WK4 : Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Hello Everyone,

Sickle Cell Anemia was a disease that my cousin has had to deal with for as long as I can remember and has recently passed away last year. WebMD states, “Sickle Cell disease is inherited from a parent, which gives the child the sickle cell anemia trait” (WebMD). From what I can regulate, the disease came from my maternal grandmother. I do not know if she received it from her mother or her father. Anyway, it did not contract to all of her children but it did pass to some of them. She had ten children. The trait by passed my mother, so my sister and I did not contract any parts of the disease or the trait. It did pass to my mom’s sister and this is how my cousin had to deal with it. It seemed to affect him worse than others and he had other issues going on, as well. While my grandma was living, she was honored at a sickle cell anemia banquet, as being the oldest known person with the disease. She died at 83 years of age. I do not know all he had to deal with but I do know that he stayed going to the doctor and was always tired daily. I could see his pain. Due to this, he became depressed and was on lot medications. Sickle Cell disease is a shortage of red blood cells, weakness, tiredness and their eyes appear to have jaundice. It is treated to help manage pain and taking antibiotics to prevent infections” (WebMD, para. 3-10). “Anemia can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, and delayed growth and development in children” (Genetics Home Reference). This disease can cause anguish for the person who has to deal with it, as well as, the family members and their friends. Berger states helpful information about Sickle Cell, which is “1 in 11 African-Americans and 1 in 20 Latinos are carriers” (Berger, 2013, 85).

Looking at another part of the country on this matter was new information to me. I had never looked this up before. From researching on The Times of India, it states, “Sickle Cell disease is so rampant in the tribal belt of the state. The city-based Sickle Cell Society of India (SCSI) is demanding a new law on ‘control and treatment’ of the disease from the Maharashtra government. The society claims that even developed country like USA, where Sickle Cell disease is not as rampant, has a National Sickle Cell Control Act of 1972 and Sickle Treatment Act of 2003” (Shrivastav, 2012). I see that it seems like they suffer a lot with diseases. Parents in India will literally leave their children on the streets homeless because they do not want to take care of a sick child. This is a sad situation for them to treat their child(ren) in that manner. Their culture is their culture. The great thing about their area is that they have associations that will adopt the sick, homeless children.

References

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

Genetics Home Reference (2014, January 27). What is sickle cell disease? Retrieved January 30, 2014, from http://www.ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/sickle-cell-disease

Shrivastav, S. (2012, October 28). Sickle cell society of India demands Sickle Cell control and treatment law. Retrieved January 30, 2014, from http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/keyword/sickle-cell-disease/featured/4

WebMD (2010, October 7). Sickle cell disease. Retrieved January 30, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/sickle-cell-disease-topic-overview

Wk 2 Blog: ACCESS TO CLEAN WATER

 Public Health: Access to Clean Water

Access to healthy water is an issue that I feel is a very necessary commodity. Everything living must utilize this “pure” supplement daily. We use water for so many things, such as to cook, to drink, to wash, and to bathe. Having access to clean water is also necessary because we use it to keep our bodies hydrated or to clean sores or wounds. It is a gift that we are lucky enough to have access to clean water in the United States.

There are many, who are less fortunate than we –in the United States are, that do not have continuously clean running water in a home -as we live in, which is a very sad situation. Even West Virginia recently experienced how it feels not to be able to have clean water. On Water.org, it states there are “345 million people without water access in Africa and due to this there ends up being 3.4 million people who die each year from water-related disease” (Water.org). In addition, there are “780 million people who lack access to improved water sources” (Water.org) and by having no access, this allows individuals to digest disease-infected bacteria. In addition, because death, from people and animals -who may fall in the water and decompose in it, occurs constantly, they can end up contaminating the water. The lesson is that every living thing, all over the world, must have access to clean water to attend to all needs on a daily basis.

Reference

Water.Org. (2014). Retrieved January 16, 2014, from http://water.org/water-crisis/water-facts/water/

A BIRTHING EXPERIENCE

Hello Everyone,

I am back for another course with you guys and glad to be back. Hope the break was great for you all.

Hope you enjoy reading my blog for this week:

Due to being a mom who has been pregnant, five times. I consider myself as a pro :) . I have had all of my babies in a hospital setting. I have gave birth “naturally” –without any medication. I have also had the pain medicine put into my spine and had medicine put through my IV. The two things I have never experienced was saying, “Oh, My water broke!”, because it never did for any of my pregnancies. The doctor had to bust the bag each time. I have never had a cesarean either. I chose to tell you about my first time giving birth. It was a new experience so I was scared and excited at the same time. They gave me Demerol through my IV so I was out of it for the most part but I did feel the pain. My mom and my, at the time boyfriend, but now is my husband in the birthing room with me. I remember waking up, they brought in my new baby girl, and I did not want to hold her. I laid her in the bed and just looked at her. Everyone else held her and cooed over her. It took me a minute to get used to her. I probably was experiencing a slight Post-Postpartum Depression syndrome but did not know it. It only lasted that first day though. I fell in love with her and began to be a mom. It was a great experience.

As I reviewed about the women in Ghana, I see that most choose to have their babies at home. They do have the chose to go to a hospital but choose not to have to deal with the debt that they would incur. Berger shows, “In the poorest nations, almost all babies are born at home: Doctors are called only for emergencies, often arriving too late. Most women avoid hospitals unless they think they are dying” (Berger, 2012, 103). If they do not call the Doctor, a Doula or Midwife is present to assist with the birth of the baby. I have noticed that we –as women have the same options to have our babies at our home or at a hospital. In Ghana, it states sometimes “by going to the hospital, it can be harmful to the new family” (Berger, 2012, 103), which is the same for U.S. families because we all will have a huge bill after leaving with our new bundle of joy.

Reference

Berger, K.S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6^th Ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.