Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

Poverty

I thank God that I was blessed to not experience any stressors in my childhood.  There is one stressor that I’m very passionate about and that is child hunger.  I know that there are a great number of kids in the US that experience this stressor, but when I think of childhood hunger I think of Africa.  In Africa nearly six million children die every year from malnutrition.  I was amazed to find that the majority of the deaths in African children are from treatable disease, such as diarrhea, measles, malaria and pneumonia and that this number could be lowered with proper nourishment.  Poverty, illiteracy and disease are all made worse by hunger, one report says. Malnourished children start school later and find it difficult to learn.  It breaks my heart to watch the commercials on child hunger in places like Ethiopia, and I wish there were more that I myself could do.  I know that with individual aid as well as International agencies, NGO’s, civil society and private sectors will continue to work hard to end hunger in the US as well as other countries.

References:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4459348.stm

http://www.end-child-hunger.org/

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Of the public health topics the one that really interested me was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) also known as “Crib Death” is the sudden unexpected death of a seemingly normal, healthy infant under one year of age that remains unexplained after a thorough postmortem investigation, including an autopsy and a review of the case history. 

·         90% of SIDS deaths occur during the first 6 months of life, usually occurring between 2 and 4 months.

·         SIDS occurs about 1.5 times more frequently in boys than girls.

·         The rate of SIDS is twice as high in African American infants as Caucasians.

·         SIDS claims the lives of about 2500 in the United States each year.

Needless to say after reading this information during my research it only made me want to know more about SIDS and the potential risk factors, which are:

·         Smoking, drinking, or drug use during pregnancy

·         Poor prenatal care

·         Prematurity or low birth weight

·         Mothers younger than 20

·         Tobacco smoke exposure following birth

·         Overheating from excessive sleepwear and bedding

·         Stomach sleeping

During my research I found a lot of information on Native American infants as it relates to SIDS.  Native American infants are 3 times more likely to die from SIDS than American infants.  This was unnerving to me and I wanted to learn more.  As I read more I found that one reason SIDS deaths are higher in Indian infants is due to Indian culture and tradition.  Indian mothers have a tradition of Co-sleeping; this is a highly valued practice for its physical and social benefits to the child, mother and family by providing child security, breastfeeding, bonding and family connectedness.

After my research on SIDS I feel that it is vital that we heighten awareness and education of SIDS in our younger mothers, lower income mothers, just mothers in general.  In many ways I feel that children that are dying from SIDS are dying from senseless deaths and when we know better we do better.  We have to educate them on how important it is for infants to sleep on their back on a firm surface in the room with the parents for the first year; avoiding high temperatures and excessive clothing; and how important it is to keep the temperature tolerable in the room in which the infant sleeps.

References:

Aslam, H., Kemp, L., Harris, E., & Gilbert, E. (2009). Socio-cultural perceptions of sudden infant death syndrome among migrant Indian mothers. Journal of Pediatrics & Child Health, 45(11), 670-675. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2009.01593.x

Athanasakis, E. E., Karavasiliadou, S. S., & Styliadis, I. I. (2011). The factors contributing to the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Hippokratia, 15(2), 127-131.

The birth of my god-daughter Jaycee

Unfortunately I have yet to be blessed with children of my own.  Therefore I chose to write about the birth of my beautiful god-daughter, Jaycee.  Jaycee’s mother and I became friends through a mutual friend.  She was 21 years old and had another daughter when she herself was in the 7^th grade.  She was very excited about being pregnant, but nervous also as her older daughter had been raised more like a sister than a daughter.  It was so much fun to experience each Dr. visit and birthing class as we prepared for Jaycee. I will never forget how nervous and giddy I felt when I got the call on October 9, 2009 that it was time!!!!  Kenley did opt for an epidural; I can’t help but laugh thinking about the nurse asking Kenley if she wanted an epidural or did she plan for natural childbirth, she rose up and said lady there is nothing natural about having a baby. Lol. About 5 ½  hours  later with her mom at her head holding her hand and me holding one leg and Jason holding the other leg my little Jaycee Bug came into the world.  I will never forget the overwhelming feeling of love that I felt for Jaycee the moment she came into the world.

I decided to look into birthing practices in Africa.  Women in Africa are 175 times more likely to die in childbirth.  That breaks down to one in 16 chance of dying while giving birth and according to reports can be avoided.  Many women in Africa deliver alone and without untrained attendants; most deaths and disability result from delays in recognizing complications, reaching a medical facility or receiving quality care.

Africa Childbirth Death to High

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3206960.stm