I guess I was pretty lucky growing up, because I didn't have too many stressors impact my childhood. Of the stressors I did have (my grandma dying and have seizures) I was too young to really remember them, or how they impacted my life.
So, for this assignment, I turned to by best friend, Amanda. Amanda and I have known each other since kindergarten, and are practically sisters. Amanda went through a very stressful period when she was growing up. Her dad was diagnosed with leukemia when we were still grade school. I know the stress that it put on Amanda and her family as they were going through this very difficult times. Amanda has always been very good at hiding her emotions around people, but not around me. She was constantly worrying about her dad, who was 3 hours way from home getting treatment. I had asked her later on how she was able to cope with it all, and she said it was the family support that helped the most. She said her grandparents, aunts, and uncles were all there to help during this stressful time. It all ended good though, Amanda's dad has been cancer-free for about 18 years now! I think through this stressful time, I think it made Amanda realize how sometimes we take things for granted and we really have to treasure our time with our love ones because you never know what's going to happen!
I chose to look at West Africa because of the recent Ebola outbreak there. Not only are children dealing with losing loves ones to this disease, but there is now a food shortage because people are being restricted from delivery food to the hard hit areas. Whole towns have been shut down because of the outbreak, and people are being force to stay inside, which is making it difficult for families to go out and farm, sell their goods, make money, and buy food. Not only that, but food is so scare that if they did find it, they probably weren't going to be able to afford it (Sheahen, 2014). We all know how important it is that children are getting the proper nutrients in order to develop proper, and the consequences for not getting the proper nutrients. Church organizations, groups, and volunteers have been working tremendously hard to help those areas hit hard by the disease outbreak by bringing food and raising funds to fight the disease.
References:
Sheahen, L., (24 Sept, 2014). Ebola-hit West Africa faces food shortage. Caritas Internationalis.
Retrived from http://www.caritas.org/2014/09/ebola-hit-west-africa-faces-food-shortages/
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Friday, September 12, 2014
Breastfeeding
The topic I chose is breastfeeding. This topic is meaningful to me because I feel that an important bond is created between the mother and child when breastfeeding. It gives infants that sense of security and love. Also, research has shown that by breastfeeding increases the infant's immune system and reduces the risks of allegories and respiratory diseases (Johnson, Sternberg, 2014). It has also shown to reduce the risk of the mother develop heart disease in the future (2014). So in the end, it's a win-win for both the mother and the infant.
In Afghanistan, women don't understand the important of breastfeeding in the first few days of life because of the lack of trained midwives to help (Dehn, 2009). Instead, they are often feeding newborns tea instead of the colostrum. and are waiting until their milk comes to start breastfeeding (2009). The tea can cause the infant diarrhea, and can hinder breast stimulation in the woman, resulting in the infant not getting enough calories. (2009). Due this concept, the mortality rate is very high in the first 2 weeks of an infant's life (2009).
I feel this information will impact my future work because if I am working with infants, I need to understand the importance of using breast milk. I know that when the woman goes back to work, it's often hard to keep up with giving the infant breast milk and pumping so they can have it while the mother is at work. I could support these mothers to continuing pumping in order to provide milk for their infants and explain to the benefits of the wonderful thing they are doing for their child and themselves.
References
Dehn, B. (03 Sept 2009). Breastfeeding around the world. The Huffington Post. Retrieved
from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-dehn/breastfeeding-around-
the_b_249887.html
Johnson, M., & Sternberger, S. (12 Sept, 2014). Why breast-feeding is important mom's
heart-health. U.S. News. Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-
wellness/articles/2014/09/12/why-breast-feeding-is-important-for-moms-heart-health
In Afghanistan, women don't understand the important of breastfeeding in the first few days of life because of the lack of trained midwives to help (Dehn, 2009). Instead, they are often feeding newborns tea instead of the colostrum. and are waiting until their milk comes to start breastfeeding (2009). The tea can cause the infant diarrhea, and can hinder breast stimulation in the woman, resulting in the infant not getting enough calories. (2009). Due this concept, the mortality rate is very high in the first 2 weeks of an infant's life (2009).
I feel this information will impact my future work because if I am working with infants, I need to understand the importance of using breast milk. I know that when the woman goes back to work, it's often hard to keep up with giving the infant breast milk and pumping so they can have it while the mother is at work. I could support these mothers to continuing pumping in order to provide milk for their infants and explain to the benefits of the wonderful thing they are doing for their child and themselves.
