Consequences of Stress on Children’s Development

I had a best friend who had to cope with poverty. Growing up, I never realized how much she had to cope with. When we went to school, she always had to struggle more than I did. I had lots of school supplies, my parents would help me with my school work and I had access to all the books I needed. During my high school career, I also had access to a computer and the Internet. My friend on the other hand had to struggle because she had none of these. Her parents were on welfare and could not help her with most of her homework. She also had to help with watching her younger siblings. Her closing was always old and ragged. She brought her own lunch to school and was never able to buy school lunches. Many of the children in our class made fun of her because she never had the latest clothing articles or sneakers. When I got older, I began to understand how much it affected her. Every time we went to go shopping or to the movies, she found an excuse not to come. Growing up, I found this odd but when I talk to her now, I finally understand the hardship. Poverty does not only affect the body but also the mind. In later years, she confided in me how much her self-esteem suffered because she felt left out. She never had money to do the things we did even though she wanted to. We tried to involve her by offering to buy her movie tickets because we knew she had no money. However, she always felt that we are taking pity on her rather than trying to be nice. She was too proud to just accept the offers because it felt like begging.

Poverty in India:

Even though malnutrition and hunger are a big problem in India, the policy making is amongst the worse in the world. According to Hansan (2009) the child under-nutrition rate in India is 46 per cent. This is almost twice as that of sub-Saharan Africa, which is economically speaking poorer than India. Hansan states that India ranks 66th among the 88 countries surveyed by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). "It comes below Sudan, Nigeria and Cameroon, and slightly above Bangladesh" (Hansan, 2009). The recent rise in food prices has possibly made matters worse in terms of people's access to food. The persistence of poverty is the poor implementation of government programmes (especially Integrated Child Development Services and the Public Distribution System), and various other factors .

The 2009 Congress promises in their manifesto to enact a law to facilitate access to sufficient food for all, particularly the most vulnerable and deprived sections of society. Not surprisingly, making access to food a fundamental right is likely to become the centrepiece of the United Progressive Alliance's second innings. "Politically the main challenge is to ensure that the Right to Food law is not limited to the fulfillment of the Congress election promise of 25 kg of grain a month at Rs. 3 a kg for Below Poverty Line families: this would amount to whittling down the people's access to food in the guise of the new law" (Hansan, 2009). If Congress makes true on their manifesto, this would be a great improvement on their child development.

Jacob (2010) describes the Reproductive and Child Health Programme II. This program incorporates the Integrated Child Development Services and the National Rural Health Mission, which have resulted in massive inputs in the health sector. Again, if the new administration makes good on promises, reducing poverty and improving health care systems can make a big impact on children's lives and development.

Reference

Hansan, Zoya (2009). Legislating against hunger. The Hindu, Chennai.

Jacob, K. S. (2010). Millennium Development Goals & India. The Hindu, Chennai.

Child Development and Public Health

The topic I chose is breastfeeding. I am a supporter of breastfeeding because I have done it myself. For the first year, my son had all the benefits of breast milk. I was a working mother and did pump as often as possible to have milk for my child during the day when he went to his daycare. I have to admit, breastfeeding can be an inconvenience at times. For example, I had to excuse myself about every hour to hour and a half when we had guests or go to the car when we were out. However, the benefits cannot be ignored. My son was always healthier than other children in his classroom. It was also cheaper. I had several friends and was surprised on how much money they spent each month on formula alone. Breastfeeding is therefore a great benefit for anyone who has low income. Other benefits are a balance of nutrition, micro nutrients, less ear infections, better vision and protections against childhood diseases (Berger, 2009). There are also  many benefits for mothers as well. Nothing brings a child and a mother closer together than breastfeeding. As much as I hated getting up every hour to hour and a half, I hated stopping to feed more. I still woke up in the middle of the night or found myself thinking I have to feed or pump for a long time. Even though me and my son are still close, it is a different bond. It also helped me loose the weight I gained during my pregnancy within a short period of time. The last benefit is that breastfeeding makes making good choices in your own diet much easier. I was a lot more health conscious while feeding since I realized what I eat, my child eats as well. Therefore, I was very careful in what I ate.

