Consequences of Stress on Child Development

I was extremely worried about this assignment because I couldn't think of a single stressful event  from my childhood that would be interesting for readers. After talking with my grandmother about her childhood, I finally concluded that her story was amazing and needed to be shared with others. I present to you the life of my inspiration, Sallie Mae DeLoach.

Sallie Mae DeLoach (my grandmother) was born July 14, 1927 in the small town of Boligee, Alabama. She was the oldest of 14 children born to a poor share cropping father and mother. Her life during this time was fascinating and difficult because as a child she was faced with the stresses of poverty, racism and sometimes hunger. Sallie attended school until the 3rd grade where she was removed to help her mom with her younger siblings, assist around the house and help her father in the field. My grandmother stayed on the family farm until the age of 13 years old where she ran away to marry a much older gentleman. She claims that this was the only way to escape from her current situation. She remained married for approximately 4 years before migrating to Wisconsin, Illinois and finally Mississippi. The main issues of her childhood that she recalls include poverty, hunger and racism.

The time frame that my grandmother was born was during the Great Depression so the poverty rate and unemployment were extremely high. She was also born during a time of racial unease in the country especially in the South where people of color were not treated privy to have the same rights as Caucasians. My grandmother credits her will to survive and constant prayer as her coping mechanisms to survive during this time. Her ramifications for the surviving her stress include lack of trust for people and the economy.

I compared my grandmothers childhood stress to children in the country of Africa that are undergoing worse or similar circumstances. Children in Africa face stress during childhood that can include (but not limited to) poverty, racism (sociopolitical) and hunger. Other stress can include violence or abandonment from the family due to death, illness or other issues. Stress for children can be detrimental leaving scars that are not always visible but it can be overcome if we work together for the good of the children.

Immunization in United States and India



Berger (2009) defines immunization as "a process that stimulates the body's immune system to defend against attack by a particular contagious disease. Immunization maybe accomplished either naturally (by having the disease) or through vaccination (often by having an injection). Immunization was discovered many years ago but the concept was made popular by Louis Pasteur during the 1800s. The concept has been expanded for many years, each year with scientist finding new ways to fight against various diseases.

This topic is meaningful to me because the idea of a child suffering from a disease or illness is unbearable, especially with all the technology currently available. Technology has lead to the development of cures for childhood diseases like measles, chicken pox and polio (to name a few) that killed many children. Immunization is a touchy subject for parents, especially new parents because of the horror stories that were broad casted via world wide news and numerous articles. I can remember wrestling with the decision to vaccinate my child was extremely difficult because the side effects were presented before the benefits. Regardless to all the negative information that is presented to parents, the major benefit of immunization is prolonged life of children for childhood diseases.

I have heard and studied the beliefs of immunization in the United States and wondered how other regions of the world viewed immunizations. India is a county that fascinates me because you often see the beautiful tourist sites but you never see the true struggles of the people. Health care is an ongoing subject in the United States with the current arguments over health care bills but very little is hear about this region's health care options. I decided to study India to learn about the benefits of immunization and ways that immunization was viewed this regin. According to World Health Organization (2010), health education was a low priority in India due to the lack of information. The World Health Organization created a program in 1985 to fight against pertsus, diptheria, tetanus and other diseases. By 1990, the program was approximately 90% successful but information is currently being gathered for current statistics. The World Health Organization is continuing to work on educating parents on immunization and overall healthy living patterns.

I would eventually like to work as an advocate for children so this is a topic that I am sure will cross my path eventually. As an advocate your major focus is to provide parents with adequate information to make a decision that benefits the child. Immunization will forever be a subject that will ruffle some feathers but we must come together and look at what is best for all children. I believe that every child deserves the opportunity to enjoy a long life and if this is the method to that long life....every child should be vaccinated.


Berger, K. (2009). The developing person through childhood. New York, New York: Worth Publishers.

