Poverty as a Stressor

Growing up we did not always have what we wanted, but our NEEDS were always met. When people think poverty, the first thing that comes to mind is someone who  has little to nothing and is doing really bad in life. But in all cases, this is not the cases. Most people in poverty are working check to check just to make ends meet and they live in subsidized housing. This is what I grew up in as a young girl. I did not go to school with raggedy clothes and naughty hair. I was always kept up and my mother made sure of it. According to the federal guidelines, we were considered poverty stricken because my mom did not meet the criteria to be considered as a middle class citizen, or able to survive on her own. When I was a little girl, not having some of the things that other kids had kind of made me jealous, but as I got older it began to fade away and I just learned to be thankful regardless of any situation. One of the perks about poverty, is that there are plenty of services available to you. My mom took full advantage of all the services so that we would not have to come out of pocket so much on food, medical appointments, dental appointments, eye appointments etc. Not only were receiving help from the government, but we also had family that was helping out when they could as well as the church. 

The country of Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. According to text 2/3 of the population is live in poverty and of the adult population is illiterate. The economy has declined majorly because of lack of support from the government and their policies. President Rene' Preval wants to translate good wishes into donor contributions and constructive government programs that promote the well-being and improve the livelihood of the Haitian people. This will help to keep food afloat for the community as well as bring about a change in the families where they are able to go out and work to make a better lives for themselves and families. 

https://www.usip.org/publications/2006/07/haitis-economic-challenge

Mental Health of Families, mothers, and fathers

The mental health of families, mothers, and fathers are important because it is vital for the child to survive and have a stable mental health of their own. Mental health affects children in a lot of ways, rather parents are aware or not, and if it is not being treated it can be bad for both the parents and the child. There are constantly cases being heard on the news of mothers or fathers killing their children over petty things such as the mom having a new boyfriend so he kills the kids or dad has a new girlfriend so she kills the kids. These are the people who need help. The bible mentions to us that there is always warnings before destruction. So once a threat is made, it should not be taken lightly. There was another case in the news were a mom, intentionally drove her and the kids into a river. The most important thing to know is that the kids are innocent. They have no dealings with what you are going through, so why should they have to suffer. Having a parent(s) who suffers with mental health issues put a big toll on the child. They suffer both, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and eventually become a mental health victim themselves. 

Mental health data, along with a range of family demographic information, were collected from over 4600 families in Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a nationally representative cohort study. It ranged from ages 4-5 and 8-9. The results were as followed: both cohorts of children had greater mental health distress with higher SDQ scores on average if their mother or father had a mental health problem. For children aged 8–9 years, a history of mental health problems in maternal grandmothers and grandfathers was associated with higher SDQ scores in grandchildren, after controlling for maternal and paternal mental health and other family characteristics. For children aged 4–5 years, only a mental health history in paternal grandfathers was associated with higher SDQ scores.

Learning this new information but me into the perspective that no matter where you are in the world, mental health always remains the same. The moral is The mental health histories of both parents and grandparents play an important role in the social and emotional well-being of young children. This helps me in my future work to treat who are mental health victims with much delicacy, and get them the help they deserve.

Hancock, K. (november 9, 2013). A three generation study of the mental health relationships between grandparents, parents and children. 1-1. doi:10.1186/1471-244X-13-299

The Birthing Experience

    The Birthing Experience 

       A personal birthing experience that I am going to speak about are those of my kids. I have a 8 year old and a 5 year old, and I experienced C-sections with both. With my daughter I was trying to have a vaginal delivery, and boy was that painful. I went a while without medicine, then finally I asked for my epidural. Since I had a c-section with my daughter, the same was for my son. This time I was immediately numb and alert throughout the whole process. 

    The reason I chose the example of my kids was because it is the birth that meant a lot to me. I was young during both times, but to experience the joy of birthing a human and carrying them for 9/10 months is an excitement to remember. Birth plays a major role in child development. If anything goes wrong during the first few moments of the birthing process it could affect the child for the rest of their lives. This when doctors foresee problems, they complete immediate c-sections for the health and safety of both mom and baby. 
    
        Births is Congolese Africa are much more different than the United States because they view Cesarean as failure on the mother's behalf and they try hard to avoid them. Although they have inadequate health facilities some still choose to give birth in a hospital. Boys are always circumcised, as well as some girls (only 5%). This includes the cutting of the clitoris and partial or full removal of the labia minora. Although different parts of the world, some things remain the same such as having babies in hospitals and giving boys circumcisions. The differences will be that no girls in America have circumcisions, and when needed, we will have a cesarean in a heartbeat. 

    Both birthing experiences have their similarities and differences, but I guess both have their ways of doing what is best for the child. The article that I read also mentioned that within 3-14 days the child is passed through smoke head down a few seconds, then they are released to mom. This is done so that the child will not be as Americans say a "punk", but stand their own ground.

https://africantribesuws.wordpress.com/birth-and-childhood-rituals/