Stress on Children's Development

There are so many different things that can place stress on a child.  Abuse is something that our country deals with on a daily basis.  I have a first-hands experience dealing with abuse.  When I was growing up, my dad was very abusive towards my mom.  Mostly, it was mental abuse but it became physical a few times.  The last three years before they finally got divorced was really bad.  They would fight all the time and my dad was really mean to my mom.  I witnessed everything.  I was 13 when they finally got divorced.  That was 16 years ago.  The violence that I witnessed put a stress on me.  I never wanted to go home from school.  I was always worried when I had friends over that my dad would do something in front of them and I never told anyone what was going on.  I wanted to disappear and pretend that it wasn't happening.  I wanted everyone to believe my life was good and that my family was wonderful.  I was affected by it though.  Even today, with my husband and children, I will catch myself snapping at times without realizing it.  At times when I am mad, I catch myself wanting to break something or throw things.  I have to remind myself to calm down and that I do not want my children going through what I went through.  It is a struggle at times.  My marriage has been affected by my childhood.  So many children experience that type of abuse and even worse than what I went through.  As a teacher, it is my job to watch for the signs of abuse and make sure the children know that they are loved.  I want them to know they can talk to me if something is going on.  I never talked to my teachers and sometimes I wish that I had talked to someone.  I want my students to know that it is not their fault and to get them help.  Abuse affects every part of their development.  I believe it is happening in every part of our country today.

Beating of children is a widely accepted and sanctioned practice in Nigeria culture. It is used as a way of instilling, discipline in a child. (CWRIN, 2001; WRM, 1998), it is therefore a usual practice in most home, and is used frequently as a mode of discipline for any offence even if it is trivial or grievous.  It is very common for the children in part of the world to experience abuse.  It is a way of life there.There are a few things that can be done to help prevent child abuse in Nigeria.  One of the things that can be done is giving women more freedom and power.  Everyone should make efforts to support family values.  Everyone effort should be made to adopt or foster these children.  These are just a few of the ways to help solve the problem of child abuse in Nigeria.

References
Children’s and women’s Right in Nigeria (2001). A wake up call. Situation Analysis (Eds). Anthony Hides. National Planning Commission Abuja & UNICEF Nigeria.
Women Right Monitor (1998) child labour; A new dimension to the Malaise. (Eds) Nwogu S. and Enwerem G.H. Journal of women justice Programme 1(13) 11-15.

Child Development and Public Health

I have chosen to write about the topic of immunizations.   From the time babies are born, parents have the options of giving them immunization shots to protect the infant and child from harmful diseases that, in the past, killed hundreds.  "Immunization protects children not only from diseases but also from serious complications, including deafness, blindness, sterility, and meningitis" (Berger, 2009).  Children have to have immunizations and be-up-to date on their shots in order to start public schools.  Immunizations has become a hot topic lately with parents blaming immunizations for causing autism and other problems in their children.  "Many parents are concerned about potential side effects of vaccinations.  For example, in recent years many parents were almared by reports that the MMR vaccine caused autism, but that hypothesis has been repeatedly disproved" (Berger, 2009).  I believe the greater risk is by not vaccinating your child.  In the United States we have the option and opportunity to protect our children from these harmful, deadly diseases and complications.

In other parts of the world, children are not as lucky.  "More than 1 million children in developing nations die each year bcause effective vaccines against AIDS, malaria, cholera, typhoid, and shigellosis are not yet ready for widespread use (Russell, 2002).  Another 2 million to 3 million die each year from diphtheria, tetanus, and measles because they have not been immunized against those diseases (Mahmoud, 2004).  100,000 children in India died in 2005 from meales alone (Dugger, 2006).  I feel very lucky to live in a country where I can protect myself and my children from these diseases.  I wish there was more we could do to offer help and aid to these developing countries.  It breaks my heart to know that so many children die each other because they are not protected from the diseases. 

References

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

Dugger, C. W.  (2006).  Mothers of Nepal vanquish a killer of children.  New York times, pp. A1, A16.

