War and how it Affects Children

I wanted to choose something that has affected my own children and our lives which is war. The way war has affected us is not the same as it has affected children in the city of Gaza which is in the country of Palestine. Children in those cities are seeing and fighting a war right in their own backyards. For my family they see war by experiencing their father leaving for deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Persian Gulf, and to Japan. My husband has been on 11 deployments which last from 6 to 12 months. We have moved every 3 years and my children have experienced their dad being gone for over half of their childhood. Anxiety and stress for military children is very high. They become angry, frustrated, emotionally withdrawn and behavior problems seem to be on the rise in military daycares and preschools. I have 3 children and my husband has been in for over 16 years. At the age of 5 my oldest son was so angry and mad all the time that it became a real issue at school. I sought out counseling for him and for our family. My husband was gone most of the time and this took a big toll on my oldest son. My son was and is very close to my husband and he felt abandoned, alone, and withdrawn from my husband. The moving was also a big adjustment for our family. We literally moved every three years and this became more of an adjustment as our children entered school. By the time my oldest son was in 6th grade we thought he had ulcers. This was not the case, the stress and anxiety that he was experiencing was giving him stomach aches and affecting his sleep. He was attending Focus counseling groups at his school. Focus is counseling organization that goes to schools where there are at least 75% of the children enrolled are from military families. The doctor now put my oldest son on a small dose of medication to help him deal with the anxiety and stress of our recent move and the new school. My son still takes this medication at the age of 16, but he is able to sleep now and he no longer suffers from stomach aches or anxiety attacks. The effects of war does not stop with the active duty military the families serve too and the children take it sometimes the hardest. My children are resilient and they do not complain about moving or about having to say good-bye to their dad. My children do not know any different, but the effects of moving, their dad leaving, and knowing he is in a war zone is difficult for children to handle. Children in Gaza experience war in a different way. These children flee their homes and see their friends or family die. The stress and anxiety that children in Gaza face on a daily basis is overwhelming. These children see death daily and live in fear. The psychological damage on children resulted from personally witnessing traumatic events that could seriously impair their mental health. (Lendman, 2012) “For example: 1. 98% of children said they didn't feel safe. 1. 96% didn't think they could protect themselves. 1. 97% thought their families couldn't protect them. 1. 90% heard bombing. 1. 89% saw homes destroyed from it. 1. 65% were forced to evacuate their homes. 1. 61% saw their neighbors' homes bombed. 1. 54% were either physically detained in their homes by soldiers or were trapped inside them during bombings and/or shellings. 1. 55% said they were told that one or more of their family members or relatives were killed.” (Lendman, 2012) Psychologist Hassan Ziyada feels that “These children reported high levels of trauma and insecurity that will impact on the psychological and intellectual development…(They’re) suffering continual long-term trauma due to the psychological, social and economic effects of the war.” (Lendman, 2012) The war effect on children in Gaza is continuing to exhibit “long-term symptoms of hyperactivity, deterioration of their cognitive abilities, intrusive memories and hyper arousal and anxiety.” (Lendman, 2012) Psychologist Hassan Ziyada believes “Children will develop long-term depression from the loss of loved ones and friends that contribute to a feeling of abandonment. He also said, “They’re experiencing physical body pain, headaches, stomach aches, insomnia and aggressive behavior.” (Lendman, 2012) The effects of war are hard to endure. The children of these wars will be leading our countries, how will these wars affect their decisions. Reference Lendman, S. (2012). Zionist War Crimes against Gaza Children. Ezzedeen Al-Qassam Bridgades-Palestine. Retrieved from: http://www.qassam.ps/specialfile-329-Zionist_War_Crimes_against_Gaza_Children.html

