Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

A person I know experienced violence between her parents as a child. This has affected her throughout her entire life. Socially it made her doubtful and eager to please. She also has a dis-attachment from both of her parents due to the violence she witnessed.

When I saw the words "natural disaster" I automatically thought of Haiti. Haiti suffered great loss due to the earthquake in 2010. That earthquake destroyed a great amount of the country and left many people without food and shelter. As a child having to live through that I could not imagine. Their entire development must have been affected. Their biosocial would be affected because their growth would be affected due to the insufficient amount of food and nourishment. Their cognitive development affected because of their schools being destroyed and learning be put on hold. Finally their psychosocial development because of experiencing losses all around them.

Public Health - Immunizations

The public health concern I chose to blog about this week is that of immunizations. Diseases can spread to anyone, anywhere, and a disease does not discriminate. Some diseases we can’t prevent, but there are so many that we can by vaccinations. I find this important because we live in a world surrounded by people from all over the world. If efforts are not being made in all parts of the world to stress the importance of immunizations we can be affected in our own country as well. We can be affected if we travel or if others travel here. Therefore, immunizations are very important. I think world wide the awareness of immunizations and their importance is being heard and lots of organizations are doing their part to help people get immunized. I read on the CDC website about various incentives to help with immunizations. One of them involved people from Brazil traveling to Angola and helping to immunize people and raise awareness about being vaccinated against polio. Staying informed and update about immunizations will help me in my future work by helping others including parents be aware of the necessity of immunizations.

My Personal Birthing Experience

The first birthing experience that comes to mind is the birth of my first born which occured almost three years ago. I remember being terrified, nervous, and excited. Although we hear stories about births all the time it was still the "unknown" to me. I was afraid of the pain I might feel and when and where I would go into labor. I actually had to be induced due to losing amniotic fluid. I remember going for a regular check-up and the doctor telling me I was going to the hospital that night. I remember crying because I was not ready. I was induced that night at about 8:00 and my doctor broke my water at 9:00 the following morning. I had my epidural at 9:45 ( I'm a big........ baby when it comes to pain). By 12:00 my beautiful baby boy made his way into the world and EVERYTHING that happened prior to that moment was forgotten. Lots of people have their opinions about birth and child development especially when discussing natural birth and births with medication. I have heard people say that babies that are born naturally develop better because they were not drugged. I on the other hand disagree. My thoughts are the main focus should be the health of the child. I do not think that natural vs. medicine affects the development of the child if given correctly. I have two beautiful children who are developing very well eventhough I did not choose to deliver them naturally. I commend those women that can have natural births but I am a chicken.

In The Developing Person Through Childhood the author described a birth in Ghana. A women balled up in the corner of her hut on the floor  with her midwife in a nearby corner. The author describe the women as being able to crouch down and bore down to allow her child to be born without help, medicine, not even a sound of agony or pain. That experience was completely different from mine. I remember thinking "absolutely not" as I read the description. However, I am in awe and pure amazement of the strength and capabilities of a woman. I commend and admire such women for their strentgh and realize how much of a baby I really am.