Poverty and Child Development

When I was young my family survived on my Grandmother’s senior citizen’s rations that she received from the local church.   My father was suffering from PTSD and was addicted to tranquilizers.  My mother was scared to leave and go work because of my father’s irratic and unpredictable behavior.  She would watch neighborhood children, but everyone knew what was going on with my father so many did not want their children around us.  Even though we never really had much sweets, I  never really felt poor.  I was taught from a very early age about not wasting food and taking care of my  clothes and shoes.  I never really knew why except that I should take care of my things.  I do remember being sad because my friends would get to go out for the community sports and take piano lessons and I couldn’t.  I also remember that my clothes were usually too big for me because they were hand me downs from my sister.  I was constantly tripping over my feet because my shoes were two sizes too large.  I never felt bad though because of my clothes and shoes because my mom always emphasized making the person on the inside beautiful and not worry about the outwardly appearance.  As I grew I can remember having the school provide paper for me to make my flashcards and doing it at school because they knew we did not have extra paper laying around.  I was academically at the same level as my peers, but physically I was behind.  This could be because of the lack of nutrition during my younger years causing a physical delay (Berger, 2009) or it could simply be due to physical family traits. 

As I have grown, my father received help for his PTSD and his addiction.  He also got a good public service job that had insurance.  Once my father got on track and my brother, sister and I were in school, my mom got a job to help pay bills as well.  Life got better, meals were complete with a nutritious value, I got shoes that fit for the first time.  Every time I got a chance to dog sit, babysit, or earn any kind of money, I did and spend it on my own deodorant, clothes, etc.  I felt it my duty at age 12 to pay for my stuff if I could.  So poverty may have delayed my physical development, but it actually made me a very responsible person.

When I met my husband, he had a similar story from when he grew up in the Philippines, but also stories of chaos from the soldiers and gorilla troops fighting around their houses.  His parents, who came to the US to become doctors and make money, go back to the Philippines and provide free clinics for their town they came from.  They are trying to help, even if it’s a small part, where and when they can to reduce the stress on the peoples in that region.  The children are given immunizations, medicines, milk, food, toys, clothes all in these free clinics.  The region itself is still covered in poverty, but UNICEF and PIDS are realizing just how much the children in this region are suffering (http://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-children-suffer-multiple-dimensions-poverty-study).

References:

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

http://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/philippines-children-suffer-multiple-dimensions-poverty-study

Child Development and Public Health

Immunization
Immunizations have always been very important to me because it protects my children from the disease in which they are being immunized against (Berger, 2009).  Immunizations work by subjecting the body to a very tiny amount of inactive virus to help the immune system to create antibodies against the virus (Berger, 2009).  Also by immunizing my children I am also protecting them from any possible complications from the diseases.  This is especially important in my children because two of my children have asthma and one has Type I diabetes.  When they get sick even from a cold, they are sick longer and have more issues involving their own ailments.

When investigating more about public health involving immunizations, I decided to research the Philippines because that is where my husband was born.  The first site I found showed a similar vaccine schedule to the US, except had additional recommendations such as Typhoid and Meningococcal (http://www.babycenter.com.ph/baby/health/immunisationchart/).  Immunizations requirements were first implemented before 1900 by the Spanish regiment.  When the US took over and were established within the Philippines they began to try to get a handle on the outbreak of various diseases.  The major disease at that time was smallpox.  After they established their sources for creating the vaccines they proceeded to immunize more than 80,000 in the philippines (http://jhmas.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/1/1.full).  In 1901 they established a new civil health organization to aid in the prevention and containment of disease.  The doctors who would vaccinate were accompanied by soldiers and vaccinated the people without permission.  This was done because the small pox kept recurring due to some avoiding the vaccines (http://jhmas.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/1/1.full).  This marked the beginning of knowledge of science in these diseases for the Philippines.  From this time in history has aided the future of the Philippines in keeping current with today's immunizations to help protect their citizens.

I will always remain an advocate for immunizations because in my mind the benefits outweigh the risks.

