Week 4 Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

The stressor that I chose was the affects of war on children's development.  I haven't really been through any of these stressors myself, nor do I know anyone who has been through any of these.  I may have been exposed to some minor chaos and violence while growing up but I don't feel like I can put my situation on the same level as those who severely deal with this to the extreme on a daily basis.  I can somewhat relate to some of the effects of PTSD as I have dealt with symptoms for some years now from the effects of a tramatic event as a child.

I chose the region of Afghanistan to focus on the effects of war on children.  PTSD is high due to family violence caused by high levels of stress stemming from the war.  Other issues stemming from war is:  displacement, lack of food, interruption of school, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance behaviors, mental disorders, and increased levels of arrousal.  More common side affects of PTSD include:  guilt, depression, anxiety, poor appetite, difficulty concentrating, difficulty relaxing, aggressive outbursts, poor interactions, fear of darkness, and strong effect on emotional development.  There are 35,000 street children due to the war in Afghanistan with 25,000 children dying of malnutrition.  Every 3 hours a child is blown up due to hidden mines, 7 out of 10 children have lost parents and 72% have lost relatives since the war began (Dev Psychopathol. 2001).  I found much more information on bio-behavior consequences of war on chidren's mental health, growth and development at http://www.internetandpsychiatry.com/

I couldn't find much on the efforts to minimize harm to children except groups such as UNICEF having a Polio campaign in addition to helping with nutrition, water sanitation, obstetric care and provisions for non food issues.  The United Nations has also brought immunization campaigns to the region. 

 

  

Child Development and Public Health

The topic that I chose was Nutrition/malnutrition because according to research, children need to have their basic needs met  before they can focus on education and other secondary issues.  In the beginning of my research I initially was interested in access to healthy water, but as I read articles I found that all six public health measures were interrelated.  One led to another which made it a toss up as to which one I decided to research.

 I found that Peru had the highest rate of malnutrition in Latin America with 40 percent of children under 5 having malnutrition.  Water was a secondary issue, it is usually collected, hauled a long distance, and stored until it is consumed.  Water gathered in this way is vulnerable to contamination between its source and its point of use.

I have learned that there are many factors that impact children's development all over the world and they all need to be addressed.  Determining which is the most important is the question.  In the evidence from my readings this week I think you have to focus on  the health of the mother and unborn child as all of these would have an impact on a healthy pregnancy.  I am definately more aware of the broader span of public health issues than I was before I did my research.   

Childbirth experience

 All four of my births had memorable moments.  My first was 4 wks early with only minor complications and mild postpartum depression.   My second was quite memorable as I had to go by ambulance as we were escorted by the police.  Needless to say I had anxiety issues during the birth process as I delivered only 20 minutes later upon arrival to the hospital.  After my sons birth I was afraid to go through another birth so we did not plan on having any more children.  Well, 14 years later I found out I was pregnant and was in shock.  I had a lot of fear, stressors and anxiety with this pregnancy and I did have early preterm contractions from about 4 months on.  My third son was born about 3 wks early but was healthy.  My fourth son was my toughest pregnancy as I was on partial bedrest toward the end because of pre-eclampsia.  He was born healthy and my largest child.  I had expectations to deliver in water with all of my births but my babies were born too quickly.  I considered home births but was afraid of possible complications.  I was also very adament about having drug free births so I was able to have my children without any medication.
I chose to tell about these births because I feel as though I had experienced some of the incidence that were mentioned in the book.  It was also facinating to read about possible reasons for early births and low birth like two of mine had.  I didn't realize that low birth rate, father support, exhaustion and other stressors could have such an impact on child development.
I chose the Netherlands to find out how births happen there.  I found that they have the highest mortality rate in Europe as they have 10 deaths per 1,000 compared to 6-7 per 1,000 here in the U.S.  In contrast, 30 percent of their births are at  home, while about 1 percent are born at home in the U.S.  In addition, midwives are their primary care and they are sent to an Obgyn as their secondary only if complications arrise.  In the U.S our primary care is with an Obgyn.  I really didn't realize how normal world wide homebirths were as compared to the seemingly normal hospital births here in the U.S.  I also didn't realize how many midwives were used in other countries.  It has given my a lot of insight.