Child Development and Public Health - Breastfeeding

      I have always heard that breast-feeding is a healthy way to feed babies. This topic is interesting to me because I wanted to learn specifically about the benefits of breast-feeding.  This concerns me because I see children who have different problems such as colic disorders and other problems. I have wondered would babies be better off if they would be breast-fed.

  

   “For most newborns, good nutrition starts with mother’s milk” (Berger, 2009, p.154).  In addition, “Compared to cow’s milk, human milk is sterile, at body temperature, with iron, vitamins, and other nutrients for the brain and body” (p. 154). Actually, this causes human milk to have what the baby needs for months. In addition, when children are breast fed, the likelihood that babies will develop some childhood and adult health problems diminishes.  The diseases or health problems that decrease in breast-fed babies and adults are “asthma, obesity, and heart disease" (p. 154).  

     Breast-feeding is also beneficial for mothers. Mothers who breast-feed have the following positive effects:  “Decreased postpartum bleeding, decreased menstrual blood loss, and the uterus returns to its pre-pregnancy state more rapidly. They also tend to experience an earlier return to pre-pregnancy weight, as well. Over the course of their lives, research has shown that mothers who have breastfed their children have a decreased risk of ovarian and breast cancer and a decreased risk of hip fractures and osteoporosis in the post-menopausal period. Moreover, breastfeeding promotes a strong emotional connection and psychological bond between mother and child” (Higa, 2011, p. 1)

   Today hospital staffs are working harder with mothers to help them breast successfully (Department of Health and Human Services Center of Disease Control and Prevention, 2011,   p. 1). Unfortunately, only 5% of hospitals in the United States fully work to help the baby and mother experience success in breast feeding (p.1).

  

   A long-term study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies tracked the lives of 5000 children and showed that “by the time babies was six months old the number who were being exclusively breastfed had dropped to 14 per cent, compared to 80 per cent at birth and 56 per cent at three months old” (Cooke, 2008, p. 1).

  

   This  topic will affect my future work because of the way it will benefit not only the mother, but the baby too. I think that the benefits will help the mother to feel more like taking care of her baby and the baby will be healthier. Being that taking care of a baby is a big responsibility, therefore if the mother feels better, she will be more capable when taking care of her baby.

Sources:

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

CDC. (2011). Breastfeeding Report Card_ United States.  Retrieved from: www.breastfeedinghawaii.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=43&Itemid=55.

Cooke, D. (2011). Australian babies are not breastfed enough. Essential Baby. Retrieved from: http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/baby/breastfeeding/australian-babies-not-breastfed-enough-20080620-2u27.html.

 Higa,L.(2011 ). Benefits: Why Breastfeed? Retrieved from:                  www.breastfeedinghawaii.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=43&Itemid=55.

Childbirth

My personal birthing experience involved the birth of my son, Michael. I remember this event as if it happened yesterday. I walked back and forth to the restroom all day. That night around 8:00 pm. I went to the hospital and checked in.

I remember hearing women crying out loudly and screaming. At that point, I wondered why they were acting in that manner. When my labor started, I understood why they were crying and screaming. In a couple of hours, as the pains began to hit, I was crying and screaming too. After it was all over, I felt like a soldier because I had a beautiful baby boy who weighed 7 pounds 5 ½ ounces. This experience is still vivid in my mind. I will never forget it as long as I am in my right mind. Therefore, I decided to write about my experience.

I think it is important for the child to start spending time with it’s mother right after birth. I believe this enables the child to adjust to his new environment. Consequently, I think he will grow and develop better in a safe loving environment with his mother. I realize this isn’t always possible. However, there are people who can do an adequate job of taking care of the baby if the mother cannot. I think the baby will still grow and develop well.

In some Latin American countries, a doula is present during the birth and after the birth to help mothers with their babies. The doula “helps other women with their labor, delivery, breast feeding, and newborn care” (Berger, 2009, p. 118). They use to be the only one’s present during childbirth. Today they work alongside doctors.

There weren’t any differences in my personal birthing experience and that of Latin American women. My nurse here in the U.S. helped me in the same way that the doula helped the Latin American women.

Berger, K. S. (2009). The developing person through childhood (5th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.

To My Colleagues

Well everyone, this is our final post for this course. I am going to miss you guys.  It is not necessarily good-bye, because we can still keep in touch. I know the assignment says to choose two, but I would like to commend all of you on your insights that you brought to our blog group.  

Jamila, I loved your book choices for our website assignment, but the quote you shared saying, “We as professionals in the early childhood field have an opportunity to shape a child's life for the better" has become one of my favorites.

Terrance, you are a prime example of a man trying to make the lives of young men better.  I am also glad that you are close to God.

Leslie, you had a quote that stuck with me also. It was “My passion now is still the same way it was, The passion to create a more safe and just world..” This touched me personally.

Cassandra, I feel that I identify a lot with you. I too understand the feelings of loosing a mom. I commend you for staying strong and in pursuit of you dreams.

Dr. Dartt, I would like to thank you for assigning this blog and the wonderful people in my group. I really did not know what I was doing at first, but as everything else, it gets better with time.