Russell, M.  (2002).  South Korea: Institute helps spread use of vaccines in Asia.  Science, 295, 611-612.

My Childbirth Experience

My experience giving birth to my second son felt like a roller coaster ride.  There was not a dull moment during the entire thing.  My due date was September 11.  It was August and I had already tried to go into labor twice.  The second time the doctors stopped the labor and sent me home on full bedrest.  Two days later, on August 12, my water broke.  It was 5:30pm.  My husband was at work 45 minutes away.  Our hospital was 90 minutes away.  My husband rushed home and around 6:30 we headed for the hospital.  On the drive to the hospital the contractions started and I thought I was dying.  When I had my first son I had an epidural before the contractions got too bad.  I had not felt much with him.  But this time I was feeling it and all I could think about was getting to the hospital and getting an epidural.  I was also scared before I knew from an ultrasound earlier that week that my baby was already over 8lbs.  My doctor had decided that I would have a C-Section with this baby.  I was very scared about that since my other son had been born vaginally.  We got to the hospital around 8pm.  I could barely walk and in tears from the pain.  The nurse got me settled in a bed and checked me.  I was dialated to a 6.  I couldn't believe I had dialated that quickly.  I asked again for an epidural.  I was told as soon as they got me upstairs to the labor and delivery floor I could have some pain medicine.  On the ride up the elevator I felt the need to push and the nurse told me there was no way I could be ready to push.  I was only at a 6.  When we got into a room I demanded that they check me again.  They did and I was at a 9.  This was all within 15 minutes.  I knew then that I wouldn't be getting an epidural and I was even more scared.  I do not like pain.  I had gotten an epidural with my 1st son when I got dialated to a 4.  I knew this would not be good.  There was no time for an epidural, no time for a C-Section, and I was about to have a big baby.  It was happening so fast I didn't have time to think much about it.  My doctor happened to be at the hospital on call and he rushed in.  I don't remember a lot about the events of having him because it all happened so fast.  I do remember the pain.  It was awful but I knew that I had to do it.  I remember several nurses coming in waiting and I was told that since my baby was premature that he would probably have to go to the NICU after he was born.  During the delivery, my son got stuck in the birth canal and the cord was wrapped around his neck.  My doctor had to jerk and pull to get him out.  When he came out, he was not crying and he was blue and bruised from head to toe.  My husband and my mother was in the room and they both later told me that they thought he was dead.  I don't rememer much about it other than my baby wasn't crying.  It didn't sink in at first that the baby wasn't placed on my belly immediately or that my husband didn't cut the cord.  I remember asking is he ok and all my husband and mom would tell me was that they were working on him.  They got my son breathing and soon he cried softly.  They put him next to me briefly so I could see him, then he was rushed away to the NICU.  He was born at 9:22pm and weighed 9lbs, 2oz, and 21 inches long.  All of this happened in four hours.  I am still uncertain if he was truely premature or if my due date was wrong.  He spent two weeks in the NICU.  He just recently turned 1 and is still doing great.  I picked to write about my son's birth because it was an experience that I will never forget.  I never dreamed that I would have a baby, let alone a 9lber, without any drugs.  I still worry about my son's development because he had problems when was born.  He is thriving and meeting all of the developmental goals so I think he will be ok.

I have decided to compare my childbirth experience to the women in Central Africa.  In developed countries 99% of women receive prenatal care and are attended by skilled health personnel during labor. In Burundi only 25% of births are attended by skilled health personnel. In Rwanda only 10% of mothers receive adequate prenatal care and only 31% give birth with a skilled attendant (Vanderlaan, J., 2011).  Most of these women in these countries will not deliver in a hospital setting, but will have their babies naturally at home.  I made it to the hospital (barely) with mine but, like these woman, I did not have any pain medication.  Natural childbirth is a way of life for these women.  It was not something that I chose for myself, but I am glad that it happened.  I have the experience of knowing what women in other parts of the world go through.  I have a new respect for these women.

References
Vanderlaan, J.  2011.  Birth in Central Africa.  Retrieved on September 7, 2012 from http://www.birthingnaturally.net/christian/africa/index.html