Consequences of Stress on Child Development

I taught first grade for 7 years.  All of those years were spent teaching at an inner city charter school in Indianapolis.  85% of our students were free lunches, behavior was huge challenge schoolwide, and we had very low parent involvment. 

The effects of poverty, hunger, chaos, and violence could be seen some of my students' performaces in the classroom.  One particular student I remember was a six year old boy.  This child was so tired everyday.  He often fell asleep during instruction and independent work.  One day he came to school and seemed even worse than usual.  At recess that day he told me about how his night had gone the previous night.  He was sleeping in his bedroom, when his door flung open and closed, his mother's boyfriend ran in very quickly and hid under the covers next to my student.  Minutes later my student heard loud yelling voice outside his bedroom door.  The police then busted down his door, ripped back the covers, handcuffed and arrested his mom's boyfriend.  My student not only watched it all, but was right in the middle of it.  The interesting part about all of this is that he acted like it wasn't that big of deal, kind of like it just interrupted his sleep a little.  It really made me start thinking about what kind of true chaos and violence this young child sees on a daily basis.  This chaos affected him physically, mentally, and emotionally.  He should be in middle school right now, and I often think about how he is doing.  I have no doubts that this stress as a young child has had lasting effect on him.

My brother-in-law just returned from Afghanistan, so I was curious about how the war effects this children in this region.  Not only are Afghani children experiences the stress of war, but they are also faced with violence, trauma, chaos, abuse, and poverty.  One consequence of facing these stressors is post-traumatic stress disorder.  According to Science Daily, some of the solutions to this problem are "better education, immediate mental health interventions and treatment after a violent conflict, and humanitarian assistance for trauma-affected populations in resource-poor countries."  Knowing the lasting affects war can have on grown adults who return back to civilian life, really makes me scared for how much more damaging life like this can have for children who aren't removed from it. 

Source taken from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090623112106.htm

Breastfeeding: USA vs. Kenya

I have been on both sides of the breastfeeding debate (Breastmilk VS Formula).  In the United States, it is entirely a woman's choice about whether she wants to breastfeed her infant or bottle feed using formula.  The Center for Disease Control states that "high breastfeeding initiation rates (3 out of 4) show that most mothers in the United States want to breastfeed and are trying to do so. However, even from the very start, mothers may not be getting the breastfeeding support they need.  Low breastfeeding rates at 3, 6, and 12 months illustrate that mothers continue to face multiple barriers to breastfeeding". 

With my first child, I was dead set on breastfeeding.  She was born almost 2 months early, was born with a heart defect, weighed less than 4 lbs, and was in an isolette during her first weeks.  She was unable to maintain her body temperature and had not yet mastered the breathing, sucking, swallowing technique.  Therefore, for her first 2 weeks of life I used a breast pump, and fed her breastmilk through a bottle.  At 2 weeks old, she finally started getting the hang of breastfeeding.  During feedings, I had to watch her monitors very closely.  Due to her heart defect, her oxygen levels were in the 80's, which is low.  When she was nursing, she had dips that dropped down to the 60's.  Her alarms would sound, and we would have to stop.

One week later, when my daughter went into surgery for a double hernia repair, we discovered the real culprit to the dips in her oxygen as well as the problems with her sucking and swallowing.  My daughter's trachea (airway) was the size of a pinhole.  This problem required her to have a tracheostomy put in immediately until her doctor's could repair her airway when she was over 12 months of age.  Due to having a tracheostomy, and problems with aspirating, I was not allowed to breastfeed her.  For the following 6 months, I pumped my breastmilk and fed her through a bottle.  The breastmilk had to be thickened with rice cereal to prevent any aspirating.  When she was about 6 months old, I returned to work.  Teaching elementary school, pumping multiple times a day, and taking care of my special needs child proved to be too much for me to handle.  At that time, I chose to give up breastfeeding.  My daughter recieved formula until she was 1.

