Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Domestic Violence

A few years ago I provided case management to a family that had been exposed to domestic violence for years. A mother and her four children came to receive housing and counseling for herself and her children.  My job was to help the family start their new life with the help of resources and safe housing.  After listening and assessing the family I notice right away that the children needed therapy right away.  The oldest daughter would gather all the children and would not let them leave her sight.  She explains to me that her job was to protect them from getting hurt.  One of the smaller children would lock herself in a closet to get away from any loud noises and the other children would begin to scream when they felt scared or frighten.  All of the problems these children faced impacted them socially, emotionally and physical.  One day a teacher found all the children together in the gymnasium under school bleachers.  The oldest sister explained that one of the smaller children didn’t get much sleep because of a bad nightmare and she was trying to protect her from her bad dream.  As an adult I’ve never experience anything like this and to hear and witness what these children had to endure was so hard for me and an experience I will never forget.  The family eventually moved after a year of being in the program and the oldest daughter still calls me to keep in touch.  The last time I spoke with her she said that she is still very shy and loves to read.  She said that she feels safe and her mother and siblings are doing well.  She also explains how she wants to be a counselor to help children the way I helped her and her family.   I always encourage her to pursue her dreams and her passions.  I told her that she would make an excellent counselor and I can’t wait to see her achieve her dreams of helping other children.  I’ve learned that children that have been exposed to any type of violence have a harder time expressing themselves and their emotions.  They sometimes become withdrawn or act out inappropriate ways.  My hope is that our society will realize that many of the issues our children faces impact them physically, emotionally, socially and cognitive.  It’s up to us all to make sure that children are safe and to make sure that parents have resources to get children help when needed.

 

I read this article” ELIMINATING VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN” this article talks about ways government and society can protect and provided services to children that have been expose to violence around the world. 

http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/violence_en.pdf

 

Resource

Inter-Parliamentary Union and UNICEF. (2007). Retrieved from Eliminating Violence Aganist Children: http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/violence_en.pdf

 

 

Child Development and Public Health

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the health topic I choose to discuss this week.  This is a very important topic to me because I had a client have her 2 week old baby girl to die from SIDS.  When I worked with first time teen mothers this is one of the subjects I discussed often.  I wanted the moms to know ways in which to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. 

When researching SIDS I found an article that I wanted to share.   One of the ways we share in United States to reduce the risk of SIDS is to keep baby’s sleep area close but separate from where you and others sleep. After reading this article The Natural Child Project-Co-sleeping Around the World I learned that majority of mothers and babies around the globe today, co-sleep.  In much of southern Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and South America, mothers and babies routinely share sleep.  The article goes on to state that most cultures that routinely practice co-sleeping, in any form, have very rare instances of SIDS. SIDS occurrences are among the lowest in the world in Hong Kong, where co-sleeping is extremely common.  Reading this information and knowing what I know about different cultures, I don't want  to be offenseive when telling mothers the risk of co-sleeping. Reading this article has casued me to change my approach so that I can be culturally sensitive to this subject and respect different cultrals but still discussing the risk.

Resource:

http://www.naturalchild.org/james_mckenna/cosleeping_world.html

 

Childbirth Around the World: Japanese

After reading this article in Parents magazine,  I was shocked to learn that the majority of Japanese women strive to give birth without the use of painkillers. This is something that I have heard about with American woman but majority of the women I no including myself have used “painkillers” during labor.   There is a belief among Japanese that labor pains act as a kind of test that a woman must endure in preparation for the challenging role of motherhood. This centuries-old belief endures despite the fact that a growing number of doctors in Japan are recommending epidurals for their patients, suggesting that they create a more peaceful birth experience. Although more women are beginning to exercise this option, centuries of tradition still keep many others from considering the procedure.

Japanese women deliver in hospitals, but it's not a given that the baby's father will act as the labor coach or even be in the room. Fathers are permitted to be present at the birth only if they have taken prenatal classes with the mother-to-be; if a C-section is performed, they must go to the waiting room. In general, hospital stays in Japan tend to be longer than in the U.S.; mothers can expect a minimum of a five-day stay for a vaginal birth and 10 days or more for a cesarean delivery.  This is so different from my experience.  I feel that it’s very important for fathers to be present during the birth of their child.  I also think that men need to take a couple of parenting/prenatal classes especially if it’s their first child.  This will give the dad some knowledge of what to expect from a professional.  This can be in the form of attending regular doctor’s appointments with the expecting mom or attending prenatal classes before the baby arrives.   In America, woman who delivery vaginal and she and the baby are ok sty no longer than two days in the hospital.  If the mom had a C-section, mothers stay anywhere from 3 to 5 days.  I stayed one day after the birth of each of my boys but would have loved to stay one more day.

 After leaving the hospital, mother and baby often stay at the mother's parents' home for a month or sometimes longer -- it is a cultural tradition that women stay in bed with their baby for 21 days. During this time friends may drop by to greet the new baby and join the family in eating the celebratory food osekihan (red rice with red beans).  When I left the hospital I went home to my house and the next day family and friends came over to visit.  I don’t want to even imagine my house if I was in the bed for twenty-one days!  I feel that giving birth is a remarkable experience and woman need to rest after the birth of a baby and take it easy as much as possible.  I really enjoyed reading about Japanese child bearing experiences and how they were quite different from my experience.   

Resource
http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=4
Retrived on November 4, 2010

My Personal Birthing Experiences

I have two sons ages fifteen and three years old and really loved being pregnant with them both.  I truly love being pregnant and learning about my baby while pregnant.  My first birth was pretty easy, my water broke at home and I went to the hospital with no pain and had him seven hours later.  My second son kept me in labor for over two days and I felt every single contraction.  Being pregnant was a wonderful and rewarding experience for me and both times I learned a lot about prenatal and child development.  During my second pregnancy I was more aware of how babies develop my health and the importance of my environment.  Knowing this made me so excited to share with other expectant mothers the importance of prenatal care and its impact on the well-being of the child they were carrying.     I can truly say that it was two of the best moments of my life.