References
Dehn, B. (03 Sept 2009). Breastfeeding around the world. The Huffington Post. Retrieved
from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-dehn/breastfeeding-around-
the_b_249887.html
Johnson, M., & Sternberger, S. (12 Sept, 2014). Why breast-feeding is important mom's
heart-health. U.S. News. Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-
wellness/articles/2014/09/12/why-breast-feeding-is-important-for-moms-heart-health
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Birthing Experiences
I haven't really participated in any birthing experiences besides my own. It was actually kind of nice talking to my mom about how I was born, because I really never knew the whole story, just vague details. Mom was originally due on December 10, 1987 with me. However, she woke up the morning of December 3rd in labor. She said she remembered dropping my older brother off at the sitter's house, and told my dad that she wasn't going to work, and that they were going to the hospital. So her and dad headed to Joint Township Memorial Hospital in St. Marys, OH. (A little background information, mom was in labor for over 24 hours with my older brother (her 1st child), and ended up having a C-section because she wasn't dilating.) After a few hours at the hospital, and trying the drug synthetic prostaglandin to help her dilate, they decided to go ahead with a C-section. When I asked mom why so early, because at this point she has been in labor for about 6 hours, she was like this wasn't my first rodeo, so why lay around and be in labor when it wasn't going to go anywhere. So, she had a C-section, and I was born, a healthy beautiful girl, at 10:39 AM on December 3, 1987.
This led to Mom and I having a discussion about due dates. You see, my older brother was born on December 1st, I was on December 3rd, my younger brother, Craig, was born on October 15th, and my youngest brother, Mark, was born on December 3rd. Mom said we all came about a week early, expect my older brother. I have always asked mom if it was intentional that Mark was born on my birthday, and if she had planned that. She said that she actually had a C-section schedule for December 4th for Mark, and she said she remembered asking the nurse why the doctor was waiting that long since she was a week early with the last two (Mark's due date was also December 10th) and she didn't want to go into labor. The nurse informed my mom that the reason the doctor scheduled it for the 4th was because he was going to be out of town until then. You probably can figured out by now what happened. Mom went into labor on the 3rd, had a C-section, and I was blessed with a baby brother, who I now share my birthday with.
I chose this example, well because, it has been the only birthing experience I have ever been a part of. Obviously, I don't remember my own birth, or those of my brothers. However, I have had a bunch of cousins who have recently had babies and all had different experiences. But they all said the same thing, they will all do it over again, because nothing beats the feeling of meeting your child for the 1st time, and you are just overwhelmed with joy and love in that minute. I think child birth is a trying and can be a difficult time, but in the end, it's so awarding, and you can say you have brought this beautiful baby into the world and you can give it all the love you can and help it start developing in the instant.
The country I chose to look at about how births happen is China. During labor, women would often drink a strong herbal potion that helps ease the pains of labor, and that the women should not fear the birthing process, because they see this as their career. Women will also give birth in an armchair our a futon, and not a hospital bed like most people in the U.S. does. Fathers are normally not involved in the first birth, but may be involved in later births of other children. This is a big difference from the U.S. where most fathers participate in the birthing experience and helping when they can. Researching the Chinese birthing experience made me realize that there are many different theories and assumptions about the birthing experience. Some based the experience off of science, while others believe God is in charge. However, the one thing we all have similar, is that we are all striving for the same ending. A healthy baby to love and see grow.
References:
Brown, L. (NA). Childbirth Traditions Around the World: China. Retrieved from
http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/labor-and-delivery/childbirth-traditions-china_70703?
page=2
This led to Mom and I having a discussion about due dates. You see, my older brother was born on December 1st, I was on December 3rd, my younger brother, Craig, was born on October 15th, and my youngest brother, Mark, was born on December 3rd. Mom said we all came about a week early, expect my older brother. I have always asked mom if it was intentional that Mark was born on my birthday, and if she had planned that. She said that she actually had a C-section schedule for December 4th for Mark, and she said she remembered asking the nurse why the doctor was waiting that long since she was a week early with the last two (Mark's due date was also December 10th) and she didn't want to go into labor. The nurse informed my mom that the reason the doctor scheduled it for the 4th was because he was going to be out of town until then. You probably can figured out by now what happened. Mom went into labor on the 3rd, had a C-section, and I was blessed with a baby brother, who I now share my birthday with.
I chose this example, well because, it has been the only birthing experience I have ever been a part of. Obviously, I don't remember my own birth, or those of my brothers. However, I have had a bunch of cousins who have recently had babies and all had different experiences. But they all said the same thing, they will all do it over again, because nothing beats the feeling of meeting your child for the 1st time, and you are just overwhelmed with joy and love in that minute. I think child birth is a trying and can be a difficult time, but in the end, it's so awarding, and you can say you have brought this beautiful baby into the world and you can give it all the love you can and help it start developing in the instant.
The country I chose to look at about how births happen is China. During labor, women would often drink a strong herbal potion that helps ease the pains of labor, and that the women should not fear the birthing process, because they see this as their career. Women will also give birth in an armchair our a futon, and not a hospital bed like most people in the U.S. does. Fathers are normally not involved in the first birth, but may be involved in later births of other children. This is a big difference from the U.S. where most fathers participate in the birthing experience and helping when they can. Researching the Chinese birthing experience made me realize that there are many different theories and assumptions about the birthing experience. Some based the experience off of science, while others believe God is in charge. However, the one thing we all have similar, is that we are all striving for the same ending. A healthy baby to love and see grow.
References:
Brown, L. (NA). Childbirth Traditions Around the World: China. Retrieved from
http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/labor-and-delivery/childbirth-traditions-china_70703?
page=2
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