My second daughter, who is now 19 months old, was breastfed for 13 months.  Her birth was completely different, weighed in at 7 lbs 8 oz, and is completely healthy.  So as you can see, I have been on both ends of breastfeeding.  I encountered a barrier with my first child that stopped me from breastfeeding her.  Breastfeeding may be my feeding option of choice for my children, and I do feel that there is a health benefit related to breastfeeding, but I know it is not for everyone.  I have friends who try for months to breastfeed, but their milk supply diminishes too early, I have a cousin who never had any milk come in, and I also have a sister-in-law who chose not to breastfeed at all.  I see nothing wrong with any of these scenarios, and am very happy that breastfeeding is a mother's choice.

I took a look at breastfeeding in Kenya to get an idea what is the norm.  I found a great chart from Unicef that shows the feeding norms by age (in months).  As seen below, it appears less children start out  

exclusively breastfeeding in Kenya (30%) than in the United States (75%).  I was also shocked to see how many infants were given water and complimentary foods along with their breastmilk.   

Facts for Life is an organization stating facts about certain topics, with one being breastfeeding.  As stated on the Facts for Life website:

• Babies who are breastfed are generally healthier and achieve optimal growth and development compared to those who are fed formula milk.
• If the vast majority of babies were exclusively fed breastmilk in their first six months of life – meaning only breastmilk and no other liquids or solids, not even water – it is estimated that the lives of at least 1.2 million children would be saved every year. If children continue to be breastfed up to two years and beyond, the health and development of millions of children would be greatly improved.
• Almost every mother can breastfeed successfully. All mothers, particularly those who might lack the confidence to breastfeed, need the encouragement and practical support of the baby's father and their families, friends and relatives. Health workers, community workers, women's organizations and employers can also provide support.

What I take from all this is that it appears sometimes women are not given the support needed to be successful with breastfeeding.  Some organizations are starting initiatives to train more breastfeeding counselors and send them into other countries to educate the mother's about the benefits and methods of breastfeeding.  I think breastfeeding can have clear benefits emotionally, cognitively, and physically for developing children.  Hopefully getting more trained professionals, educating the public, and creating health facilities equiped to support breastfeeding mothers will show in increase in overall breastfeeding, therefore an increase in many developmental domains. 



*Information taken from:
http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/reportcard.htm

http://www.childinfo.org/breastfeeding_kenya.html

http://www.factsforlifeglobal.org/04/

Birthing in Mali (Africa)

I have always been drawn to places like Africa.  After watching the documentary Babies, I became even more interested in birth and child development there.  I read an article titled, "Fighting for Life in Birth", through the BBC New Homepage.  The current method of birthing in Mali shows a lack of prenatal care and/or medical care, poverty, and a lack of education.  It is dangerous for mothers and babies.     

"According to Unicef figures, in a single day 1,200 women in the country fall pregnant. Of those 230 will develop complications and 20 will die. Two hundred of the babies will not survive past four weeks."

BBC shares a birth story of a woman, like many in Mali, that are not allowed to seek prenatal care.  She goes into labor at home, but after hours of labor, she is still not able to give birth.  Her family finally takes her to a local medical facility where she finds out her pelvis is not large enough to allow the baby through, and that the baby had not survived.  Being that they don't have a facility equiped for c-sections, they transported her another facility.  In route, more complications arose and the mother also did not survive.

I, like the young woman in Mali, also had complications.  My complications were also deadly for me and my baby.  The difference between our situations were that I was had prenatal care, and I was a facility that was equiped to handle any serious situations that arose from pregnancies.  There were many medical professionals watching over me, and the minute I developed any symptoms that were dangerous, the medical staff took action.  For the poor young woman in Mali, she had no support.  Not even the support of her husband. 

Reading about this really made me realize how fortuante we are in The United States.  It also made me realize how important prenatal care is for pregnant women.  The BBC article shared information that it takes less money to save the life of a pregnant woman that it does to pay for her funeral.    


*Information retrieved from:   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1325293.stm

Each Birth Story is Different..........

