Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Childhood Stressor: Poverty

I chose poverty, because one of my dear friends grew up in a single parent home with 10 siblings.  She often went to sleep at night hungry and afraid.   She had to sleep on the floor because she didn’t have a bed to sleep in.  A rat bit off the tip of one of her and her younger brother’s fingers one night while they were asleep.  They did not have money or medical insurance, so their mother improvised by making a home remedy to treat their wound.  The electricity was constantly shut off because her mother could not afford to pay the bill.  All of her older brothers had to drop out of school in order to work in the fields so that the family could have food on the table, while her older sister stayed at home to help her mother cook, clean and raise her and her younger brother.   

Poverty in Ethiopia:

Ethiopia is one of the world’s poorest countries.  About 44 per cent of the population lives under the poverty line, more than 12 million people are chronically or at least periodically food insecure.  Most of them live in rural areas with agriculture as their main occupation.

 With about 80% of Ethiopians dependent on agriculture as their main livelihood, severe arid conditions due to persistent lack of rainfall coupled with civil disputes have worsened Ethiopian poverty. There has been a recent increase in poverty due to the sharp increases in food and fertilizer market prices.  These increases have made it very difficult for the already poor households in Ethiopia to secure an adequate supply of food. Even though Oromiya cultivate inset, acts as buffer storage at the time of drought and dearth, there is still not enough food. People lack coping mechanisms for facing drought-induced famines, and contingency planning is inadequate.

Poverty Stressor Impacts child development in Ethiopia:

Due to the increase level of poverty in Ethiopia, only 34 percent of the children attend school.  Many of the others have to work to support themselves and their families. According to the United Nations Children's Fund 'State of the World's Children Report 2008', 12 percent of Ethiopian children die before they reach the age of five.  Close to 75,000 children suffering from severe malnutrition and 4.6 million people experiencing food shortage.

 According to Bekele Tefera, policy co-coordinator of Save the Children in Ethiopia, children deserve special attention from government particularly at times of economic crisis and drought, but unfortunately, this assistance is minimal. Zelalem Adugna, HIV/AIDS advisor to Save the Children, says Ethiopia has a lot to learn from countries like Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Namibia which have successfully implemented policies for children. 

  

References:

Adebe, S. (2008, September). Understanding Poverty Impact on Children.  Inter Press Service News Agency. Retrieved from http://ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=43836

Maps of the World. (1999-09). Poverty In Ethiopia. Retrieved from http://finance.mapsofworld.com/economy/ethiopia/poverty.html

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Definition:

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) = A situation in which a seemingly healthy infant, at least 2 months of age, suddenly stops breathing and dies unexpectedly while asleep (Berger 2009).

Why is it Meaningful to me and how it has impacted my future work:

SIDS is important to me because just a year ago, one of my employees lost her infant to SIDS.  It was such a devastating time for the parents and the staff.   Each of my employees are now required to have annual SIDS training so that are using developmentally appropriate practices  at home and at work to ensure the safety of the children are enforced and maintained at all times.   Our goal is to empower our staff with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the needs of individual children and their families by providing a safe and nurturing environment.

 Research:

 Infant mortality has dropped worldwide over the past few years.   Studies show the United States as having the least amount of infant fatalities compared to other countries such as Chile, India, Mexico and Poland.  I believe this is due to identified causes and early intervention.   Infants are diagnosed with SIDS when an autopsy and careful investigation cannot identify the cause of death.  

In 1990, there were about 5000 reported cases of SIDS in the United States averaging 1 in every 800 infants.  Similar rates were reported in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and bout European and South American nations.  Surprisingly, research identified ethnic differences: Asian babies were less likely to become victims of SIDS compared to European or African descents.   Even before the worldwide campaign to reduce risk of SIDS, only 1 baby in 3,000 in Hong Kong died of SIDS, compared with 1 baby in 200 in New Zealand ( Berger 2009) and (Byard, 2004).  Some researches believed that low socioeconomic status (SES) increases the rate of SIDS, but further research found this to be an untrue hypothesis.   Researchers began focusing on infant care practices and found that placing infants on their backs to sleep decreased SIDS. 

While SIDS can occur outside of cribs, it's also known as crib death because it happens most often during sleep, usually between the hours of 10 p.m. and 10 a.m.  It occurs most frequently during cold-weather months.  About 20 percent of SIDS deaths happen in childcare settings, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics in 2000

Some experts believe that SIDS happens when a baby with an underlying abnormality sleeps tummy-down or in an area with soft or loose bedding, or is faced with an environmental challenge such as secondhand smoke during a critical period of growth.                                                         
                                                                          
References

American SIDS Institute (1983 - 2009). Welcome to the american sids institute. Retrieved from http://sids.org/

Berger. K. S. (2009). The developing person: Through childhood. New York. NY: Worth Publishers

Kidshealth (2005-2010). Sudden infant dealth syndrom. Nemours. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/

Personal Child Birth Experience

The Birth of my daughter  

1)       I remember the day that I found out I was pregnant with my daughter. I was happy but

scared.  At the time I was single, working for a family owned xeroxing company.  I lived in a one bedroom apartment and drove a 1984 blue Monte Carlo. 

As my fetus began to devleop, I became very health conscience.  I wanted my child to grow up healthy and smart so I exercised every day, went to all of my doctors appointments, and read to her each night.   I remember my mom telling me that when I see my baby for the first time that I was going to feel a love that I had never experienced before….And she was  right ((:

The night before delivery, my entire family stayed up waiting patentiently for the little bundle of joy to be born.  Everyone loaded up the car around 2:00am heading to the hospital.  When I got there the doctor gave me an epidural so that I wouldn’t feel the pain from the contractions.  At 6:17am my daughter was born weighing 6lbs 8oz and 17 inch long.

I chose this example because it was my personal experience with childbirth. I feel that birth is an amazing experience that should not be taken for granted.  The development of the child is dependent upon how well the mother takes care of herself throughout the pregnancy.  However, there will be variables that the mother does not have control over  that can lead to abnormal development.                                                                                                                                                                   

2)        Afghanistan has one of the world's highest death rates among women during pregnancy or childbirth. Studies have shown that 2% of all pregnancies end in death of the mother and 1 in 16 women will die while pregnant or soon after giving birth. This is due to the inadequacies of health care.  Most of the health infrastructure has been destroyed, and many people living in remote villages have little or no access to health care benefits.

Currently, only 14 per cent of deliveries are attended by a trained midwife and over one in five children die before the age of five years old. In isolated rural areas, women face a one in three lifetime risk of dying during pregnancy or childbirth.

After the death of one of the Afghanistan’s women, her sister decided to become a midwife in order to help decrease the death rate during childbirth.  She began working with the Ministry of Health in Afghanistan and local NGO Care of Afghan Families (CAF) to provide essential health care for vulnerable people in some of the country’s most remote and hard to reach areas.

3)       The differences in my childbearing experience and the women living in Afghanistan, is that our government pushes for health care benefits in the U.S. unlike Afghanistan’s Democratic government.  I was given medical guidance and treatments throughout my entire pregnancy. Families living in poverty in the U.S.  are still able to go to local health clinics for assistance; whereas, women in Afghanistan are not. Cultural differences play an important role on the developmental stages of the child.  If the cultural traits don’t soon change, the death of innocent children and women will continue to increase.  I am glad that women are stepping up and taking a stand to educator others on ways to help each other. They are seeking knowledge through trainings and community resources to empower their professional skills and development.

Merlin, F., (2010). Afghanistan. Retrieved from http://www.merlin-usa.org/Where-we-work/Afghanistan.aspx