Impact of Armed Conflict on Child Development

Children in war torn countries do not have the opportunity to grow and develop in the ideal environment.  They are affected physically, socially and emotionally by the effects of war. 

Physically infants are not in an environment that surrounds the child with pleasing and encouraging emotions. The parent’s are stressed and emotions are elevated in anticipation of what is going on around them.  Children learn to rationalize emotions and reactions by watching faces of their caretakers. When a baby smiles at you, it is because you are smiling at them, or they have already learned that if they smile at you, then you will smile back.  In areas that are torn with armed conflict, I wonder if parents can even experience this with their children.  Also, as children develop it is normal for a healthy child to experiment with their surroundings.  They learn to wander around and explore.  In countries at war children are not playing and wandering far from their parents. They are not exposed to the “normal” teachable moments that a healthy child should experience. Instead they are learning to fear certain sounds, smells or even people. 

Another aspect of the physical development is that food and water sources may be affected. Children, as well as their parents, may not be eating properly. War affects the food supply both by cutting off communities from receiving supplies, or because they are scared to venture far from their homes to farm land.  Water is also affected because adults are in fear of their lives and therefore do not wander far from home to retrieve water. In places where water is pumped into the home, power and water sources may be cut off as a way to make life unbearable for the community.  In countries where refugees are living in camps, food and water are delivered in shipments. In war torn communities, shipments can be destroyed or not delivered because of passing through combat zones.  Mother’s who breastfeed are able to feed their babies, and perhaps are the greatest hope for their child to eat properly.  Mothers are able to breastfeed even when under stress and not eating a full diet. However, if the mother becomes is affected by malnutrition or sick, she will not be able to continue.  Also, breastfeeding means that both mother and child stay together. In some cases, they are separated either by death or capture.

Socially they may experience the love of their caretaker, but are not out in their communities participating in the “normal” social experiences that children in non- combat areas are experiences. They are learning not to trust any person outside of their home.  When children are not socialized properly they learn to fear the world. Socially this puts the child as a great disadvantage after the conflict seizes.  During the conflict, however, it is a technique that may save their lives. Because they are kept in the confines of their “home” they are not learning to play with others, learn social cues and are missing out on cultural or ethnic experiences. All of this affects the development of the child.

According to un.org, children in areas of armed conflict “always experience a significant change in their beliefs and attitudes, including a fundamental loss of trust in others”. (   )  The rebuilding of trust in children is a challenge, but it is important for those that interact with the children in their daily lives.  There are some activities that have been identified as supportive to the healing of children.  Establishing daily routines such as going to school, preparing food, washing clothes and working in the fields; providing them with the intellectual and emotional stimulation through structured group activities such as play, sports, drawing, drama and story-telling and providing them with the opportunity for expression, attachment, and trust that comes from a stable, caring and nurturing relationship with adults.  All of these activities will provide children with a sense of purpose, self-esteem and identity.         (UNICEF)

                                           

Impact of Armed Conflict on Children. Retrieved November 26, 2010. http://www.un.org/rights/introduc.htm#contents

Public Health Measures and the impact on Child Development

Infant mortalilty has improved dramatically since 1950.  With public health measures influencing laws, contagious diseases, and cultural norms the number of children that die before age 5 has been reduced worldwide.  One way that has helped improve the overall health of children is immunizations.  Immunization is when a small inactive virus is introduced to the body either by shot, swallowing or inhalation in order to trigger the body to create an antibody against the virus.  According to J.P. Baker in 2000, “Immunization is said to have had a greater impact on human morality reduction and population growth than any other public health intervention besides clean water”.

Thanks to immunizations the world has seen success with eradicating smallpox and polio, as well as causing an almost complete disappearance in measles.  Immunizations are not only for protecting children from the disease, but from the complications that are associated with these diseases as well.

As a parent I decided to keep my children’s immunizations on target and to have them updated as necessary.  Over the years I have heard the rumors that some immunizations were responsible for such things as autism and also resulted in childrens deaths.  However, I felt that not getting them the vaccines would be more of a risk than any complication that may occur from the vaccines.  My mother had all of us vaccinated and we all are healthy adults.  What kind of parent would I be if I did not give my own children the same consideration?