My birth story of my oldest daughter was far from usual.  Sharing the events that led up to her birth tell a lot more than the actual birth itself.  Hopefully, over the course of this class, I will be able share some of my daughter's story.  She is truly a miracle!

Here is Macy Elaine's birth story:

My pregnancy was going so well.  I was a healthy, married 24-year-old woman.  Yeah, I was sick in the beginning, and for a teacher, sickness just didn’t work.  Around 16 weeks, my nausea started to dissipate.  My pregnancy then became fun!  I loved the attention, the back rubs, and the foot massages.  I loved being pregnant!  Although I was measuring a little small, my 18 weeks ultrasound showed that they baby was growing and looked healthy.  We could’ve found out the sex of the baby, but decided to wait for the surprise.

            My pregnancy continued moving right along, I was gaining weight, craving chocolate cupcakes, and having mood swings.  My husband, Jeremy, and I were getting our home ready for the day we got to bring home our little bundle of joy.  The baby’s room was decorated in soft yellows, greens, and dragonflies.  Although it was very neutral, it still had a “little girl” feel to it.  We decided if we had a boy we would “boy” it up by adding fishing poles and netting.   Our car seats were placed in the back of each vehicle for the first car ride home.  Everything was going perfectly!

            At my 26 weeks appointment, my doctor still thought that I seemed to be measuring small, so he made an appointment for me to have another ultrasound.  The thought that something might be wrong sent me into a frenzy.  I started looking things up on the internet, which I shouldn’t have never done.  It went into numerous causes for measuring small, some that were nothing, and others were very serious conditions.  I was scared to death!  I started talking to everyone I knew.  I asked questions to everyone or anyone who had been pregnant or simply knew anyone who had ever been pregnant.  Everyone assured me things would be fine.

            At 28 weeks, I had my ultrasound. The technician said everything looked fine, and stated that the baby’s legs were a little short, but nothing to be concerned about. I have short legs.  She said the baby was about 3 lbs, 6 oz.  She didn’t think the baby was destined to be large since Jeremy and I were both small people ourselves. 

            At 31 weeks, I started to swell.  Everyone once again assured me that swelling was normal, especially since I was on my feet all of the time.  That Friday, I didn’t teach due to some deadlines that needed to be done for our charter school.  I was sitting with my feet propped, on the phone all day long.  The swelling didn’t go away.  I approached a co-worker in the restroom who had just had a baby and asked her about it.  She asked if my hands were swelling.  I looked at them and realized they kind of were.  She suggested possibly going to my doctor’s office to have my blood pressure checked.  I decided if the swelling didn’t go away I would. 

            I went home from work that day and laid down for a nap.  I thought if I propped my feet and relaxed things would be back to normal when I woke up.  They weren’t.  When Jeremy got home I suggested that we go to a local pharmacy to have my blood pressure checked before heading out to dinner.

            When we got the first reading back from the machine, we both looked at each other in disbelief thinking it was wrong.  I waited 5 minutes and tried again.  The numbers were even worse the second time.  That’s when we headed to the Med Check where my sister-in-law worked as a student nurse.  She checked it twice also, and suggested I call my doctor.  I called the doctor on the way to the hospital just to let him know I was going. 

            When I got there, I was hooked up to fetal monitors within minutes.  They informed me that I had a medical condition called Pre-eclampisa.  The only cure is delivery.  The word “delivery” probably sent my blood pressure even higher.  I asked the nurse how long I had until delivery.  I was only 31 weeks!  She said it would probably be soon.  The tears then started coming.  Once again, my husband assured me everything would be ok. 

            I spent the next 15 days on bed rest at the hospital.  I was miserable!  They made me lay on my left side only.  I had fetal monitoring done every 3 hours, blood taken daily, constant medication, and I had to save my urine in a bin for testing.  My poor husband was taking the worst of it.  He had to listen to me complain. I called him at work just to cry.  Not only that, but he had to spend his time between work, me, and our pets at home.  He was worn out, and the baby wasn’t even here yet.  Never in my life did I think life could get harder, but it did.  My daily wheelchair ride was the joy of my day.  Other than that, I was completely miserable.  

