Consequences of stress on children's development-racism

Consequences of stress on children’s development

            The stressor I chose is racism. Racism has had a very profound effect on me and my husband and I believe this is why we are a great match because we share the same ideals about racism and how to handle issues that arise because of racism.

            My husband grew up in the south in the 70’s with two civil rights activist parents. Others in the area did not like that they were fighting for equal rights. One day, they came home and when they opened up their screen door, there was an explosion. My husband was not injured but his older brother was thrown back and fell into the window air conditioning unit. My husband spent his early years living in and going to inner city schools where he would be maybe one of three white students or one in six at the most. He had the hardest time understanding why he was not liked until he got older and realized it was for the color of his skin and their mistrust of white people. My husband even recounted a time while living in the south that he was frowned upon from other white people because his skin was not as light as theirs (my husband has Blackfoot Indian lineage).

            I was born in East Africa. When I was younger, I also did not understand racism. I slowly began to realize differences when I mentioned where I was born. I would either hear really awful Ethiopian jokes or it was assumed I was from South Africa. I went from being proud of where I was born to not wanting to mention it. When I was nearing middle school age, we moved to Hawaii. When I started school, I realized I was getting a lot of dirty looks and being called “haole”. I soon learned that it meant white. Native Hawaiians do not like white people. I also learned that they felt that way because they did not want to become a state. When I reached middle school, I found near the end of the school year that they have a special day a few days before summer break that they called “kill haole day”. Basically, it was a day to beat up white kids. Luckily, I had some very nice Samoan friends that reassured me that they would not let anything happen to me.

            I realize this is nothing compared to what other people have endured over time. What it did for us was it gave us a different perspective of how it would be if things were reversed. For instance, I know that because of the political unrest in the region I was born, I cannot ever go back. A few years ago, my husband and I read a travel warning for white people whose passport states they were born in that region not to come in fear that I and others like me would be arrested on the spot and killed. I am safe. For so many others, they are not. It saddens both my husband and I that at this stage in our lives we are seeing so much racism. The last few years have enraged and shocked us. With so many other advancements, why is racism still a huge factor in our country and around the world?             Considering this question, I decided to do some research to better understand the dilemma we are facing here in the United States.

            What I found is that racism and white supremacy is deeply rooted in history. It goes as far back as the Enlightenment when people such as Hume, Voltaire, and Kant wrote about African Americans as if they were less than human and were depicted as not very smart (Bobo, 2017, p. S89). With racism and white supremacy so deeply rooted in even today’s society, it is no wonder that it is still as strong as it was hundreds of years ago. With our current climate socially, economically, and politically, and with reading the article, I realize that my suspicions are true and valid. What we are seeing today is the ugly truth rearing its head with pride. It does not matter that the majority of us have moved beyond the labeling and the misconceptions that embody racism. It is the people in power that has given racism the fuel it needs in an attempt to drive us further apart. We must stay vigilant so we can all be the part of positive change that we want in the future.

Reference

Bobo, Lawrence D. (2017). Racism in Trump’s America: reflections on culture, sociology, and the 2016 US presidential election. The British Journal of Sociology (Volume 68, Issue S1).pp. S85-S104

Child Development and Public Health-Immunizations

Child Development and Public Health
Immunizations

Here in the United States, there has been a trend to not vaccinate our children. This trend is based on myths, potential side effects, and fears. Although these fears and myths are not easy to overcome, the facts prove that immunizations are not harmful to infants and children. It has become easier for children to enter our school systems without proper immunizations. Because of this, we have seen a rise in illnesses that have all but been eradicated from society (Tremblay et al, 2013).

Even though we have seen a rise in certain illnesses here, other countries are having similar issues while other counties are having, even more, problems with outbreaks and reemerging illnesses.

Polio outbreak is one such virus that we are seeing in war and conflict-affected countries. Polio invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis (Akil, 2016). Developing countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Nigeria have seen a rise in polio cases due to war and conflict. In the study I read, it also cited religious and cultural reasons for denying vaccinations. The polio outbreak in certain regions has become problematic due to displacement and migration to neighboring countries (Akil, 2016). In 2013, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative launched a plan to eradicate polio in all the countries where there has been a rise in polio outbreaks in an effort to have a polio-free world (Akil, 2016).

I chose immunizations because I see a problem with how easy it is for parents to decide not to vaccinate their children. We have seen a rise in illnesses that used to be eradicated. With all of our advances in modern medicine, this should not be happening. We have become a nation that makes decisions based on emotion instead of facts. I have experienced second hand the effects of unvaccinated children. I had a child, a friend’s nephew, who could not get vaccinated due to neuroblastoma (brain cancer). Even when he was in remission, he could not attend school because of the fear that other children were not vaccinated. Because of cancer and the treatments, his immune system could not handle such viruses. It is one thing to choose not to immunize but another when you are unable to immunize due to instances such as cancer. children. I had a child, a friend’s nephew, who could not get vaccinated due to neuroblastoma (brain cancer). Even when he was in remission, he could not attend school because of the fear that other children were not vaccinated. Because of cancer and the treatments, his immune system could not handle such viruses. It is one thing to choose not to immunize but another when you are unable to immunize due to instances such as cancer.

References

Akil, L & Ahmad, A (2016). The recent outbreaks and reemergence of poliovirus in war and conflict-affected areas. Elsevier: Publisher on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2016.05.025

Immunization. In: Tremblay RE, Boivin M, Peters RDeV, eds. Scheifele DW, topic ed. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development [online]. http://www.child-encyclopedia.com/sites/default/files/dossiers-complets/en/immunization.pdf. Updated April 2013. Accessed November 11, 2017.

My Personal Birth Story

My Personal Birth Story

I chose to talk about my own birth since it was in a developing country where prenatal care and childbirth practices are different from what my mother experienced. I was born in Asmara, Eritrea, Ethiopia in 1969 (In 1995, Eritrea became its own country). My mother had the comforts of modern medicine and I was born in a small Army hospital. My mother was 28 when she had me and I am her second born child. My father helped in the delivery. I was a natural birth and was delivered after 6 hours of labor with no complications. I was born at 5:39 am, I weighed 7 lbs. 8 ½ oz., and I was 20 inches long.

I have been told many stories about my birthplace but none of them were about how childbirth occurs in that region so I chose an article about Zambia. Zambia is in Southern Africa, is one of the poorest countries, and has a very high maternal mortality rate. Zambia has had access to modern medicine since the British colonized this country in the late nineteenth century. So why is there a high mortality rate? Through the research stated in the article, cultural practice and beliefs are widely ignored in the contemporary hospitals. Because of this, 53% of Zambian women have their children at home (Maimbowla, M.C., 2003). Mbusas are women who assist the pregnant woman, are not formally trained, and use traditional practices. It is believed that some of these practices contribute to the mortality rate.  Even though this was a small sampling, it gives us a view of where cultural beliefs and modern medicine collide.

Reading this research makes me realize the importance of intertwining cultural beliefs with modern medicine in developing countries. It is no surprise to me that they walk away from such care when their cultural beliefs are being denied. More needs to be done with education and teaching on both sides to reduce the high maternal mortality rate.

Maimbolwa, M. C., Yamba, B., Diwan, V. and Ransjö-Arvidson, A.-B. (2003), Cultural childbirth practices and beliefs in Zambia. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 43: 263–274. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.2003.02709.x