The Stressors of Children

A stressor from my childhood that I want to talk about is racism. I attended a school system in which very few African Americans went to. The ratio from black students to white students was around 1:50, about one per grade level in elementary school. I was very athletic and active, so at recess time I could be found on the basketball court or soccer field. I remember a time in third grade wanting to play soccer and a child approaching me saying, “You can’t play because you are darker than us.” I felt crushed and went crying to my sister. She was just a year older than me so we shared the same recess time. Her protective older sister instincts kicked in and she “handled” that situation. I’ll let you use your imagination and fill in the rest! I told my teacher when we went inside and she talked to the both of us about the situation. Anyways, that was just one of a few instances that I experienced growing up.

In South Africa, there are many stressors for children. Poverty, disease, environmental factors, and hunger are issues that affect children and their growth. The strategies used are described as erosive. This means that it solves the problem now, but in the future it doesn’t because more problems occur. To ensure that enough work is done at home in preparation for meals and warmth, young boys and girls are forced to stay at home. They stay at home and help their parents so the family can be fed, therefore they become uneducated adults in the long run. Mother’s with a deathly disease, such as AIDS, don’t plan for their children’s future. They assume that another member of the family will take care of their children or they will be admitted into an orphanage. In either case, either one doesn't guarantee proper eating habits or education. This is a result of having no access to appropriate support and services. Parents don’t know where or who to turn to when hunger, poverty, or disease becomes too overwhelming. Efforts are being made to make assistance available for families who are in dire need of food, shelter, or medical attention.

Resource

Drimie, S., Cassale, M. 2009. Multiple stressors in Southern Africa: the link between HIV/AIDS, food insecurity, poverty, and children’s vulnerability now and in the future. AIDS Care, 1(21), 28-33.

Breastfeeding Around the World

My mother started breastfeeding me when I was born. For weeks I was a healthy baby girl. She and my doctor’s noticed a yellowing of my skin. A blood test showed that I was jaundice, a yellowing of the skin due to a recycling of old blood cells. Mom had to stop breastfeeding because the doctor’s thought I was getting this disease from her milk. She remembers hating taking me to the doctor every week to get my blood drawn because I would scream every time they pricked my foot!

I find breastfeeding to be important, not only for the infant, but for the mother too. I researched breastfeeding in South Africa. At one time, it was very common. As the years progressed, breastfeeding rates digressed. This was partially because of HIV being passed through the mother’s milk. Now it is being stressed that infants be breastfed for the first 6 months until some sort of food is introduced. The studies that have been conducted on breastmilk substitutes shows that it unsanitary because 30% of people don’t have access to clean water and 40 % don’t have access to any form of sanitation (Meyer, 2007). Infants that are being breastfed are not only more protected from diseases due to the immunities transmitted through the mother’s milk, but they recover quicker after an illness. As a result, a lower infant mortality rate is common.

Resources

Meyer, A. Van der Spuy, D., du Plessis, L. (2007). The rationale for adopting current international breastfeeding guidelines in South Africa. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 3(4), 271-280

Birthing Experiences

The only personal birthing experience that I could expand upon is my own because I haven’t experienced any other’s birth. I don’t remember anything about my own birth. I was born on January 10 at Adena Hospital, which was my projected due date. According to my mother, right when I was born my newborn reflexes of grasping caused me to grab the doctor’s utensils to cut the umbilical cord that he had in his hands. I found this very amusing! Mom said that she knew she was in trouble!

The region I chose to discuss where childbirth is different than the United States is Ghana. I chose to further research this region because it is mentioned in our course resource The Developing Person Through Childhood. Here, giving birth is looked at as being “natural” and not an “illness” (Janse, 2006) so there isn’t a need for a hospital unless complications occur. These complications could mean harm to the mother or to the infant. Due to this belief, most childbirth occurs at home. When this happens, usually older female relatives are there to see the process through. These women are experienced at childbirth because they have gone through it themselves. Females are expected to have children, otherwise they aren’t considered women. The mother to be seeks most of her advice during pregnancy and after from these experienced women. If she doesn’t, it is viewed as disrespectful. Fathers play the role of supplying the financial needs for the child and mother.

Viewing these similarities and differences between birthing experiences in the U.S. and Ghana broadens my views on how things operate around the world. We all have different beliefs. When we have these strong beliefs it has a rippling effect to our decisions in life.

Resources

Berger, K.S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5^th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers

Janse, I. (2006). Decision making in  childbirth: the influence of traditional structures in Ghanian village. International Nursing Review, 53(1), 41-46