            On January 27^th, I notified the nursing staff that I was seeing some black spots in my vision.  The next morning, a neurologist was immediately sent to see me and performed numerous tests.  He quickly assured me that it didn’t have anything to do with my brain.  Soon after, an ophthalmologist was sent to see me.  I didn’t get a good vibe from him.  He did some tests, and left quickly.  Within 2 hours nurses were in my room telling me that I was having an emergency c-section.  They said my blood pressure had gotten so high that I had a mini stroke.   On January 28, 2006 at 3:40 p.m. my daughter arrived.  I had made it to 34 weeks, but she was only 3 lbs, 11 oz.  She measured in at 15 ¼ inches tall.  She came out crying!  What a wonderful noise!  She was here, she was alive, but her battle was far from over. 

Last Week of Class!

This week is the last week of class......definitely not the end of my journey!  Starting my master's program has been intriguing, inspiring, and eye opening.  I have done much reflection and met so many wonderful people.  I can't wait to continue my journey!

I am not sure if my blog is something that I am required to do in my upcoming courses, but not matter what I am going to continue using it.  I plan to post research, studies, and interesting stories.  I hope you continue to follow me!!!

Code of Ethics

This week, I explored some new early childhood resources.  I was not aware that there was a code of ethics for the early childhood field.  I was very excited to explore 2 different articles that talked about codes of ethics.  As I read through them, there were a few that stood out to me.  I have stated them below, along with how I currently use them or plan to use them in the future. 

Ideals (children)

I-1.9—To advocate for and ensure that all children,

including those with special needs, have access to the

support services needed to be successful.

Honestly, I did not know there was an early intervention program set up in my state for children with special needs before I gave birth to my daughter in 2006.  At that time, I discovered that she needed early intervention, and was then introduced to those services.  Once I became familiar with the program and fell in love, I decided being an advocate for children, specifically special needs children was my passion.  Every child deserves the same opportunities regardless of their circumstances.  There are so many wonderful programs available for all children, and this course has really opened my eyes to all of them. 

Principles

P-1.8—We shall be familiar with the risk factors for and

symptoms of child abuse and neglect, including

physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse and

physical, emotional, educational, and medical neglect.

We shall know and follow state laws and community

procedures that protect children against abuse and

neglect.

This is something that I want to learn more about.  I feel that I have some intuition when it comes to recognizing some of the abuse cases, but there are so many types of abuse that occur.  I would love the opportunity to learn more about the different types and what some specific risk factors are that accompany each type.  I believe this is something that is essential to know in my current job as a developmental therapist, and that once I know more about this subject, it may be easier to identify.  Not only will I have the knowledge needed, but I work directly in the home with the family, which makes it easier to see day to day life. 

Ideals (families)

I-2.2—To develop relationships of mutual trust and

create partnerships with the families we serve.

I-2.3—To welcome all family members and encourage

them to participate in the program.

Working with families is a day by day, hour by hour part of my job.  These families need to feel comfortable with me, trust me, and create a partnership that is going to be effective in helping their children.  I do feel that I have formed great relationships with most the families I serve.  That allows them to feel comfortable enough with me to share certain aspects of their lives, ask questions, and also participate in their children’s therapy sessions.  I think without the strong relationship, the participation would not be as prevalent. 

Ideals (colleagues)

I-3B.1—To assist the program in providing the highest

quality of service.

Working as a developmental therapist allows me to be very flexible with my job.  I work as a contractor for a therapy clinic, and have never even stepped foot in the office.  I have no boss that checks on me daily, but it is my job to make sure I am providing the highest quality of service to the children and families I serve.  I am not in this job for the money or the schedule; I am in it to help children and families!

Have a great week!!! 

Who Said It?

The other day, I was helping my daughter clean-up her toys in her toyroom.  I was lightly tossing her toys across the room into her toybox.  All of the sudden, she looked over at me and asked, "Do you treat your toys like that?"  I just about fell over laughing.  Isn't funny when our words come out of their mouths?!?!?!?!