Breastfeeding in Uganda

I choose to discuss breastfeeding and the importance of it. I wanted to discuss this topic because I did breastfeed my three children, but it came with a great deal of compromising on my part. I breastfed my oldest son for 6 months, but he had chronic ear infections and was always sick. We lived in Washington State and this climate is hazardous for asthma. My oldest son had difficulty sucking because his nose was always clogged and his ears hurt when he did suck. I stopped nursing and had to use bottles and formula, the struggle of this made me worry and stress. In turn my milk supply started to run short. My next two children were very sensitive to what I ate and had very upset stomachs. A lot of crying, I nursed them for about 4 months. I felt that the bonding and nursing was best for my children, and buying formula was very expensive for my family. I did have wic for my children and I was very thankful for that. I feel that every mother should try to nurse and provide the proper nourishment for their infants. Sometimes it just doesn’t workout, but sometimes it does. I found out that the women in Uganda are highly recommended to nurse for at least 6 months. The UNICEF foundation and WHO recommend this because so many “germs and therefore infection, decreases the frequency with which the baby suckles and therefore decreases the production of breast milk and the supplementary foods are usually nutritionally inferior to breast milk.” (Namubiru, 2009) The mothers in Uganda are supplementing other foods with their breast milk and this in turn hinders the growth and weight gain for the children. Some mothers supplement with cow’s milk, sugar water, juices, and water. This is not a nutritional substitute for breast milk. After six months nutritionists recommend that babies be give two or three meals a day in addition to breast milk. (Namubiru, 2009)) Mothers cannot afford to supplement nutritional food and revert to porage and water. Mothers “lack of knowledge, poverty and social cultural beliefs” affect the nutritional outcome of infants too.(Namubiru, 2009) Uganda mothers feed their husbands first and the infants are given very little and are expected to eat what they are given; without the mother actually feeding it to them or making sure they ate it on their own. “Indicators of poor feeding habits in Ugandan children rise steadily from the age of six months, peaked at about 9-11 months and remain high afterwards. Between 10 -20% of babies in the weaning ages 6-23 months are either too short for their age, too light for their age or height.” (Namubiru, 2009) Large efforts are being done to teach good feeding habits to Uganda mothers and with the continued progress and resources enough households can be reached. I think this article has a true reflection of how the home environment and culture of the home affects the overall development of the children. Without the proper nutrition children are not able to thrive and grow in ways that increases their overall development. This is also true in the United States as well. Some parents do not know or understand what it means to provide nutritional food to their children. Parents sometimes do not understand that the right foods are necessary for their children to grow and develop. Breastfeeding is one way to feed an infant that does not cost the mother any money. However, it does take time and dedication to do; this is where mothers sometimes find it unaccommodating. We have to help those parents that don’t understand the importance of proper nutrition and breastfeeding. We want all children to have the proper nutrition, this is why we have the USDA in the United States and why federally and state funded daycares and preschools adhere to USDA guidelines and regulations. I feel this can be used in my future teaching my discussing healthy foods during meal times and discussing where our food comes from and why it is healthy. We need to start educating our children on proper nutrition and good eating habits, then maybe the children can teach their parents. Reference Namubiru,L.(2009)Breastfeeding is a grey area for Ugandan mothers.Retrieved from: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/689814

Prenatal care video

Hello everyone, if you happen to click on my blog to read this weeks post on prenatal care please click on the page titled that when you get to my blog. I have a video that was very interesting and it isn't showing up on my blog post but it does show up on the blog page I set up. It is just really interesting to listen too. Thanks Melissa

