Stress on Children's Development

The only stressful situation I can think of was a family in New York that experienced a terrible tragedy.  I was about 10 years old at the time when a young girl committed suicide by jumping from the 16^th floor of a friend’s apartment.  Her brothers were 6 and 8 and were friends with my younger brothers.  What made this so traumatic is her body was found near the playground and her brothers saw her lifeless body lying there.  This incident caused stress and trauma not only to her brothers, but to most of the children in the playground.  My mother took the three of us to counseling at our pediatrician’s office.  I had terrible nightmares for several weeks.   My mother suggested to this young girl’s mother that she might consider counseling for her boys and referred her to our pediatrician.  The community reached out to the family in many ways to help them get through their loss.   About  a year later the family moved away, but her brothers never seemed the same after this tragedy.

I read an article about a five year old girl named Marjan she and her aunt who is 10 years old spend their days collecting trash in the community.   The trash that they collect is used as fuel for cooking and heating.  Marjan’s family is poor.  She lives in Kabul Afghanistan where it has been said “it is the worst place in the world to be a child”.  One in five children do not live past five years old.  Many children die from hypothermia.  Many children are forced on the streets due to poverty.  Marjan little brother died from a cold.   Due to the effects of extreme poverty young children are deprived of their most basic needs, decent food, health, immunization and protection.  Many are exposed to the extreme cold of the winters in Afghanistan.    Many of these children will suffer from impaired brain development due to the malnutrition and lack of stimuli/interaction from their parents.   The only organization I was able to find that is working on combating the problem of Poverty in Afghanistan is Save the Children.

 Poverty can present many risk factors:  Inadequate nutrition, substance abuse, maternal depression, exposure to environmental toxins, trauma/abuse, and inadequate daily care of children.    Parental stress particularly impacts upon the developing child disrupting the neuron pathways of a child’s developing brain.  This can cause long term problems, such as learning disabilities, behavior, physical and mental health.  Studies have shown that children raised in poverty have poor academic achievement, are less likely to attend college, are more likely to become a teen parent, are more likely to smoke and use illegal drugs, are more likely to be unemployed.    One intervention for children of poverty is high-quality child care environment.

References:

Damon, Arwa (2008).  Child Scavenges for family's survival in Afghanistan.  Cable News Network retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2011/World/asiapcf/01/04/afghanistan.child.trash.scavenger

Policy Brief (2009).  The impact of poverty on early childhood development.  retrieved from http://www.rch.av/emplibrary/ccch/pb14_impact_poverty_ecd.pdf

NCCP (June, 1999).  Poverty and Brain Development in Early Childhood retrieved from http://nccp.org/publication/pub_398.html

Immunization

Childhood immunization has recently come under scrutiny because there have been studies that link immunization to autism.  Many advocates of Autism believe that thimerosal mercury which is a preservative in some vaccines was the cause.  Since 2001 thimerosal mercury has been removed, but the rate of the onset of autism has not decreased.   It is the same rate of other countries where thimerosal continues to be used. 

Immunizations is said to have had “a greater impact on human mortality reduction and population growth than any other public health intervention besides clean water” (J.P. Baker, 2000).   Immunizations in the United States have been mandatory if you wanted your children to attend school.  But recently at least 21 states have adopted what is called the personal belief exemption which allows children who have not been immunized to attend school.   These exemption rates are going up. 

Vaccines have been so effective that parents of today have no idea what many of these diseases look like and what the diseases cause.   Americans no longer see the shrunken legs and paralyzed children affected by polio.  It is my opinion that the benefits of immunization far outweigh the disadvantages and children should still be required to be immunized against these diseases. 

In India immunization such as DPT vaccine and polio vaccine are provided under Universal immunization Program, but there are several others such as varicella, vaccine against chickenpox and Pneumococcal infection that are not covered under this program.  The MMR vaccine that protects against Measles, Mumps and Rubella diseases have not been a priority for health agencies in this area.

The polio disease is still seen in countries such as South Asia, Utter Pradesh and Bihar states in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan and Africa.  Measles, Mumps and Rubella are still seen in other countries such as Western Europe. 

I choose this subject because I read how positively it has impacted mortality rates around the world.  After researching this topic my opinion remains the same that immunizations are very necessary and the dangers are far less than the benefits.  I would always recommend to parents to immunize their children.

References:

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.   Chapter 5 page 150

Park, M. (2008).  Where Vaccine doubt persists.  Cable News Network   Retrieved from http://www.CNN.com/2010/Health/10/20/why.not.vaccinate/index.html

Article (2008).  Vaccines for Adopted Children.   National Network for Immunization Information (NNii)  Retrieved from http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/general/vaccines-adopted-children

Birthing

My only experience with birthing was my own. In 1991 I went into premature labor at 26 weeks of pregnancy. I was visiting New York, my mother and was taken to the hospital. My obstetrician deemed my pregnancy hi-risk and had a procedure called a cerclage which assisted in my womb remaining closed. It was decided after about 6 hours of trying to stop labor that they were going to deliver my son by c-section. I was given an epidural for pain. I was taken to an operating room where the delivery was performed.  My mother was present with me.  My son was born at 1lb 4 oz. He remained in the hospital for approximately 4 months until he reached 5lbs and I was hospitalized for approximately 3 days. I was told by doctors that my son may have a host of problems due to the early delivery. The only problem he had was respiratory problems when he had a cold up until he was approximately 5 years old. He is smart and healthy 19 year old today. Due to the circumstances regarding my child's birth I am very pro hospital and doctor delivering babies. If I were in another country the out come regarding my child's birth may have been tragic. Even with a full term delivery so many things can and do go wrong. Having trained professional decreases tragic outcomes.

I researched two countries birthing procedures and found that I am happy I live in the United States. In the Netherlands pregnant woman don't see obstetricians but instead are referred to midwife. Doctors only intervene in high risk Case or if complications arise during delivery. Dutch woman decide whether they will deliver and home or at a hospital and more than half of them choose home delivery. The pregnant woman is responsible for obtaining medical supplies necessary for home birth it is called Kraampakket. Epidurals are rarely given. If given it would be because an anaesthesiologist schedule permitted administration of such. If a mother gives birth early in the day at a hospital she and baby may go home in as little as two hours. Then a system called Kraamhulp maternity home care is put in place. For seven days a nurse would visit the house and tended to medical needs as well cleans, cooks and provides basic parenting skills.

In Germany woman also see midwives for their prenatal care. It is a law that a midwife must be present at every birth and a doctor is optional. A local custom parents must choose child's name from an approved government list. Any exceptions must be approved. The reason for the policy is an effort to thwart potential ridicule of a child with a name that is too different.

In Japan women strive to give birth without the use of pain killers. It relates to the Buddhist perception of suffering: Labor pains act as a kind of test that a woman must endure in preparation for the challenging role of motherhood. Japanese women deliver in hospitals. The baby's father is only allowed in the delivery room if he has taken prenatal classes with the mother. If a c-section is performed the father must wait in the waiting room. After leaving the hospital mother and baby traditionally stay with the mother's parents for months or sometimes longer. The new mother must stay in bed for 21 days. During this time mother and baby are visited by friends and eat a celebratory food Osekihan (red rice and red beans).

My birthing experience was very different from these other countries in that a doctor was present during my delivery and it was done at a hospital.  I was given the option of an epidural.  My baby had the best care because a doctor tended to him and the complications were minimized.  My mother's presents was soothing for me during this stressful time and my recovery time was minimal.