Natural Disasters

As a child I grew up in an area that had a lot of tornadoes. So at school we were taught how at respond to the sound of the alarm. I remember sitting in the hallways with our heads covered.  Some of the time there were real storms and other just practice to make sure we knew what we were doing.  At home we knew what to do.  Go to the bathroom or we would sit in the hallway.  Candles at the ready.  We had some really bad storms but, we never lost anyone.  I did know classmates that talked about losing family members to storms.  We moved to the south for a region that did not have tornadoes, so to hear about wind picking up someone and taking them away is very frightening.  I do not think that any of the children I knew had professional help to deal with these happening.  As a child I don't know if it was cultural or if the help just was not available.  So the best we could do is remember what we learned at school and be friends with those who had lost love ones.

Katrina was one of the worst things I had ever heard of.  I had friends that lived in New Orleans when the storm went through the coast and destroyed a many of lives.  We hear about the children but my adult friends still feel the effects of Katrina.  Those were awful days before the storm and after the storm, calling everyone and pleading them to leave.  You would be surprised how many people stay put doing the storms that run up the coast. After all of these years, Katrina happened in August 2005, and still there are people who are not in their own homes, roads, and bridges, are still being repaired.  Studies have shown that the children are showing signs of SED (serious emotional disturbances) meaning: inappropriate  behavior, depression, hyperactivity, eating disorders, fears and phobias, also learning difficulties (ScienceDaily , 2010). A study that was done with a group of mostly white children (9-18 years of age) showed that these children tested better for trauma symptoms.  The symptoms were: depression, sad nervous, and having trouble sleeping and concentrating.  The girls showed more of an effect then the boys.  These children are being treated by professionals.  These children were testing better because the study stated their schools were reopened within three months of the hurricane. the interaction between classmates helped them deal with their issues.   A second study that was done with mostly African American children who were living in a  relocation camp with their families two months later ( some people are still not home) showed signs of behavioral stress. the males and the females showed they had developed a specialized system for processing and responding to stress. This is called normative stress regulation (ScienceDaily, 2010). Another study shows that the stress of not being in their own homes causes a level of psychological distress. The uncertainty of their lives is not healthy for anyone.  Help seems to be an issue, a staggering number 50% of parents seeking mental health help were able to access help(ScienceDaily, 2010). This is so very sad, how many people do you think we have lost in many ways because they help is just not there?

Resources:
Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health(2010, August 23).'Legacy of Katrina' Report details impact of stalled recovery on mental health status of children. ScienceDaily.




 Society for Research in Child Development( 2010, July 15).  Hurricane Katrina's effects on children: Resilience and gender. ScienceDaily

Virginia Tech(2010, January 5). Serious emotional disturbances found among children after  Katrina. ScienceDaily

Child Development and Public Health

I choose Breastfeeding as my topic.  Every once in a while you hear a public outcry about someone nursing their baby in public, or some kind of sit in.  In other countries you see women just sitting out where ever and taking care of their babies.  I will admit that the first time I saw a child, and it was a child not a baby nursing I was in a state of shock. I was called back into the room and the mother explained what was going on.  I don't remember what she said, but I do remember thinking it must be working, but she is to old for that.  I nursed both of my children not nearly as long as the child mentioned above.  My mother did not nurse neither had my older sister so I was the first among my family to do so.  They would say okay you can stop now or that is nasty, or they are going to bite you.  My babies were always in the top percentile. yes, I did lose the weight pretty fast, and they did not get many colds,as far as asthma ( one has asthma),  with obesity we are a little on the heavy side ( we are working on it), and we pray that we won't have heart disease ( Berber, 2009).  I hope that it reduces my chances of breast cancer.  It has brought me a great deal of satisfaction.  I had a boss who nursed her babies and she would say, "  I did that!"  Speaking of her healthy baby.  My husband was very supportive of me.  His Mother not so much, but she got there. 