Around the world, and even among different cultures with in the U.S., there are different views on immunizations.  Also, in different countries the availability to immunizations causes many parents not to have their child immunized.   One could hardly blame parents in third world nations who are more likely to not have the opportunity to immunize their children, for not doing so.  Sometimes I think as Americans we forget that many of people around the world do not have all the conveniences that we are afforded in the United States.  Even in some of the poorest communities here in the U. S. there are families who are not able to afford medical attention for their children.  We have to understand the environment, culture and socioeconomic situation of every individual case to determine the availability to immunizations and to understand a parent’s decision to immunize their child.

For this article I have chosen to discuss immunization practices in Nigeria.  According to information I obtained from the UNICEF website and BioMed Central Infectious Diseases website, Nigeria is ranked 2^nd overall and 17^th when ranked in children under 5, in infant mortality.  The country is far behind goals set by the Millenium Development Goals Report which has set goals for all countries to reach in child immunizations.  According to the BioMed Central website, the country  may not meet the goals set for 2015, that is unless the current trend is reversed.  In Nigeria progress is slow because there is inequitable access to services and there are deficient vaccine supplies and equipments.   Because of the lack of availability to immunization services, disease trend continue.  For example,  Measles were responsible for 5 percent of deaths in children in Africa, half of these deaths occurred in Nigeria.  Nigeria is among the ten countries in the world with vaccine coverage rates below 50 percent .  In third world countries, education of mothers on immunizations is also a problem.   Although some parents might understand that the risk to their child dying is higher without the immunizations, there are either not enough of the vaccines available or the sites providing the vaccines are not within the reasonable vicinity of the family.

In closing I would like to comment on a quote from our text, “No one notices when things go right”(Bortz, 2005, p.389).  A doctor stated this as a reason why parents in America are not having their children immunized properly.  I think this is an example of our society as a whole, not only where immunizations are concerned.  We as Americans are so privileged and have come so far within a few generations that we no longer see the importance of the simple procedures that have made our lives so comfortable.  Because we are not seeing the affects first hand of diseases such as polio, small pox, diphtheria, and chicken pox we no longer fear the diseases.  Our reading for this week shared a story of chicken pox where the parents decided not to have their child immunized. Well the little girl contracted chicken pox, but was only a carrier, and when she went home her father, age 36, who had also never been immunized contracted chicken pox.  Because of complications from the chicken pox he died .  This family resided in Kansas which was one of a few states that did not require children to be vaccinated, so no one in the man’s family had ever been vaccinated.  What I learned from this week’s reading is that we could all have had this experience if vaccinations were not mandated by our states.  I don’t think that many of us would have been vaccinated if it had not been enforced. I am grateful that the government has intervened and made it possible for every child to be vaccinated her in the United States.  It is unfortunate that some parents choose not to have their children vaccinated.  I think that the quote from the doctor is most important for people who make this choice to hear.  Because we as a society are not witnessing the deaths of children due to diseases and complications from these awful diseases, they do not see the importance.  Unfortunately, they may have to witness the death of a loved one firsthand before they begin to understand. 

Njoku, Geofforey.  At a glance: Nigeria. Retrieved from Unicef.org November 12, 2010. http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nigeria_36211.html

Berger, Kathleen. The Developing Person through Childhood.  2009. New York

Birthing in the Netherlands

The Netherlands
Most expectant moms in Holland don't see an obstetrician, but are instead referred by their family doctor to a local midwife practice. Doctors only intervene in high-risk cases or if complications arise during delivery. Dutch women decide whether they want a home or hospital delivery. I was surprised to learn that more than half of the women at my midwife's practice deliver at home. In fact, all expectant mothers in Holland are required to pick up a kraampakket that includes all of the medical supplies necessary for a home birth. If you choose not to deliver at home, your midwife will make a house call to check on the progress of your labor and determine the ideal time for you to go to the hospital.
Even if you opt for a hospital birth, it's unlikely that you'll get an epidural. Epidurals are usually only given if it's convenient for the anesthesiologist's schedule (people often joke about the Dutch 9-to-5 epidural) or if an obstetrician determines it is necessary. Giving birth naturally remains the ideal for the vast majority of Dutch women. As my due date approached, I became more open to the idea, and in the end, no one was more surprised than I was to realize I had given birth to our son without any painkillers.
If a mother gives birth early in the day without complications, she and the baby may go home in as little as two hours. Then the unique Dutch system of kraamhulp (maternity home care) is set into motion. For seven days we had a nurse come to our home, a benefit covered by insurance. Not only did she provide medical care, but she also cleaned our apartment, cooked, and instructed us in basic parenting skills.