World Health Organization (2010). Retrieved on November 10, 2010 from http://www.who.int/en

My Birthing Experience

My senior year in high school was a very memorable year for me: accepted into college, preparing for the graduation/senior prom and last but not least I was preparing for the birth of my first son. I had no idea of  the change that my life would undergo during this year.

On September 29, 1995, I left school early to attend what I thought would be a routine doctors appointment that had become part of my regular schedule. It was at this visit that my doctor informed me that my blood pressure had reached a critical level and instructed me to head to the hospital for observations. I checked myself into the hospital 15 minutes later after leaving the OB/GYN appointment for observations of my blood pressure. According to the nurses and other medical staff, I would only be at the hospital for a few hours or at least until my blood pressure returned to a normal level for pregnancy. My blood pressure continued to climb to a very dangerous level, prompting the hospital staff to check me into the hospital and immediately hook up monitors to monitor the baby. My blood pressure continued to climb and doctors diagnosed my condition as toxemia and immediately ordered an emergency C-section. This was a very emotional time because I was only 6 1/2 months pregnant and had very little knowledge or understanding of what to expect from this early birth of my son. The doctors and nurses quickly flooded me, my boyfriend (now husband) and my parents with information about the possible outcomes if the emergency C-section was not done. We were also informed that due to the early delivery that our son could suffer from developmental delays and possibly death.

I decided to prolong the C-Section after praying and hoping that my blood pressure would return to a normal stage. This was not the case, so the emergency C-Section was done after the baby's heart rate begin to decrease. Our son was born on Saturday, September 30, 1995 at 1:15pm weighing 4lbs and 3 oz. He was immediately rushed from the delivery room for tests and observations by the nurses and other medical staff. I did not meet my son until he was approximately 12 hours old and was greeted by great news regarding his health. My doctors informed us that he was born 2 1/2 months early but did not having any breathing problems, could hold his body temperature and functioning at the level of a regular term baby. The doctor also informed us that he could possibly have some delays but it could not be determined until later.

I am happy to report on this day that I am a proud parent of a 15 year old gifted high school student. He is absolutely amazing to me, my family and the doctors that knew he would have some delays. He is very active in high school with academics and tons of extracurricular activities. He has/does not have any major medical problems and plans to become a pediatrician in the future. I decided to share this example because teen births are very common in society today and wanted to share with others that you can't always rely solely on what the doctor's say about the development of a child. My birth experience was very scary because I was not prepared for a C-Section and did not know what to expect under those circumstances. I was also not prepared for the delivery of a preterm baby or any complications with my pregnancy.

In preparation for this assignment, I had to research birthing experiences in other countries and describe the differences/similarities with my birth experience. I decided to compare my birth experience to women in Japan. In Japan, girls that get pregnant out of wedlock cause shame on the family or community. Prenatal care is encouraged  and the women are encouraged to start this process early in the pregnancy. Healthy eating, music and positive thinking are encouraged during the pregnancy to ward off evil spirits or harm to the mother and child. According to Hawaii Community College (2010), it is not custom for me or significant others to be present during labor and birth. There are two delivery options for the Japanese culture: either midwives at a birthing clinic or at the hospital with doctors. Japanese culture believe that pain should be handled with grace and very little noise or expression of pain (medicine is available upon request). During the post pregnancy phase, the mother and baby should not leave the house for 4 to 6 weeks after the birth. Breast feeding is also encouraged the day after the birth of the child. According to Hawaii Community College (2010) there are several ceremonies that are preformed following the birth of the child: Oshichia (naming ceremony done when the baby turns a week old), Hesono O (ritual that involves keeping the umbilical cord for best wishes in the future) and Hyakunichimairi (ceremony when baby is a 100 days old, similar to a "christening" in the United States).

A major insight that I gained from the comparison, is that in Japan pain is considered weakness but not in the United States where medicine is advised when pain become intolerable. Another major difference is the number of ceremonies that are held after the birth of the baby but all of the ceremonies emphasis the importance of family.

References

Hawaii Community College (2010). Japanese Culture. Retrieved on November 3, 2010 from http://www.hawcc.hawaii.edu/nursing/RNJapanese03.html.