Relationship Reflection

Building strong and everlasting relationships is important for many reasons. The first relationships we build are those with our care-taker during infancy, it is through this relation we learn about love, trust, and those special bonds. In many cultures including my own, bonds are formed within the family structure first, for example bonds between parents, aunts and uncles and, cousins. The bonds formed between my cousins and I began during my infancy and continue even to this day. We have forms bonds of friendships through trust and communication, which have become stronger throughout the years. The lines of communication in any relationships are an important factor in keeping any relationship alive. Trust is another factor in maintaining these relationships, whether family or friends, or colleagues, if the trust between any two individuals is severed in anyway, it can be difficult to bond again, if at all.

 

"I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!"

David Vitter, U.S. senator .

"Every child you encounter is a divine appointment."

Wess Stafford, President, Compassion International

Testing for Intelligence

Hello everyone.
     

When considering a commitment to viewing young children holistically I believe that the academic level of each child should be tested. Not all children are created equal, and some children are in need of greater assistance than others. Many times even if the student is extremely bright there may other factors that could be interfering with academic success. So I believe that children should be tested by psychologists and other experts when the circumstances require it. In order to serve the whole child, we must understand what it is that makes this child function.

In Puerto Rico school-aged children are being assessed much the same way the students here in the United States are, especially since the no child left behind (NCLB) mandates were implemented, which means that children as well as the teachers are being assessed.

I think children today are being over assessed, for example 2nd graders in Florida are assessed in the subjects of math and reading 4 times a year. Children today are being over burdened with examination today. What happens in the end is that the children become overwhelmed and refuse to cooperate.

Best Regards,
Magda.

The Consequences of Stress on Children'S Development

Disease is not a stranger in my family. My younger brother was diagnosed with spinal meningitis, which is an inflammation of the membranes (meninges) surrounding your brain and spinal cord ("Meningitis: Definition," 2012, para. 1) before his first birthday. I was four at the time and remember how my family members reacted to the news as they poured into the hospital floor to support my parents. I understood that something was terribly wrong, as I watched as my infant brother who was in isolation, behind the glass window that kept us separated, surrounded by a multitude of doctors and nurses with my mother somewhere in the midst. I remember how my mother reacted when after several long and exhausting hours the doctors finally were able to provide a diagnoses, my mother began crying uncontrollably, not understanding what was happening I became worried and began crying too, concerned for my mother. I wanted nothing more than for my brother and family to be home again. That night and for several weeks while my mother stayed with my younger brother we had to stay at relatives homes, which was really devastating for me and my other two siblings. Our father had to begin working nights in order so that he could take care of us during the day.  My brother survived this disease although he spent many months in the hospital, it wasn’t until 6 months later that he was released from the hospital, but he was completely healed. But the impact was tremendous for our family, even as a young child and as protective as my parents were, it still affected me. Not knowing if my younger brother would come, the image of him in that hospital room with all the machines attached to him tiny body, has been and continues to  a constant picture in my mind, even after all these years. When someone mentions meningitis it immdediately takes me back to that cold wintery night on that quiet, and dim hospital floor, as I watched behind the glass window.         

There are many countries that are facing devastating diseases that are killing both children and adults. For example in South Africa where AID/HIV epidemic has had devastating effects, on adults but especially children, “the number of premature deaths due to HIV/AIDS has risen significantly over the last decade from 39 percent to 75 percent in 2010” ("The Impact of HIV upon South Africa," 2013, p. 1). There were 56.9 deaths for every 1000 born due to this eradicating disease. The number of pregnant women diagnosed with this disease was about 30 percent in 2003, and these numbers have not seem to have declined since then ("The Impact of HIV upon South Africa," 2013). While this disease is preventable the South African government until recently had done little to provide government assistance to many providers. The results have been what I have mentioned above. This is devastating for the many children who are left without parents to take care of them, many of them have to have to be taken in by older family members many times grandparents, who many time do not have the finances to care for the children, many times forcing the families to move from location. These are changes that affect children cognitively, emotionally and developmentally, because they have to deal with the loss of both parents, and in many instances separated from other siblings or even family members and sent to orphanages if no other family member is willing or able to take them in. Many times these children themselves are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus and have to be institutionalized. I can only imagine how children will if they even make it to adults be able to function; the ravishing disease has the power to ruin lives. This chance of many of these children growing into healthy individuals are slim to none, many may suffer from insecure attachment behavioral problems, such as antisocial disorders, or learning disabilities. Thankfully for countries such as the United States has been providing funding to non- governmental organizations (NGO’s) such as USAID to Africa, so that they in turn can provide funding and resources needed in many of the villages where this disease has left its mark.


Best Regards,

Magda.

