Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

Disease- Childhood Cancer- 

When I was in elementary school my friends little brother who was two years old was diagnosed with cancer. The family went through many hardships. However, the community came together to support them through fundraisers, meal trains, and helping to keep the my friend's schedule as normal as possible such as school, hanging with friends and not missing our practices or games for soccer and basketball. After, a lot of chemo and radiation, two relapses and life saving bone marrow transplant, he was then diagnosed cancer free in 2004. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed again in 2016 with tongue cancer. However, after two surgeries and therapy, my friends younger brother is now cancer free! He is thriving and the family lives by the motto "LIVESTRONG".

Cancer can effect the overall development of young children in many ways such as (American Cancer Society, 2017):

• stunt growth
• damage normal, healthy cells in the body
• learning disabilities
• overall slowed development

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In Ethiopia, the government's cancer prevention plan is focused on improving early detection, diagnosis and treatment for young children and adults. The goal is to increase the survival rate to 80% and expanding on the amount of treatment centers in the area and having highly qualified professionals (Tessema, 2019).

In Ethiopia, there are 6,000 cases of childhood cancer every year and about 80 percent die from their conditions (Tessema, 2019). Due to the country's inability to provide treatment, the rate of survival is very low (Tessema, 2019). 

*Go GOLD for Childhood Cancer*

References:

American Cancer Society.(2017). Late Effects of Childhood Cancer Treatment. Retrieved 

        from http://cancer.org/treatment/children-and-cancer/when-your-child-has-

        cancer/late-effects-of-cancer-treatment.html.

Tessema, S. (2019). Ethiopia faces steep odds in managing childhood cancer. Retrieved 

        from http://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/ethiopia-faces-steep-odds-in-managing-

        childhood-cancer/1545119

Child Development and Public Health

-Nutrition-Malnutrition-

What is Nutrition?

Nutrition is defined as the "process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth."

What is Malnutrition?

Malnutrition is defined as a "condition in which a person does not consume sufficient food or any kind resulting in several illnesses, severe weight loss and possibly death" (Berger, 2016).

      Nutrition plays a vital role in the growth and development of young children. It is very important for caregivers to understand why it is critical to provide a well balanced diet to their children in order for them to grow to be healthy in all areas of development. Malnutrition can affect many things such as the brain not to develop typically and it can stunt your growth (Berger, 2016). The 2015- 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that people over the age of two follow a well rounded diet that includes the following food groups (CDC, 2019):

• variety of fruits and vegetables
• whole grains
• fat free and low fat dairy products
• variety of protein foods
• oils

       I picked this topic because I work with occupational therapists to provide strategies to families who have children that need assistance with feeding and suggestions on how broaden their diet. Some children on my caseload are still on bottles, only eat 1 to 2 things, and are very picky eaters.

Facts about nutrition in Ethiopia:

• 38% of children suffer from chronic malnutrition (USAID, 2019)
• Malnutrition contributes to more than 50% of all infant and child deaths (USAID, 2018).
• The neglect caused by malnutrition in the first 1,000 days of a baby's life to the child's 2nd birthday is generally long lasting due to the negative impact it has on the child’s health and development (USAID, 2018).

Major causes of children's malnutrition in Ethiopia (USAID, 2018):

• food insecurity
• poor maternal and child feeding practices
• high rate of infectious diseases
• limited access to quality nutrition services
• socioeconomic status
• education
• family planning

    I found this information to be very beneficial because it important to understand all families cultures in order to best support them and provide resources that will encourage them to provide a well balanced diet for optimum health and development. On the CDC website there is visual that can be very helpful to parents to see what a healthy diet consists of so I wanted to share it with you (CDC, 2019). 

( CDC, 2019)

References:

CDC. (2019). Childhood Nutrition Facts. Healthy Schools. CDC. Retrieved from 

        http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/nutrition/facts.htm

USAID. (2018). Ethiopia Fact Sheet Nutrition: Ethiopia. Retrieved from

https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Ethiopia-Fact-Sheet_Nutrition-for-Health_Oct-2018.pdf

USAID. (2018). Nutrition: Ethiopia. Retrieved from http://www.usaid.gov/ethiopia/nutrition




~ Life of a special educator~

Childbirth In My Life and Around the World

A Birthing Experience-

I do not have children yet so I chose to write about a dear friend's experience

Our very good friend gave birth 10 weeks early. I can remember when my fiancée called his buddy to see if they wanted to hang out that afternoon and he told us that they have been at the hospital all night and that Parker has arrived. They had to do an emergency delivery due to complications of preeclampsia and they could not get the moms blood pressure under control. It all happened so quickly because she was feeling great until that night and she was in severe pain and discomfort. After the delivery, everyone was doing much better and was under great care. Parker was in the NICU for over a month and received services from the Infants and Toddlers Program for the first year. He is doing great now and is a thriving little boy!

I chose this example because prenatal care is so important and this first time mother followed everything the doctors told her to do but this was something that happened out of their control. Due to the mother having these health complications, it has had an impact on the overall development of their little boy because he is preemie and was developmental delayed in all domains of development.

How births happen in Ethiopia-

In Ethiopia, only 26% of pregnant women give birth in health facility ( Mehretie Adinew, Abera Assaefa, 2018). Ethiopia has a maternal mortality ratio of 412 per 100,000 live births ( Mehretie Adinew, Abera Assaefa, 2018). Home delivery is the main factor for high maternal death among rural women  ( Mehretie Adinew, Abera Assaefa, 2018).  According to the article "Why Do Some Ethiopian Women Give Birth at Home after receiving Antental care",  women give birth at home for many reasons. Some reasons consist of (Mehretie Adinew, Abera Assaefa, 2018):

1. poor counseling during antenatal care services
2. traditions and beliefs
3. early pregnancy symptoms
4. lack of planning in advance for childbirth
5. sudden onset of labor
6. financial constraint
7. lack of accessible and reliable transportation 

As you can see if it vital that you build a relationship with your doctor and regularly visit your doctor throughout your pregnancy. Prenatal care is so important for the expecting mother and the baby. Maternal health needs to be improved in developing countries.

Reference: 

Mehretie Adinew, Y., Abera Assefa, N.(2018) Why Do Some Ethiopian Women Give Birth at Home after 

                      Receiving Antenatal Care? Phenomenological Study. BioMed research international, 2018, 

                        3249786.doi:10.1155/2018/3249786