I researched the topic of breastfeeding in other countries. I found an article by Mane at al (2006). They researched the decline of mothers ceasing breastfeeding before the age of 15 month in West Africa. The study included 12208 children born between 1987 and 1997 in a rural area of Senegal. They interviewed mothers and found that children who were weaned early had a higher mortality rate before the age of two: "Our results showed that early cessation of breastfeeding was rare but that associated mortality was high, especially when the mother had died" (Mane at al, 2006). 
Wardlaw at al (2010) had another interesting article about developing countries and how breastfeeding can make a huge difference. The article explains that nearly one in every five children die form diarrhea (1.5 million a year) . Amongst providing vitamin supplements, the article says that exclusive breastfeeding can prevent many of these deaths.

References
Berger, K. S. (2009) The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.
Mané, N. Binta; Simondon, Kirsten B.; Simondon, François; Diallo, Aldiouma; Marra, Adama M. (2006). Early Breastfeeding Cessation in Rural Senegal: Causes, Modes, and Consequences. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 96 Issue 1, p139-144, 6p.

Wardlaw, T., Salama, P., Brocklehurst, C., Chopra, M., Mason, E. (2010). Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done. London: The Lancet,Vol. 375, Iss. 9718; pg. 870, 3 pgs.

Childbirth––In Your Life and Around the World

My own experience:
It was around 7 o'clock in the morning on Friday December 5, 2008. I woke up early this morning because I had an appointment in the hospital to discuss a c-section. I was full term but my little boy was still breach. I was scheduled for a c-section for Monday morning. When I woke up, I had slight cramps but I thought nothing of it. My husband and I lived in Japan and the hospital we needed to drive to was an hour away. When we got to the hospital, my cramps got stronger. I was hooked up to a monitor reading contractions. They found, I had started to go into labor. Within the next few hours, I was asked to sign several papers and the doctor decided fairly quickly that my son will be born on this day. Right before 1 o'clock pm, I was taken to a operating room and epidermal was administered. A few minutes later, the c-section started. My husband was allowed to be present in the room. At 1:35 pm, my son saw the light of day. He was taken to the side and cleaned. My husband cut the umbilical cord and brought my son over to my side for me to see. I got my own private room with a little tiny room mate. My son was allowed to stay with me during recovery.

Child Birth in China:
According to Brown (2010), there are many tradition in China that surround pregnancy in China. Be it that Chinese women read poetry or only eat certain colored foods. What I find most astonishing in the article was that "Chinese women traditionally labor in an armchair or a futon" (Brown, 2010, p.1). After birth, the women pray to their godess offering incent and meat. Chinese women also do not choose a child's name before the birth. They chose a false name after the birth to scare away evil spirits. The child is renamed when he/she is older. In fact, a child's name changed four or five times throughout their live time.

I found interesting how different childbirths can be around the world. When I think back on my own son being born, everything was very clinical. I had a support system, medical advice on what to eat and how much, and a hospital to go to to ensure a smooth childbirth. I believe that a child's development is closely connected to all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth. I believ that good nutrition is important during pregnancy and through the first years of life. When I read the article about how children are born in China and their tradition, I found that many of them seemed strange to me. I could also never imagine giving birth outside a hospital but in China homebirths are most common. I was surprised to read that a child's name changes throughout their lifes. To me, a name is a form of identity for a child and I never imagined changing my sons name, yet, I can understand why Chinese women have the tradition to protect their children from evil spirits. Reading about childbirth in China definetly opened my eyes to different traditions.

Reference

Brown, L. (2010). Childbirth tradition around the world: China. Retrieved on November 5, 2010, from

http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/labor_birth/birthing_traditions/article/childbirth-traditions-china