a.m. we decided to go to the hospital.  At that time I was hardly having any contractions, but my water had broke so they had to keep me.  I started walking the halls of the hospital with my husband.  At about 11:00 I was only dilated to a 3 so they decided to give me Pitocin.  Things really started to change at that point.  I started having harder contractions and a lot of back labor.  At 2:00 they checked me again but I was only dilated to a 4.  I decided then to get an epidural and it was the best thing ever!! My husband and I relaxed and watched a playoff basketball game on TV.  Finally at about 9:30 p.m. I was fully dilated and able to start pushing.  Our son was born at 10:24 p.m. weighing 7 lbs. 7 ounces.  They had to use forceps on him because when he came out he was face up instead of face down which is a harder birth.  Our son had a very big head and it was very misshapen after delivery. At about four months old he had to go to the Denver Children’s Hospital because they were afraid the platelets in his head were fusing to quickly.  They decided they were not fusing to quickly but he did have extra fluid in his ventricles.  They watched this for a few years but everything turned out fine.  He still has a big head and his head is still a little misshaped.   My daughter was born four and half years later and it was a much easier delivery.  I got to the hospital at around 1:30 p.m. and she was born at 6:43 p.m. after only two pushes!!

I chose this example because it was my first experience with childbirth.  It was an amazing experience and also a stressful experience.  His birth was difficult on both of us.  I was amazed at the difference between my two childbirth experiences.

I chose to look at births in Iceland.  In Iceland pre-natal car is free to legal residents who have lived there for at least six months.  If it is their first baby they will receive ten visits and if they have already had a baby they will receive seven visits with a midwife and doctor.  Most women have their baby in a hospital and they have a 17% C-section rate.  Hospital births are free with health insurance.  Iceland does provide for midwife home births for mothers who have favorable pregnancies.  In Iceland you must pick your baby’s name from the National Register of Persons.  If you want a name that is not on that list you have to appeal for a new name to be added to the list.  The name must not be embarrassing and must conform to the Icelandic language and customs. 

The birthing experience in Iceland sounds similar to my experience except for in Iceland you can have a baby for free!  Their C-section rate is a lot lower than in the U.S. and they use midwifes more often.  

References:

http://en.island.is/family/having_a_baby/pregnancy_and_childbirth

http://www.medicalbillingandcoding.org/blog/the-10-best-countries-for-maternity-care/