Poverty and Violence in the United States

                                                                      Violence 

As a child I grew up with violence. For the first five years of my life I watched as my father would get drunk and beat my mother to a bloody pulp. What's worse is he told me it was my fault. How did I cope? I never had a "child hood". I took on adult responsibilties at 5 when my parents separated and divorced. I took care of younger siblings, helped cook meals, washed dishes etc. I never attended Kindergarten like the rest of my siblings. I was too much of a help around the house. Being told (at 5) that something that horrific was your fault sticks with you. I wanted to make sure nothing bad had ever happened to my mom again, and I certainly wasn't going to cause her any strife, so I went through my childhood doing everything in my power to make sure I  was a "perfect" child. I cooked, cleaned, did my school work and when old enough held down a job so that I could help pay for clothes, food etc. My mom remarried when I was about 16 and by 17 I had moved out of the house. I married at 18 and had a child nine months later. To answer the question as to how I coped; I didn't. There were no resources available and apparently as I learned later, nobody realized I had been affected by the violence. I suffered from nightmares (stemming from a particular violent night) all my life to the point where at 25 I finally seeked out counseling. The counselor advised me to confront my parents about what had happened. I wrote letters to both informing them as to how I had suffered as a child and was still sufferng. My mother called and told me she had no idea I had even remembered any of that let alone suffered from the memories. My dad never achknowledged receiving the letter.

Writing the letters, surprisingly enough, helped more than I could imagine. I have developed a relationship with my father, he quit drinking and shows remorse for who he was back then. I rarely think about those days anymore and even less frequent that I have nightmares. So, I finally did cope by seeing a counselor even if it did take me 20-years.

                                                                       Poverty

I decided I wanted to research poverty in America. I wanted to see what state was considered the poorest in the country; and found that to be Mississippi.

According to Ecanned, the state of Mississippi when compared to other States across the United States, can be considered to have a very high poverty rate amongst the population.
In Mississippi, there are 386,261 families, with 734,836 children.

Psychological research has demonstrated that living in poverty has a wide range of negative effects on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our nation’s children. Poverty impacts children within their various contexts at home, in school, and in their neighborhoods and communities.

• Poverty is linked with negative conditions such as substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition and food insecurity, inadequate child care, lack of access to health care, unsafe neighborhoods, and underresourced schools which adversely impact our nation’s children.
• Poorer children and teens are also at greater risk for several negative outcomes such as poor academic achievement, school dropout, abuse and neglect, behavioral and socioemotional problems, physical health problems, and developmental delays.
• These effects are compounded by the barriers children and their families encounter when trying to access physical and mental health care.
• Economists estimate that child poverty costs an estimated $500 billion a year to the U.S. economy; reduces productivity and economic output by 1.3 percent of GDP; raises crime and increases health expenditure (Holzer et al., 2008).
• Poverty has a particularly adverse effect on the academic outcomes of children, especially during early childhood.
• Chronic stress associated with living in poverty has been shown to adversely affect children’s concentration and memory which may impact their ability to learn.
• The National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2008, the dropout rate of students living in low-income families was about four and one-half times greater than the rate of children from higher-income families (8.7 percent versus 2.0 percent).
• The academic achievement gap for poorer youth is particularly pronounced for low-income African American and Hispanic children compared with their more affluent White peers.
• Underresourced schools in poorer communities struggle to meet the learning needs of their students and aid them in fulfilling their potential.
• Inadequate education contributes to the cycle of poverty by making it more difficult for low-income children to lift themselves and future generations out of poverty.
• Children living in poverty are at greater risk of behavioral and emotional problems.
• Some behavioral problems may include impulsiveness, difficulty getting along with peers, aggression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and conduct disorder.
• Some emotional problems may include feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
• Poverty and economic hardship is particularly difficult for parents who may experience chronic stress, depression, marital distress and exhibit harsher parenting behaviors. These are all linked to poor social and emotional outcomes for children.
• Unsafe neighborhoods may expose low-income children to violence which can cause a number of psychosocial difficulties. Violence exposure can also predict future violent behavior in youth which places them at greater risk of injury and mortality and entry into the juvenile justice system.
• Children and teens living in poorer communities are at increased risk for a wide range of physical health problems:
  
• Low birth weight
• Poor nutrition which is manifested in the following ways:
  
  1. Inadequate food which can lead to food insecurity/hunger
  2. Lack of access to healthy foods and areas for play or sports which can lead to childhood overweight or obesity
• Chronic conditions such as asthma, anemia, and pneumonia
• Risky behaviors such as smoking or engaging in early sexual activity
• Exposure to environmental contaminants, e.g., lead paint and toxic waste dumps
• Exposure to violence in their communities which can lead to trauma, injury, disability, and mortality.
•  

Families and children are defined as poor if family income is below the federal poverty threshold. The federal poverty level for a family of four with two children was $22,350 in 2011, $22,050 in 2010, and $22,050 in 2009.

http://www.nccp.org/profiles/MS_profile_7.html
http://www.usm.edu/poverty/temp_parts/Mahlet/poverty_in_mississippi.html
http://www.apa.org/pi/families/poverty.aspx?item=2

 

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH

I chose SIDS as my topic because I have a friend who lost her daughter to SIDS at five months. It was a devastating loss twelve years ago and continues to haunt her today.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is defined as the sudden death of an infant less than 1 year of age that cannot be explained after a thorough investigation is conducted, including a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history.

SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants aged 1–12 months, and is the third leading cause overall of infant mortality in the United States. The overall rate of SIDS in the United States has declined by more than 50% since 1990. Several reasons for the decrease is advances in newborn care, better nutrition, access to clean water, and widespread immunization. However, there are still some young infants who appear healthy, already gaining weight, learning to shake a rattle and starting to roll over that die un-expectantly in their sleep.

In the United States, about 5,000 babies died of SIDS, the rate in Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and South America experience a rate of 1 infant in every 800. Careful data collection revealed surprising ethnic differences.

 Bangladeshi infants in England are almost always breast-fed, and they sleep surrounded by family members, hearing noises and feeling the comforting touch of their caregivers. They do not sleep deeply for long. But by contrast, their traditional British age-mates slept in their own private spaces, never co-sleeping. Those long periods of lone sleep may contribute to the higher rates of SIDS in white infants. Babies of Asian descent were far less likely than babies of European or African decent to succumb to SIDS.

 In 1994 the Back-to-Sleep campaign was launched to encourage parents to put their children to sleep on their backs to help prevent SIDS.  SIDS rates began to degrease in every nation, especially those where stomach or side sleeping had been the norm.

Following are three websites I have found with information regarding SIDS.

http://www.kidshealth.org/

http://www.cdc.gov/sids/

http://www.sidscenter.org

Birthing Experienes at Home and Around the World

My personal birthing experience...............


 I have given birth to six children of my own (4-boys 27, 25, 22, 6 and 2-girls 9, 6). My last birthing experience was twins; which was a wonderful experience. 

However, I have chosen to write about the birth of my first grandchild, Kaydenz. I am very close to my daughter-in-law (Melissa) and she allowed me in the birthing room along with her mother and my son.

My granddaughter is only 9-months younger than my twins....

The perspective of the birth was very different than it had been for any of my own children. Melissa's labor had been induced, we had spent several hours just waiting, with several visitors coming and going. The nurses were in and out of the room every few minutes checking vitals etc., when it was finally time. The nurses busied themselves getting the room set up, contacted the Doctor, and dismissed all visitors with the exception of my son, her mother and myself. The doctor walked in and within a matter of two minutes (literally), I saw the head crown and then the shoulders emerge.  It brought tears to my eyes to see that miracle unfold. I had never seen child birth from that perspective before, and it was a truly amazing experience for me. Kaydenz was quickly taken by the nurses to have her vitals checked, weight and length measured, Apgar conducted etc. within moments we were oohing over her. I remember hugging my son very tightly and telling him how proud I was of him, and he had an amazingly beautiful daughter. 
 


When I had my first set of children in the 80s doctors did not induce labor just because mom was ready. My water broke, I went into labor, rushed to the hospital and waited, and waited, and waited for 17 and a half hours for my son to come along. My second birth was about the same, with the exception of the baby being in fetal distress, at which point the doctors induced...and within a short time conducted a c-section in order to save the baby. It is my opinion that doctors are too quick to induce and deliver babies before they are finished incubating. 

In The United States some families pitch and and help out when a new member arrives, however, in many families (mine included) there isn't a lot of help with a new baby. Mom and dad are on their own to juggle their households, jobs and other children (if there are any).  

Most couples begin choosing baby names as soon as they find out they are pregnant and baby showers are extremely popular and expected in the U.S.

And Experiences From Abroad.......................................

I looked up the birthing rituals of the Chinese because my husband spends a lot of time in China. I figured it would make a good country to research.......

Pregnant Chinese women are encouraged to rest, avoid heavy work, and eat well to stay healthy and have a healthy baby. Having a son is traditionally more valued than a daughter.
During pregnancy and the postpartum period, a Chinese woman may be perceived as needing extra attention in terms of food and rituals. Women are advised not to eat "cold foods" such as mung beans, bean sprouts, or bananas during the first trimester to reduce a risk of miscarriage. Women do not discuss abortion openly but will seek it when needed. Birth control is practiced, according to religion.

Traditionally, men do not play a major role during deliveries; female family members provide support.Since the ancient Chinese view childbearing as an age-old women’s vocation, custom dictates that fear and apprehension be abolished from the process. To help with this, women often drink a strong herbal potion to ease the pains of labor.

  After giving birth, care is provided by an elder female relative.Resting for approximately one month after delivery is not unusual. The period of care right after the delivery is known as the "sitting month." Depending on regional differences, women may not leave their homes, take a bath, wash their hair, expose themselves to cold water, cold temperatures and wind, or ingest ice water or "cold" food (raw vegetables, salads or fruits). It is believed that women are undergoing a cold stage right after delivery due to loss of blood.

 Naming a baby isn’t always about thumbing through a book and picking the most pleasant-sounding moniker. For some, the process is highly complex and filled with social and religious rules and taboos.Chinese babies receive their official names after birth,and many times, they’ll be given up to four more throughout their lives: one for childhood, one for school, one for adulthood and another upon death.

The personality and disposition of an unborn child is thought to be strongly influenced by the state of his mother’s mind and body while expecting. For this reason, Chinese women are strongly urged to control their thoughts and actions (meaning no gossiping, no temper tantrums and no hard physical labor while baby is incubating).

Gift-giving before birth is considered very unlucky in Chinese culture, not to mention you could be stepping on grandma’s toes! The mother-to-be’s own mother is typically responsible for the new baby’s entire layette. A month before birth, the maternal grandmother sends a gift of clothing for the newborn to hasten delivery, then three days after the baby arrives, she visits with the remainder of her grandchild’s wardrobe and gear.