Tsunami and children

What I would like to learn more about is the children of the Tsunami. "On December 26, 2004, several areas across the Indian Oceanwere hit by a tsunami that left more than 310,000 people dead
and millions destitute. This catastrophe created concern for mentalhealth (Ashraf, 2005) as well as psychiatric assessments of the survivors,including posttraumatic stress (Chatterjee, 2005; Figueira,
2005; Jarusuraisin & Kesornsukon, 2005) in the aftermath of thetsunami (Maddern, 2005; Stone, 2005). Studies pertaining to theprevalence and epidemiology of posttraumatic stress disorder" According to the journal article it is the social support, family services, family and other emotional support that is helping these children through these traumatic experiences. I want to read more about this and even maybe take a more active role.  B. Bhushan and J. S. Kumar (EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AND POSTTRAUMATIC
STRESS IN CHILDREN SURVIVING
THE 2004 TSUNAMI) I have a special affinity with this because it reminds me so much of 9-11 and the horrible things that happened that day. Post
Traumatic stress is an interest of mine.

When I was a child

When I was a little girl my father was a heroin addict. This is not something that I am proud of or ashamed of. He left when I was 7 and my mother was about 25. My sister was three. We started out to live at my grandmothers house but were soon moved to the city. My mother met someone knew and instead of drugs there was lots of drinking. I grew up listening to my father was a heroin addict and my sister and I were not going to amount to much being children of a junkie. My mother tried but throughout the years things started to get worse. I was hit, kicked and given a certain amount of time to eat my meals before it was taken away. When I 13 I lied on a application to get a job as a bus person but my wages were garnished for my mothers diet pills. These things were the norm to me. I tbecame older still and dropped out of school at 16 and went to night school to get my GED at 17. I had to leave the area but I wasn't sure how. I enrolled in culinary school in RI but left to move to Maryland at 21. These things have hurt me in my present life because I was not allowed to become of a foster parent because of what they said was an abusive childhood but I take anxiety medicine to help me cope. My work  helps me heal. forgiveness and love helps me heal.When you move away from the people who have one perception of you and journey to a place where no one knows you things change. To change as an individual is one of the hardest things a person can do but it can be done.

In my future endeavors in the field of early childhood I want to explore as many outlets or venues in order to support and teach how to raise happy and healthy children. 0-3 are the most important ages to and breast feeding is something that always interested me. I think that in this country there is an uncomfortable atmosphere with the female body and this is not a topic typically explored. When it is in the press this is usually for shock value. "One of the first commercial breastmilk substitutes
was invented in 1867. The product was a mixture of
toasted flour and condensed milk marketed by a
Swiss food company1. At that time, most infants who
were fed breastmilk substitutes did not survive. For
example, in a region of Germany where the majority
of children were fed a mixed gruel of flour and water
to replace breastmilk, fifty percent of infants died; as
a result the infant mortality rate in this region was
four times the infant mortality rate in Norway, where
breastfeeding was the norm2.
When commercial breastmilk substitutes became
more available in Europe and North America, the
practice of breastfeeding began to decline at alarming
rates. As birth rates in industrialized countries
dropped, manufacturers of breastmilk substitutes
sought out new markets; developing countries, with
high birth rates, became an attractive market to baby
food manufacturers. By the end of World War II, many
infant food manufacturing companies were selling
their breastmilk substitutes in countries under colonial
rule in Africa and Asia." (UNICEF: Protecting Breast Feeding in West andd Central Africa)

I  wanted to do my blog this week on breast feeding around the world. I was "lucky enough" to come across the "shocking" picture of the mother on Time magazine and wonder why this bothered everyone so much. Personally, I don't think breast feeding at this age had much value for the child but it would not be the first time that I was wrong. According to the article the mother has 3 boys and has breast fed them all until they were 18 months old. My question is are we so accustomed to our beliefs and ways in this country we are just shocked and appalled that a woman would decide to for her child to take part in a process such as breast feeding at such a late age.

