Child Development and Public Health

This week in EDUC 6160 we are asked to pick a public health topic that impacts children’s development all over the world. The topic I choose is Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). SIDS is the unexpected sudden death of a child under the age of 1 that an autopsy cannot show an explainable cause of the child’s death.

I am interested in this topic because it is one that with proper education to parents can become almost non-existent. If educators and public health organizations continue to spread the word on how to prevent SIDS and get the younger population involved this can truly become a positive trend toward ending SIDS.

What are some of the ways SIDS occur:

The child is placed in bed with parent or care giver and is accidently smothered during sleep. This especially happens when the caregiver is extremely tired and lays the infant next to them with intentions to place the infant in their crib but falls asleep.

The child is place on their stomach to sleep.

The child’s bedding is too soft which allows for the babies face to easy become covered.

Poverty plays a big part because accommodation is limited.

Studies from 1990 to 2008 show that Japan had the lowest decrease of 30% in SIDS deaths and Ireland had the highest decrease of 73% in SIDS related deaths after risk campaigns ran in their country. Overall, all countries had significantly dropped all over.

References:

Statistics and Information Department, Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare

SIDS data: www.sids.gr.jp/en/recent_projects.html

Mother’s & Children’s Health Organization, Maternal and Child Health Statistics of Japan, March 29, 2006 (in Japanese), www.mcfh.or.jp/index.php

Irish National Sudden Infant Death Register, www.sidsireland.ie

Personal Birthing Experience and Other Countries Birthing Experiences

It was about 6:00 am on Tuesday, April 10, 2002 when I felt this horrible pain in my lower abdomen as I was getting ready for work. I knew I was in labor as I called to my husband to call the doctor. The ride to the hospital felt like hours as the pain intensified. This will be our second child and it’s another girl. We arrived at the hospital about 45 minutes later. I was then escorted to labor and delivery where it was confirmed I was in labor, but, I was not due for another two and a half weeks.  I was put in my room as hours passed with no progress. I was given medicine to increase my labor but it did not work and the contractions were becoming unbearable. Finally, after eleven hours of constant pain and pushing the doctor decided to perform an emergency C-section. I welcomed the epidural they gave me to ease the contractions before going in the operating room. I could barely keep my eyes open as my doctor was talking to me. I could hear him tell me he was sorry that I would not have been able to have a natural birth because my daughters head was tilted in the birth canal. Then minutes later, I heard the most beautiful sound my baby girl crying as I drifted off and on to sleep. I was able to see my husband holding our precious little girl before I totally drifted off to sleep. She was 7 lb 2 ounces and beautiful.

I choose my second daughters birth because it was a different experience from my first daughter. My water broke at home around 1:30 in the morning and my husband had me to the hospital by 2:20 that morning. The contractions were coming so fast I had my daughter at 4:20 in the morning. She was 8 lbs 8 ounces and beautiful.

Giving birth is something so special that God allows a woman to experience in her lifetime and it should not be taken for granted. The expected mother has this tiny little gift growing inside her for approximately 40 weeks. She is the sole provider of everything this tiny little gift needs.

Japan

Most Japanese woman usually leave their husbands for about three months to have their baby then they return home after the baby is born. If the mother does not leave to the baby and the husband is with her he is not allowed in the delivery room. He had to watch through a window. If the mother has to have a C-section the baby is put in an incubator for 24 hours and the mother is allowed to rest for three days. In the U.S. the father is allowed in the operating room during a normal C-section and is able to watch his child being born. The newborn is given the utmost attention and care once he or she is brought into the world.