Resources

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

http://www.babycenter.com.ph/baby/health/immunisationchart/

http://jhmas.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/1/1.full

Childbirth In Your Life and Around the World

Blog Assignment for WU EDUC-6160

By Deana Austria

My first child was born almost 10 years ago.  My husband and I read every book and magazine on prenatal care eagerly awaiting the arrival of our son.  We were very cautious on what I ate and how much rest I got.  I took prescription prenatal vitamins.  I called the ob-gyn every time I had a question, nervous that I might do something wrong and cause harm to my baby.  During my pregnancy I directed a pep band for high school.  Every time the band would blast their music, my son would just go wild in my womb to the point of almost pain for me.  So I always tried to stay as far back as I could but never quite sure of what this was doing to him. 

When it came close to the time my son was due, the Doctor decided to induce labor using Pitocin.  As the birth proceeded and I did not progress quickly enough, they decided to break my water.  My baby was not wanting to be born basically.  Eventually they figured out that he was facing the wrong way and adjusted him accordingly and 13 hours later, my first son was born.  He was so loud!  He screamed and the first thing that came to my mind was the loud pep band music that he had to endure during pregnancy.  I was so worried that I had hurt him.  I immediately nursed him because that is also something that my husband and I researched prior to him being born.  We wanted to be sure to provide everything in our power to give him a good healthy start.  This experience is note worthy not just because it was the glorious presentation of my pride and joy, but also because it was a new experience for a couple who sought various techniques, methods, medicines, etc. to provide what they felt was the best for their child during pregnancy and post pregnancy. 

From everything I have read it matters how the child is treated in the womb and how they will develop in life.  For example, if you choose to do illegal drugs during pregnancy it causes the fetus to experience withdrawl, low birth weight, prematurity, placental abrution, and more (www.americanpregnancy.org).  When women choose to smoke during pregnancy it can cause birth defects, low birth weight, prematurity, and more (http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/tobaccousepregnancy/index.htm).  In my son’s case I was worried that the noise pollution he had to endure during pregnancy may have damaged his hearing.  When I researched the possibilities of this occurring, it is possible to damage the baby’s hearing at very high decibel s (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/100/4/724.full), but more likely he did not, however he speaks the loudest out of our family and even though he has passed all his hearing tests, it makes me ponder the question.  

The connection between pregnancy, labor, and child development is science of the human development from conception to adulthood.  This science gathers data, develops theories, analysis trying to understand how and why people change (Berger, 2009).  As I searched over the internet for various aspects on different cultures’ birth traditions and how they related to child development, I noticed that there are a wide variety of beliefs on what is healthy for the unborn child.   In the Philippines, pregnant women do not just listen to their doctors but their elders.  To keep their baby’s  umbilical cord from wrapping around their necks, the mother would not wear anything around her neck during pregnancy.  The traditional methods that the women experienced have slowly been mixed with modern medicine.  For example, traditionally women gave birth at home with a midwife or another female family member.  Now most choose to give birth within a hospital setting.  I believe that home birth is a choice for each woman to make, but having a child in the hospital setting helps when complications occur during or post labor.  Also the Philippine Department of Health stepped in around 2010 to improve newborn health due to the high mortality rate of infants (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=554053&publicationSubCategoryId=80).  The connection between the Philippines and my story is simple.  My son is ½ Filipino.  His Dad and I endured many trials trying to not offend the elders with not observing their traditions in the birthing of our son.  We tried to show the knowledge we gained through our research and hoped for respect.  For the most part, his family was pleasant about our methods and welcomed the new knowledge.  They just want what is best for the child as well.  I believe the development of our son has been good.  He is very smart and handsome.  I think that most parents from anywhere want what is best for their child.  When a child is born they can only use what they have access to, to aid in their role in providing a healthy development of their child. 

Resources:

Berger, K. (2009). The developing person through childhood. NewYork, NY: Worth Publishers.

www.americanpregnancy.org

http://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/tobaccousepregnancy/index.htm

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/100/4/724.full

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=554053&publicationSubCategoryId=80