Sticking to my first country I did research on, I went with Bolivia. I read an article called Breastfeeding in Bolivia- information and attitudes.  In Bolivia this study found that exclusive breastfeeding under the age of 4 months was above 50% ( Ludvigsson 2003).  The mother's knew of the benfits of breastfeeding and could tell the doctors what they were.  The ladies reported that their families were supportive of breastfeeding.  The surprise to me was the grandmothers who came in at a count of eleven being negative out of 447. I thought that the grandmothers would be in total support of breastfeeding.

Womenhealth.gov calls breast milk "liquid gold".  There are a lot of very good articles linked to this site.  womenshealth.gov/breastfeeding/why-breastfeeding-is-important/     

Personal Birthing Experience

It's hard to choose which one of my birthing experiences to write about.  My son Kameron was a month pass his due date.  I had an appointment to go in and have a stress test done for the next morning.  When he was delivered the doctor said " he should have been here".  All I could say was who are you telling.  My husband and I went to the hospital, don't know why we made that decision to go that day something about me acting strange.  We arrived at the hospital and they hooked me up to the monitors.  The nurse checked me out and said okay just relax.  We watched the All Star game, both of my children were born around big sport events.  Kaira was born after the NBA playoff game.  The doctor came in and read the print out.  He said "Carmellia you are in labor, see the lines.  My husband had gone out to get something to drink and the nurse came in and said we are going to give you your epidural , and then she said see the baby's head turning.  My husband had just got to the door.  He turned right back around.  He came back in and I was wheeled to the birthing room.  We had left the camera in the room and after the birth we were talking about not having any photos.  One of the nurses had picked up the camera and documented the whole process.  I guess the epidural must have really made me loopy because we laughed through most of the delivery.  Kameron come into the world protesting the whole time.  The doctor said "glad I am not going home with you."  It was a beautiful time.  Kaira was born with the help of a mid-wife.  I was a very low risk and had decided that I would try.  Right after the game went off, I took my shower and my husband called the hospital.  The nurse said " you will be going back home,"  I said not me.  Kaira was born in dim lights and just three people in the room, the midwife. my husband , and myself.  The only thing missing was Luther Vandross in the background.  I share these times with my children every once in awhile. I think that sharing this with them lets them know that they have parents that were ready for them and looking forward to being there for them for all the time that we are given.  They know that from the first moment of their lives someone has been there for them, and will continue to help them and be supportive of them. 

I chose Bolivia as the country to do my comparison on. I read an article called Bolivia Pushing Birthing Practices Closer to Home.  There women mostly give birth at home.  A little over five years ago pregnant women and children under the age of five were given free health care under a program called Universal Maternal and Infant Insurance.  With this program they are given free vaccinations.prenatal care, and reproductive health services. There are problems with the program there are limited medical supplies, the clinics are far apart in the rural areas.  There is a heavy patient load.  A doctor can see over a hundred patients in a day. The doctor's have had to participate in workshops to teach them to be culturally sensitive, allowing for midwives, and allowing families in the the room, and getting rid of stirrups.  Women had complained that they lost their power giving birth in a hospital.  It was a time for a women to claim her power, at that point men were taking care of them not telling them what to do and how to do it.  Giving birth at home allowed family to be present and they be in a familiar environment,and to eat the foods  that they wanted to.  This is being called a "humanized birth".  Family is not allowed in the birthing room in Bolivia and the women say the rooms are drafty and the bed is described as torture.  The staff says no one is allowed in because it is unsanitary, and a husband my see another women's private parts.  There may be a dozen women having babies in the same room. 

In Bolivia husband's are not allowed in the room, here they are allowed and encourage to participate in the birthing process. The rooms are made to look more home like, and we are no longer strapped down.  When the women of Bolivia have their children at home they feel empowered and there is a comfort level there. Here we feel a comfort level because we feel that we are being taken care of and we can have the both of best world by giving birth in a hospital.  But I find most interesting is that now we are fighting for the choice to almost go back to that birth experience of having a child at home.  That Bolivia is fighting to get where we are now and we are trying to have more choices for the birthing experience.  The time of giving birth is very personal and different each time and we as women grow stronger from each child born.  That we must share our thoughts and what we feel so that we can make it better for future women.  The article that I read can be found Here.