Hope's Blog: Child Development and Public Health

Child Development and Public Health

I strongly believe in the benefits of breastfeeding and providing education about its benefits to all mothers to be. It seemed strange to me to read that breastfeeding is uncommon in the third world countries because I thought it would be something their cultures would embrace for many reasons including the fact that it s natural and, inexpensive and easily accessible. The decline in breastfeeding is one of the leading causes for malnutrition. Breastfeeding is challenging in third world countries such as Africa and South Asia due to their lack of education and proper nutrition. Many mothers in these countries do not realize the importance of strictly breastfeeding for the first six months and are unaware that the water they are mixing their child’s formula with is unsanitary. Breast milk has nutrients that cant be found in formula and often times the bottle the mothers feed from are unsanitary as well. I do understand that some mothers have complications producing milk and are unable to nurse, but I definitely think it is something everyone should at least try before ruling it out completely. Breast milk provides an infant with antibodies to help prevent diseases and as a result breast fed babies aren’t sick as often and the risk of asthma, obesity and heart disease is decreased.

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

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1405

http://psychcentral.com/lib/2008/breast-feeding-vs-bottle-feeding/

2 comments:

AyakoNovember 13, 2011 at 2:56 PM
Hi, Hope.

I am surprised that breast feeding is challenging in some areas of the world. Breast feeding was the hardest job as a mother for me because it made me tired and deficient in some nutrients(I felt.) I hope that mothers in all countries can get enough education about nursing and support so that they have ideal environments to give babies the best nutrition possible.

Aya
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AnonymousNovember 13, 2011 at 4:04 PM
Unfortunately I am not surprised to learn third world nations are not among those breast feeding. The first thought that came to mind reading your post was their malnutrition and the mothers are usually in poor health. However, with the right education it would be interesting to see if the body would take over naturally and help the mother and infant along. It seems more mothers would try breast feeding with the proper education and then if the real problem is malnutrition that could be addressed.
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Personal Childhood Web

Five people who nurtured and cared about me as a child:

1. My Mother & Father-
My parents always made me feel special and still do. I admire this because my parents have 5 children and were able to make each one of us feel important and loved. My mother made me feel special by baking and doing crafts with me and my dad made me feel special by teaching me to play baseball and encouraging me to p lay sports. These little moments meant a lot to me because they involved time spent with just my parents and doing activities that my other sibilings did not. I remember my parents discussing these moments with their friends and family and I felt so proud. My parents have been married for 42 years and have raised 5 children. I have seen them go through many challenges, but they have stuck together and worked through them together and that inspires me.

2. My Siblings-
I honestly can say that my sibilings are my best friends. I have 2 older sisters and 1 older brother and 1 younger brother. There is a 15 year age difference from my younger brother to my older sister, so growing up my older sibilings helped nuture and influnce me to be who I am today. Growing up I could count on my sibilings to help care and nuture me, to support me when needed, to listen to me, to stick up for me and to be honest with me even if I didnt want to hear what they had to say. We continue to provide all this for each other even now.

3. Mrs. Hewko-
In fourth grade I transferred from a small private school to a public school and was quickly overwhelmed and lost. However, I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Hewko for a teacher. I was 1 of 25 kids, but she made me feel like I was the only one in the room. Mrs. Hewko made sure to get to know me and really make a connection with me. This influnenced me to do the same with my children.

4. Ms. Czarnecki-
She was my middle school math teacher, which was definitely a difficult task. Math is not my strongest subject and until 7th grade I managed to squeak through each math class without really understanding what I was doing. Ms. Czarnecki however, was different then my other teachers. She took time to really know her students and reallized I was struggling. Mrs. Czarnecki made sure she called on me to answer questions in class and when I didnt know the answer she worked through it with me instead of moving on. She made me stay after class and assigned me more work. She walked by my desk and made sure I was on task. Although I was not too fond with her at first, I realized she really cared for me and was helping me. I was very lucky to have her again in 8th grade. Then when I went to highschool and tried out for softball, she became my coach. She was there for me during a really difficult time and worked to continue to build a reationship with me and make sure I was doing okay in and out of school. She even gave me shoes to wear and a new glove to use. I realized that sometimes the ones who really care for you are the hardest on you because they know your potential.

5. Mr. Price-
Mr. Price or better known as Phil, was my high school math teacher and is also my brother-in-law. He spent lots of time and effort teaching me math as well. We spent long nights working on assignments and he was always willing to help. He was also a big part of my life during a really difficult time, he listened and supported me. Phil and my sister were like my second parents. When I was struggling to get along with my parents during my teen years, they allowed me to stay with them and took me on trips with them.

Baby Heart

This is a picture of me with my older brother. I love this picture because it brings back so many great memories of time I cherished with my brother and how much I wish he was still here today. My mother shared a story with me that really portrays what an amazing older brother I had. When I was about 2 years old, my brother was 4, we werer at the grocery store and someone came up to my mother to tell her how cute she thought I was and my brother said, "step away from my baby heart please." My mother said he was very protective of me.