Schalken, Lara. Birth Customs Around the World. Retrieved November 5, 2010 from http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/?page=2

My Birthing Experience

I have had the blessing of having two perfect babies, I have also had the unfortunate experience of losing a baby at 28 weeks.  It is hard to choose which experience to share.  So I will give a brief synopsis of all three experiences.

My oldest child was born when I was 20 years old.  It was a very terrifying experience.  I had never experienced all the strange things that were happening to me and oh the pain. Not having any tolerance for pain this was a true eye opener!  It lasted about 16 hours and I was an evil person, kind of like the exorcist. But eventually my son wiggled his way to the end and oh the relief when he was delivered. It is the true sense of relief.  I did attend the doctor regularly and did my best to prepare for his arrival.  However, being young I was still trying to hang with my friends at night and sleep in the day, so when he arrived his days and nights were all mixed up. I did not make that mistake with my next children.

When I found out I was pregnant the second time, my first son was 2.  I was surprised, but I quickly came to grips and decided I would survive this too.  I was almost two months when I found out I was pregnant.  It was a little more challenging with this pregnancy. I was dealing with a lot of stress within my relationship, and then I had my son and the three step children and all the drama that entails to deal with.  We were all young parents and so there was a lot of drama.  I noticed quickly that I was very tired and that I would have spells where I would just fall asleep without knowing it, passing out if you will.  I had discussed it with the doctor on my visit, but they said it was just hormones or my sugar and I would be okay.  When I was about 4 months pregnant I started spotting.  I had to walk to the doctor, with the two year old in tow.  I was very disgusted and aggravated with the situation, especially when I was lectured by the doctor on duty about not being able to afford medicine much less another baby.  It was a very discouraging experience. The doctor informed me she didn't see anything wrong, so I walked back home and went on with my life.  At about 26 weeks I started bleeding again, and so I was sent to the hospital where I was eventually shipped to a hospital with a neonatal center.  My opinion on this whole situation is that because I was not a cash patient I did not get all the preventive measures I could have to prevent the birth from happening.  At any rate at 28 weeks he was born weighing 1 pound and 2 ounces.  He was very tiny, the birth itself lasted two days and was ten times as painful as the first.  My insides were so tender that the exams were a nightmare! Unfortunately, my son lived 12 hours.  Because I live in the U.S., at least some effort was made to help his little fragile life even though the chances were slim that he would survive the birth itself. Today would have been his 14th birthday if he had lived.

My third pregnancy was also routine.  I attended doctors visits and they were more vigilant than the previous time.  Although she was two weeks over due, she was born a healthy baby.  Her birth only lasted 7 hours because I arrived at the hospital on Friday morning at 10 am and the doctor wanted her to be delivered before her shift ended, so they helped me along with medication.  Doctors are so great! Where was this medicine the first time? 

Prenatal care does impact the development of children in the sense that we can determine if children are having problems before birth and we can insure that they are healthy from the start.  I am also a firm believer that the child gets into a routine and a relationship with the mother while they are in the womb.  My son came out wanting to stay up all night and sleep all day just as I had done during my pregnancy.  I learned from that error and it took me a while to get his sleep routine adjusted.  Children are born with a sense for who loves and cares for them and can sense stress, anger and danger from those around them.  That is simply my opinion from my experience.  In America, we have the opportunity for medical care and early detection for problems.  We are also fortunate to have medical teams that are willing to save babies that would otherwise die when they are born prematurely for whatever reason.

I am thankful for the two healthy children that I have, but I will always wonder why Zachary was not allowed to make it.  I guess we will never know.