Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

War

I come from a long line of family that were in the Navy. My mother. My father. My paternal Uncle. My paternal Grandfather. My maternal Grandmother. My maternal Grandfather. Although I did not grow up with my parents being in the Navy, when "war time" comes, you can bet that our household was buzzing with talk of politics. I am not comparing myself, by any means, to the children that grow up in countries where war is a daily part of life. However, I can remember when I was about 12, in 1992, when the Gulf War began. I have a distinct memory of seeing the bombs that were released over Baghdad, each night on the television. I did not understand why. I did not understand what we were fighting over. I did not even understand why we had to write to soldiers in the military in my 6th grade class.
But then, September 11, 2001 happened. Now I was 21. Now I understood what was going on, why we were bombing another country, and what we were fighting over. I, like so many people, remember that fateful day. Yet the days following it are even more vivid. The fear lasted for days, weeks, and even months. I was living in a town with a military base. Night after night, I was worried that it would be bombed. We lived in an area where the only way out of town was to go over bridges, which were all closed, at the time. I felt like a sitting duck. I remember going outside, after 3 days of staying in, to run to the store. The town was eerily quiet. It seemed as though 90% of the town had left. Being a military town, this may have been true, but I was not expecting the quiet and desolation that I saw driving down the main street in the town.
If I was honest, I would have to say that I'm not over 9/11 yet. I have a hard time looking at pictures or watching specials on television about the events of that day. However, I think one image is burned into my brain permanently: people jumping from the windows of the World Trade Center. So sad.


War in Syria
I have friends who are from the country of Syria. In fact, they still have relatives living there today. I have avoided looking into the crisis that is taking place in the country of Syria because I hate to see people dying and children effected so harshly during war time. However, I decided to look up the Syrian crisis because it is my job to defend the rights of children and to help when ever I can.
I was able to find an organization called War Child, UK, that directly deals with the Syrian conflict. The website revealed a paper written on the effects the conflict in Syria is having on children who not only live there, but have also fled to refugee camps.
This quote sums up the problem entirely:
"The treatment of children has been undeniably callous. Children and young people have been summarily massacred; illegally detained; sexual abused; used in combat; abducted and tortured, denied schooling and access to humanitarian aid; and deliberately targeted in violent attacks" (Williams, 2012).
The article goes on to explain how the organization, War Child, UK wants to help these children in Syria. They speak of community outreach in Syria and in Lebanon, where most refugees are heading. There is a component of sustainability needed, as well as psychosocial support. Furthermore, there is an extreme need for a supportive education component because most children are not receiving their education in refugee camps or are afraid to go to school due to becoming a target of bombing attacks.

References
William, R. (2012, July 22). Syria: A War on Childhood. Retrieved from War Child, UK website:  http://www.warchild.org.uk/sites/default/files/Syria%20-%20War%20on%20Children%28final%29.pdf 

Child Development and Public Health

SIDS or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a topic dear to my heart because a close family member lost her daughter almost one year ago. The little girl was only a month younger than my twin boys, so needless to say finding out about her daughter passing away made me hug my boys a lot tighter. The child was only 2 months old. She was primarily healthy but was suffering from a bit of a cold at the time. Without explaining personal aspects of the case, I am sad for the family, but some things could have been avoided to help the child. One, she was laying tummy down on her mom when she passed away. Two, both parents are avid smokers. Both aspects are known to aide in the cause of SIDS.

According to Berger (2009), there are notable differences in ethnicity in regards to SIDS. Before a worldwide campaign to refuce the risk, only 1 baby in 3,000 in Hong Kong died of SIDS, compared with 1 baby in 200 in New Zealand (Berger, 2009).

This statistic was alarming to me. However, after the campaign Back is Best began, the SIDS rate in New Zealand fell by more than 70%. Another campaign regarding wrapping the child's mattress with a special polyethelene cover to prevent the emitting of toxic fumes was also helpful in reducing SIDS.

I believe that in my working environment, I will definitely share statistics and the risks of SIDS. I am a strong advocate for putting children on their backs to sleep, as well as having the infant in the same room as the caregiver.

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

Birthing

My only experience with birthing is when I gave birth to my twin boys. It was my first pregnancy. When the doctor told me that he saw two distinct eggs, yet right on top of each other, he informed me not to get my hopes up because sometimes one of the twins may pass away in utero. Needless to say, I quickly changed doctors! In the end, I had a tough pregnancy. Riddled with preeclampsia and high blood pressure. I sort of opted for a Cesarean section. Being told that I could have natural child birth to the first baby but then need a c-section anyway for the second baby made me just go with the c-section all together. I did in fact go into labor, but the pains were not that bad. The spinal block was just awful. I screamed. It hurt. But then, as if having a 5 lb baby shoved into my rib cage wasn't enough, they tipped me back on the table and I panicked. I felt like I couldn't breathe. They seemed to be quick about what ever it was they were doing behind the little paper partition that was up because soon I heard them say that Baby A weighed 4lbs 5oz. I panicked again. I knew not more than a month before I had an ultrasound that showed that Baby A weighed exactly that, 4lbs 5oz. I realized how small he was when all they brought me was a bundle of blankets with a tiny face peaking out. Then I heard them say that Baby B weighed 5lbs 3oz and I knew something was wrong. Baby A, Andrew, as we would name him, hadn't gained any weight in the last month, but Baby B, David, had gained weight. Turns out my placenta was huge! Still not sure why. Also, turns out Andrew's umbilical cord was half the size of David's and apparently David was hogging most of the nutrients at the end of my pregnancy. But then, my worst nightmare came true. Andrew was having trouble breathing. So I'm laying on the table while the nurses are whisking away my babies. One to the NICU and one to the regular nursery. I was told later that this was the first time they had ever separated twins. The boys are identical. They have been with each other from moment ONE! I was worried about the effects, if any, this might have one them. Andrew recovered quickly. He is my fighter. One week. Only one week in the NICU and he was fine. Amazing. They stitched me up and sent me to recovery. However, I couldn't see straight. Literally. I couldn't read the clock on the wall that was no more than 5 feet away. My blood sugar had dropped and I needed medicine to correct it. After a bit, I felt better and quickly asked about my babies. They brought David to me right away. I called to the NICU about Andrew as soon as I could and went to see him the next morning when I could finally get out of bed. I'm proud to say that I was up and around the next day with only Motrin to help with the pain. We took David home a few days later and then Andrew a few more after that. However, I could just tell that David was looking for Andrew. David was not whole until we laid Andrew in the crib next to him. I think that if Andrew would have passed away, God forbid, David would have had a whole in his heart. I'm not sure his development would have been changed in any way, but he may have grown up missing something.

I've always wanted to go to Ireland, so I decided to look up how they give birth there. It seems to be the same methods: regular birth, c-section and water birth. However, I did notice one difference. The country of Ireland seems to place importance on doing labor in water, but not necessarily giving birth in the water. I was surprised by this fact. It seems that in the U.S. we are on our backs pushing the baby out or, as in my case, tipped up to get the baby out during a c-section. I was also delighted to find that Ireland has the highest birth rate in the EU. I would be inclined to make the connection that more than likely it has to do with the ability to have labor in water. Less stress on the mother can bring greater results to the unborn child in the terms of blood flow and adrenaline. Some research has shown that the baby can have injury or a traumatic experience all together if they are born from a stressed out mother. I wonder if water labor is the way to go?