Prenatal Care in the US and Nigeria

I have a niece that was born 3 months premature. She spent those three months in an incubator and my sister had to stay in the Ronald McDonald house for that time frame. My sister lived 3 hours away and she needed to be close to her daughter and the Ronald McDonald house was a true blessing for her. If you ever go into McDonalds please donate to the box, this service helps a lot of families in time of hardship and need. My niece had to have quite a few blood transfusions and I believe she is not able to have anymore. She had to receive the RSV shots every year and they wanted to give her steroid shots to help her grow, but my sister refused. My niece had been given so much medication and steroids before and my sister wanted my niece to be free from medication. Without the fast acting doctors that delivered her, the helicopter that transported her to the children’s hospital, and the children’s hospital my niece would not be alive today. She weighed 1lb and 6 ozs. The research that has been done and the studies with regards to what premature infants need are remarkable. Those nurses and doctors are skilled and masterful when it comes to taking care of those little babies. It is also amazing to see the types of machines and tools that are used to ensure the premature babies can breathe and function outside the womb. My niece could lie in my dad’s hand, she was that little. My niece is still very little and has some reading comprehension difficulties, but she is 12 and a little spit fire. I decided to learn about the prenatal care and birth rates for Nigeria, Africa. It seems that the lack of medical care, access to medical facilities, lack of access to and or money for medication, and money for treatment are all a large problem for women in Nigeria. “Nigeria, in the past few years has experienced some worsening of child mortality.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health) Anti-malaria medication is a big need for the people of Nigeria, especially expecting mothers, but it seem that accessing this medication and having money to pay for it is a rising problem. So many expectant mothers do not receive prenatal care. Over two third of expectant mothers still deliver at home because they do not have the money or a way to access a medical facility. Mid-wives, nurses, and doctors only attend one third of the births in Nigeria. This explains the “persisting low numbers of births occurring in health facilities and the low number of births attended by trained healthcare service providers.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health) The infant mortality rate is at 100 per 1000 in 2003 and it was 87 in 1990. It seems to be a rising epidemic in Nigeria. The high mortality rates and the lack of access to or use of quality delivery services is an issue of immense importance in Nigeria. Mid-wives and nurses are the closest prenatal care that most women in Nigeria area able to afford and have access too. “Only six in ten mothers receive antenatal care from a trained medical professional.” (The Partnership for Maternal Newborn & Child Health) If expectant mothers received prenatal care then the major causes of neonatal mortality in “Nigeria—neonatal tetanus, malaria, and maternal anemia,” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health) can be prevented. Nigeria is a poor country with severe consequences for the lack of prenatal care. Once women have their children it is rare that they live past the age of 5. “The under-five mortality ratio in Nigeria is 201 per 1000 live births meaning that one in five Nigerian children never reach the age of 5.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health) Infant deaths account for half of child mortality. Nigeria suffers from a lack of prenatal care for pregnant women and for regular health care for infants and children. Only 13% of immunizations occur for children between 12-22 months. Nigeria has the lowest vaccination rate. Children also suffer and die from acute respiratory infections and diarrhea. It is clear to me that the health care and facilities readily available for families in the United States is a great account of how wonderful our country is. It is very hard to realize how incredibly difficult it is for expecting mothers to receive prenatal care and even have care for their newborn. Having a child in Nigeria is very different from having a child in the United States. It is getting better with the help and cooperation from the Partnership Grant. “The Nigerian Ministry of Health has been tasked with coordinating actions and partners in accelerating the reduction in maternal, newborn and child mortality.” (The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health) In 2007 the Nigerian Ministry of Health held a conference and collaborated with the MNCH to launch the national Nigeria Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health. This will help expectant mothers and the children of Nigeria receive the health services and care that they so desperately need. I see some similarities in the health care for families in Nigeria and in the United States. Not all families can afford prenatal care or health services for their children, but each state in the United States does offer medical assistance for low income families so they can receive the care needed. In Nigeria there is no health care established for low income families and in turn the mortality rate for children is very high. That is a big difference from the United States. If my sister had her daughter in Nigeria, she probably would of died along with her daughter. The overal development for children as you can see in the US is very high for them to survive after birth. The extension of their overal development as they grow older highly depends on their SES, culture, and home environment. In Nigeria the overall development for children to survive after birth is very low and their survival rate past the age of 5 is extremely low too. Hopefully the Partnership Grant and the other chartities seen in the video will increase Nigerian children's development from birth and above the age of 5. References Retrieved from The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health website: http://www.who.int/pmnch/activities/countries/nigeria/en/index1.html Retrieved from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=LEPfECoMj8k