References

Definition of Meningitis. (2012, August 10). e-newletter: House Call. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meningitis/DS00118

HIV and AIDS in South Africa. (2013). AVERT, 1-21. Retrieved from http://www.avert.org/aidssouthafrica.htm#contentTable0

USAID South Africa [Fact Sheet]. (2012). Retrieved from USAID: http://sa.usaid.gov/south_africa/node/5

Child Development and Public Health

Hello everyone,

According to the resource center for the national sudden and unexpected infant/child death and pregnancy loss consortium (SUID/SIDS) sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the third leading cause of infant death for 2009 and the leading death for infants from 1-12 months; these statistics are from the United States, which have declined drastically since 1999 (National SUID/SID Resource Center Statistics, February 2013, p. 1). America comes in second in the highest numbers of SIDS after New Zealand, with the lowest number of SIDS in countries such as Japan and Netherlands.

There seem to be a few commonalities in both countries, for example, many of these deaths are primarily among the disadvantaged, poor, many from  racial and ethnic groups. In America the highest seems to be from non- Hispanics, blacks, and American Indians, and in New Zealand the highest number of SIDS were from the Maori’s, an ethnic group. According to Mitchell et al. (1993) in New Zealand the highest numbers again appear to be in those infants from the ethnic group the Maori, as compared to non-Maori group (13).

This reason this topic is of great interest to me, is because I know of an infant who died as a result of SIDS, in the late 80’s. He was 12 months old, when his mother found him in his crib, the autopsy revealed that it had been SIDS. The impact of this death was overwhelming to everyone, but most significant on the parents, who were doting parents. I have since been an advocate for educating young mothers of the importance of placing infants on their backs to sleep, and of maintaining the crib and or area where the infant is free from any objects which can cause entanglement and or suffocation.

   

References

Mitchell, E. A., Stewart, A. A., Scragg, R., Ford, R. P., Taylor, B. J., Becroft, D. M., ... Allen, E. M. (1993, January 2). Ethnic differences in mortality from sudden infant death syndrome in New Zealand. British Medical Journal, 306(6869), 13-16. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1676357/

National SUID/SID Resource Center Statistics. (February 2013). http://www.sidscenter.org/Statistics.html

Best Regards,
Magda.

Child Birth in Your Life and Around the World

I had the privilege of being part of several of my sister’s live births. I have to say my sister is a trooper; she had her first three children without any type of pain killers including any epidurals and two these three babies came into the world weighing in more than 9 pounds. I can still recall the event; the center was a maternity center where there were midwives. My sister was in labor for three hours, when she began to crown. She was given the choice of deciding which position to give birth so she decided to have the baby in a squatting position, which alleviated the contractions and did not work again gravity. I can still remember the midwives encouraging her and guiding her along as she began pushing, and the baby beginning to appear through the birthing canal, I was apprehensive and thought maybe the midwives might become careless miss and let the baby fall, but thanks to their expertise that did not occur. It was the first natural, and not to mention horizontal birth I had been present at. I have to admit that it was the most amazing and wonderful event I had ever witnessed. Having been one of the firsts to see the baby arrive into the world was breathless, being able to hold her within seconds of her arrival, priceless. I have chosen this example because of the birthing method my sister chose to embrace. This method did not include drugs, the center was dedicated to only women and the main focus was the mother and her baby.  The midwives were phenomenal to say the least, their knowledge and expertise superseded anything I could say or imagine. The other important fact about this experience was the setting of the room, which was recreated to resemble a family’s bedroom instead of a hospital room, and family members from both sides were welcomed to be a part of the wonderful event. It was as I mention earlier the greatest and most amazing event I have ever had the privilege of being a part of. I believe that giving birth is just a minute part of child development. The development of a child truly begins the second that mother learns that she is with child, not after the child is born. She should begin with a proper nutrition and care of her physical and mental health as well. Limiting exposure to any harmful elements that may affect the growing baby within her is of utmost importance.

 

The country of the world I have chosen to share about is Spain. I was drawn to this particular country because of the choices given to mothers to give birth, either private or at a public clinic. I thought it is interesting how we have choices in America, but with different outcomes. In Spain for instance if the mother decides to have a baby in a “private hospital” while she will be entitled to stay in a private bedroom;  the hospital may not have state of the art equipment in the event that something should go wrong. In which case the baby will be transported to a public clinic or hospital where the state of the art equipment can be found no matter how run down the hospital maybe. Another interesting fact about Spain’s labor room’s staff is that if the mother is having trouble during delivery, there is always the possibility that one of the attending medical staff members all in the name of “trying” to speed up the birth might just decide to throw themselves on the mother’s stomach, in order to speed up the delivery. Another interesting fact I learned while conducting this research is that if you request an epidural there is a chance you may not get one, and if you do receive pain medication you may not know what type of pain medication it is, which is why many expectant mothers decide to deliver naturally.  However, I have learned that the Spaniards do expect fathers to hang around the hospital as long as the mother is there, which can be anywhere from 1 to 3, and in some instances even 4 days. The family is given all the documents needed to provide proper care for the baby, and his mother before the family leaves the hospital. The baby is seen by the doctor within two weeks after birth, and parents are advised that if any emergency should arise they should seek immediate attention a public hospital’s emergency room. Learning about Spain has made me truly appreciate the American way of labor and delivery a great deal more.  

 

References

 

http://www.tumbit.com/how-to-guides/articles/18-having-a-baby-in-spain.html