I appreciate having all of you in this course to learn and grow with.

Examining Codes of Ethics

The following are three ideals contained in the National Association for the Education of Young Chldren (NAEYC):

I-1.3—To recognize and respect the unique qualities, abilities, and potential of each child.

I chose this idealll because I feel that every child is important and has their own uniqueness and individualism to contribute to the classroom atmosphere and educators should embrace that.

I-1.10—To ensure that each child’s culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.

I chose this ideal because I thinkn most classroom are diversified and everyone should value their culture and educators shouldincorporate some aspect of them into their classroom.

I-1.12—To work with families to provide a safe and smooth transition as children and families move from one program to the next.

I chose this ideal because I feel that it is important to understand that when children leave a preschool classroom which may be more layed backed and enter a kindergarten which may be more structured, it can be challenging for the child. I feel that preparation for this type of transition is needed.

I chose the following from the Division of Early Childhood (DEC):

1.      We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that enhance the quality of their lives.

I feel that this is essential because some parents may not be aware of all the resources available for their child. We as educators should do all we can to help with this.

2.      We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.

I feel that everyone new to education should have some type of professional support system such as a mentor to help smooth things along whenever new educators need help.

3.      We shall respect, value, promote, and encourage the active participation of ALL families by engaging families in meaningful ways in the assessment and intervention processes.

I feel that this ideal really speaks for itself.

All of these ideals are significant to my professional life because they will become or are already parts of the cornerstones which make up my classroom.

Course Resources

NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf

NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf

NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf

NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller

FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf

UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

• World Forum Foundation
  http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
  This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the video on this webpage 
  
• World Organization for Early Childhood Education
  http://www.omep-usnc.org/
  Read about OMEP’s mission. 
  
• Association for Childhood Education International
  http://acei.org/about/
  Click on “Mission/Vision” and “Guiding Principles and Beliefs” and read these statements.

National Association for the Education of Young Children
http://www.naeyc.org/

The Division for Early Childhood
http://www.dec-sped.org/

Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
http://www.zerotothree.org/

WESTED
http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm

Harvard Education Letter
http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85

FPG Child Development Institute
http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm

Administration for Children and Families Headstart’s National Research Conference
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/

HighScope
http://www.highscope.org/

Children’s Defense Fund
http://www.childrensdefense.org/

Center for Child Care Workforce
http://www.ccw.org/

Council for Exceptional Children
http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

Institute for Women’s Policy Research
http://www.iwpr.org/index.cfm

National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/

National Child Care Association
http://www.nccanet.org/

National Institute for Early Education Research
http://nieer.org/

Pre[K]Now
http://www.preknow.org/

Voices for America’s Children
http://www.voices.org/

The Erikson Institute
http://www.erikson.ed

The following are three other resources that I found:

• Explore Early Childhood Education in the Blogosphere 

  • http://education-portal.com/articles/Explore_Early_Childhood_Education_in_the_Blogosphere_10_Top_Early_Childhood_Education_Blogs.html

•  Precious Children
• http://www.pbs.org/kcts/preciouschildren/earlyed/read_vaughan.html

• Early Childhood Research and Practice 
• http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/

Words of Inspiration and Motivation

     Marion Wright-Endelman, an advocate for children and all people who need help, was one of the people that I chose to write about in the discussion. She spoke at a graduation at Washington University on May 15, 1992. In her speech, she stated the following quote “If you see a need, do not ask why somebody doesn’t do something, ask why don’t I do something. Hard work, persistence, and initiative are still the non-magic carpets to success for most of us” (Wright-Endelman, 1992).  

     Another person that I wrote about was Dr. Edward Zigler. He is known as the father of early child hood education. The quote listed below came from his book came form his book, Project Head Start:

“In sum, Head Start has struggled and continues to struggle with important issues of quality control—program performance standards, accountability and staffing. These are problematic primarily because Head Start emphasizes that it is a local program serving local communities and hence, encourages flexibility and responsiveness to local needs. This paradox is not an easy one to resolve, yet these issues are important for the continuing vitality of the program”  

     Both of these quotes inspire me search for solutions when problems exist. Furthermore, Dr. Zigler discussed the fact that there are numerous problems concerning head start but we must continually work to resolve the problems. We must strive to solve the problem associated with head start because the program is important to the well being of children.

     In addition to these quotes, I found a quote on passion from Ms. Escobido inspiring. According to her discussion, “working in early childhood education gives us the unique opportunity to shape a child’s life for the better” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010).

     The idea expressed in these quotes collectively is that we must be an advocate for children even if there are not many people trying to help them. Furthermore, as educators, we have the potential to cause life to be better for these children.

Laureate Education , Inc. (2010). The passion for early childhood. [DVD]. Foundations: Early Childhood Studies. Baltimore: Author.

Zigler, E. (2004). Head Start Program Governance. Retrieved from: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/family/Family and Community Partnerships/New Parental Involvement/Program Governance/far

Wright-Endelman, M. (1992) Commencement Speeches. Retrieved from: Commencement Speeches — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/commencement1.html#ixzz1ZaKGbvjH