One stressor that I experienced as a child was childhood diseases. I recall contracting chickenpox as a young child. While playing with my cousin over the weekend, he was already a carrier of chickenpox because he broke out in bumps everywhere on that Monday. By the end of the week, I had broke out as well. I had never experienced something so bad in my life. All the bumps with the itching and scratching, taking lots of Benadryl and the misery. I could not go outside to play with my friends. That was horrible. Chickenpox is a contagious disease that I don't wish on anyone. I'm very glad that I was able to go through it as a child and not as an adult. My grandmother experienced it as an adult and she had major complications and had a hard time getting over it.
A part of the region that faces many childhood diseases is Haiti. The children face diseases such as diarrhea, respiratory infections, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS which are the leading causes of death amongst children. A lot of these diseases are due to poverty and inadequate access to basic health care. It is estimated that there are 19,000 children with HIV/AIDS in Haiti. Other things that are high risk are hepatitis A and E and typhoid fever which are caused by lack of water. Children are particularly vunerable because they depend on adults to care for them.
Resource:
Wilkinson, E. (2010, January 15). Haiti Children at Risk of Disease. BBC News. Retrieved from
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Public Health---Malnutrition in Young Children
Malnutrition occurs when a person does not consume a sufficient amount of food. Roughly 9 percent of the world's children suffer from being malnourished because they do not get the calories they need for energy and the nutrients essential for proper growth and maintenance of body tissues.
This topic is meaningful to me because there are children all over the world who suffer from malnutrition. Malnutrition can stem from a mother not eating healthy or properly during her pregnancy or children not having adequate amounts of foods to eat. These children are underweight and they don't have enough body tissues to help fight off diseases that may attack their bodies. Without proper nutrition, it can affect the child's brain development and cause marasmus. Their growth stops, body tissues waste away and the infant eventually dies. The right balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins including plenty of grains, fruits and vegetables that can reduce the risk of diseases.
In India, 42 percent of the children are underweight and 60 percent of the children are stunted due to inadequate nutrition during the mother's pregnancy. Research have found that poor nutrition is due to inappropriate feeding practices due to the ignorance about nutrition among Indian parents. Parents focus on providing their children cereals more than any other foods. Food prices have soared in India over the last six years, causing hardship for 455 million people who live below the poverty line. This has caused the level of malnutrition in children to be exceptionally high.
I don't see where the information that I have learned may impact my future work. The Head Start program that I work for ensures that all children receive healthy and nutritious meals for breakfast, lunch and snack. We offer trainings to families to learn how to cook healthy meals and how to shop and cook on a budget. If any families that we serve are having any hardships about not having any food or low on food to feed their children, we have resources available to assist them with this issue so that their families will not go hungry.
Resources
Berger, K.S. (2009). The Developing Person Through Childhood. (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Mudur, G.S. (2012, January 11). Nutrition Surprise in Rich Kids. The Telegraph. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraphindia.com
This topic is meaningful to me because there are children all over the world who suffer from malnutrition. Malnutrition can stem from a mother not eating healthy or properly during her pregnancy or children not having adequate amounts of foods to eat. These children are underweight and they don't have enough body tissues to help fight off diseases that may attack their bodies. Without proper nutrition, it can affect the child's brain development and cause marasmus. Their growth stops, body tissues waste away and the infant eventually dies. The right balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins including plenty of grains, fruits and vegetables that can reduce the risk of diseases.
In India, 42 percent of the children are underweight and 60 percent of the children are stunted due to inadequate nutrition during the mother's pregnancy. Research have found that poor nutrition is due to inappropriate feeding practices due to the ignorance about nutrition among Indian parents. Parents focus on providing their children cereals more than any other foods. Food prices have soared in India over the last six years, causing hardship for 455 million people who live below the poverty line. This has caused the level of malnutrition in children to be exceptionally high.
I don't see where the information that I have learned may impact my future work. The Head Start program that I work for ensures that all children receive healthy and nutritious meals for breakfast, lunch and snack. We offer trainings to families to learn how to cook healthy meals and how to shop and cook on a budget. If any families that we serve are having any hardships about not having any food or low on food to feed their children, we have resources available to assist them with this issue so that their families will not go hungry.
Resources
Berger, K.S. (2009). The Developing Person Through Childhood. (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers.
Mudur, G.S. (2012, January 11). Nutrition Surprise in Rich Kids. The Telegraph. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraphindia.com
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Childbirth and My Personal Birthing Experience
My personal birthing experience was when I gave birth to my first child. This was and still is a lifetime experience. I was in labor with my daughter for 18 1/2 hrs. After being in labor for that long period of time, she had not dropped far enough that I could deliver her, so the nurse asked me to walk around for a little to see if she would drop. This was very hard for me to do because I was experiencing hard contractions, but I tried. After walking for about 5 minutes, I made my way back to the room, only to discover that she still had not dropped any. I was then taken to the delivery room and the nurse told me to start pushing , to see if she would start coming, but no luck at all. The doctor had to use forceps in order for me to deliver her. What an experience that was, but I gave birth to a healthy 6lbs. 21oz. baby girl on July 8, 1991. I chose this example because this was my first born child and a personal experience that will stay with me forever. There's nothing more precious than giving birth to a child. it gives you that assurance and confidence of knowing that for 9 months you carried and watched a fetus grow inside of you and now it has developed into a baby. Childbirth has an impact on child development because it is where everything begins and progresses and develops through the child's life.
In Africa, mostly the rural areas, where resources are scarce, ladies give birth at home with the elderly ladies of the family assisting. If any complications arises while the lady gives birth, no help is available at hand. They have traditional birth attendants that can advise them about nutritional needs and help the expectant mother with small changes that may be occurring with her body, but they are not reliable when the delivery progress starts. I learned that in poorer regions of the world, ladies give birth at home and not at hospitals or medical facilities and without doctors, nurses or midwives. I feel very grateful that i was able to give birth in a hospital, with support from my family, doctors and nurses. It is very unfortunate that ladies who are from poorer areas or regions of the world are not able to receive any prenatal or medical care or assistance of doctors or midwives to help through the labor and delivery process. This increases maternal and infant deaths, especially in Africa.
Ali, S. (2011). Giving Birth in Africa: A Moment of Joy or Agony and Fear. Retrieved from
http://cureafrica.com/blog
In Africa, mostly the rural areas, where resources are scarce, ladies give birth at home with the elderly ladies of the family assisting. If any complications arises while the lady gives birth, no help is available at hand. They have traditional birth attendants that can advise them about nutritional needs and help the expectant mother with small changes that may be occurring with her body, but they are not reliable when the delivery progress starts. I learned that in poorer regions of the world, ladies give birth at home and not at hospitals or medical facilities and without doctors, nurses or midwives. I feel very grateful that i was able to give birth in a hospital, with support from my family, doctors and nurses. It is very unfortunate that ladies who are from poorer areas or regions of the world are not able to receive any prenatal or medical care or assistance of doctors or midwives to help through the labor and delivery process. This increases maternal and infant deaths, especially in Africa.
Ali, S. (2011). Giving Birth in Africa: A Moment of Joy or Agony and Fear. Retrieved from
http://cureafrica.com/blog
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)