 "Breastfeeding is a universal practice in West and Central
Africa. Breastfeeding initiation rates are above 90
percent in all countries (with the exception of Gabon)
and children are breastfed for a long time as reflected
by the fact that the mean duration of breastfeeding
in West and Central African countries is 20
months. However, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding
is lower than in any other region in the world: in West
and Central Africa, only 20 percent of infants younger
than six months are exclusively breastfed, with rates
of exclusive breastfeeding as low as 2 percent in
Chad, 4 percent in Sierra Leone, and 5 percent in
Côte d’Ivoire. However, some countries in the region
have shown remarkable progress in the proportion
of infants younger than six months who are exclusively
breastfed; between 1990 and 2004, exclusive
breastfeeding rates increased from 3 percent to 19
percent in Burkina Faso, 7 percent to 24 percent in
Cameroon, 4 percent to 53 percent in Ghana, 9 percent
to 25 percent in Mali," (UNICEF: Protecting Breast Feeding in West and Central Africa)
Reference
(UNICEF: Protecting Breast Feeding in West and Central Africa)

• Write about a personal birthing experience. It can be your own birth, your child's birth, or one you took part in. What do you remember about the event? Why did you choose this example? What are your thoughts regarding birth and its impact on child development
• My own birth was breach. I have a bald spot on the top of my head from a blood clot and faint scars on my temples from the forceps. I chose this example because I find it interesting that they do not use this method anymore. After reading the question for this blog I called my mother to ask her some of the details. She told me that half of my body was blue from lack of circulation. I was tangled in the umbilical cords while in the womb.
• Choose a region of the world or a country, other than the U.S., and find out how births happen there. Write about what you learned, and the differences and similarities with your experience (in the personal example you provided). What additional insights, if any, about the impact of the birthing experience on development, did you gain from this comparison? Sweden has the highest rate of birth in Europe. In Sweden they get 13 months of leave. Instead of spending only 6 weeks with their child they can stay home for seven months. In Sweden midwives are used throughout the whole process. The rates of C sections are lower. In Sweden it is at 17 percent compared to 31 percent in the United States. The rate for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is also lower. I think the cultural aspects of the two countries is very interesting and where the importance lies in children and the birthing process. I wanted to add a few things about also traditions in China and conceiving a child that I thought were interesting. Lotus seeds are put in the bed of a  new married couple so that they would be blessed with a child very soon. The mother was to talk very softly, only eat meat that was cut into squares. In the first month after birthing the child the mother cannot wash her hair because of migraines, she cannot wash or drink with cold water and cannot read books.
• Lee W  http://www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese-pregnancy.htm

• 
  

  B=Boy  G=Girl

                             WOMAN'S CONCEIVING AGE
  MONTH OF
  CONCEPTION    18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31
  
  January        G   B   G   B   G   B   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   B
  February       B   G   B   G   B   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   G   G
  March          G   B   G   G   B   G   B   B   B   G   B   G   G   B
  April          B   G   B   G   G   B   B   G   G   B   G   G   G   G
  May            B   G   B   G   B   B   G   G   G   G   G   B   G   G
  June           B   B   B   G   G   G   B   B   B   G   G   B   G   G
  July           B   B   B   G   G   B   B   G   G   B   B   B   G   G
  August         B   B   B   G   B   G   G   B   B   B   B   B   G   G
  September      B   B   B   G   G   B   G   B   G   B   B   B   G   G
  Gctober        B   B   G   G   G   B   G   B   G   B   B   G   G   G
  November       B   G   B   G   G   B   G   B   G   G   G   G   B   G
  December       B   G   B   G   G   G   G   B   G   B   G   G   B   B
  
  
                              WOMAN'S CONCEIVING AGE
  MONTH OF
  CONCEPTION    32  33  34  35  36  37  38  39  40  41  42  43  44  45
  
  January        B   G   B   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   B   G
  February       G   B   G   B   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   B
  March          B   B   B   G   B   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   G   B
  April          G   B   G   B   G   B   B   B   B   G   B   G   B   G
  May            G   G   G   G   B   G   B   B   G   B   G   B   B   G
  June           G   G   G   G   G   B   G   G   B   G   B   G   B   G
  July           G   G   G   G   G   G   B   G   B   B   G   B   G   B
  August         G   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   B   G   B   G
  September      G   G   G   G   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   B   G   B
  October        G   G   G   G   B   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   B   G
  November       G   G   B   B   B   G   B   G   B   G   B   B   G   B
  December       B   B   B   B   B   B   G   G   G   B   G   B   G   B