When I was five, my father passed away. I remember very little of my father and even less about the experience of losing him, yet I still feel a sadness and sense of loss. I am lucky to have 5 siblings who all help to reconstruct who my dad was (each with their own version of “dad”), ultimately helping to keep my father’s memory alive.

"Every day another innocent child is orphaned or sees terrible things children should never see. Who is taking care of the potentially enormous damage being done to a generation of children?"

- Sherif Karachatani, Psychology Professor, University of Sulaymaniya

 

Each day, around the world, children are losing significant loved ones due to war and violence. I was fortunate enough, that in my loss, I was surrounded by caring and supportive adults who were able to answer my questions and provide comfort. This is not always the case in war-torn countries. More often than they should, children are left to make sense of their loss of a significant loved-one and their grief on their own. In Iraq, thousands of children have witnessed extreme violence and death.  In a report from World Vision International, “43% of children have witnessed acts of violence and 39% have had someone close die due to violence.” (World Vision, 2007). The prolonged stress, such as grief and/or loss, may impair the cognitive development of young children.  While also impacting a young child’s biosocial development as significant caretakers, role models, and/or providers are no longer alive. A child may suffer feelings of isolation, depression, and have more difficulty with their emotional regulation. Many organizations are working in great effort to support and educate Iraqi children as Iraqi parents, teachers, and doctors express great concern over the “distress signals sent out by young people in their care - from nightmares and bedwetting to withdrawal, muteness, panic attacks and violence towards other children, sometimes even to their own parents.” (The Guardian, 2007).  These young children are witnessing and experiencing loss and are unable to fully accept or cope with their grief and fear.  Many groups believe that through educational programs and reestablishing of schools, Iraqi children will have the opportunity to rebuild and be provided the help and support they need to begin to recover.

The grief and sense of loss that l feel for my father is still present today. I am so thankful that I was provided with the support I needed to understand and cope. My hope is that the children of Iraq, and their families, will also find the help and support that they so desperately need.  

 

References

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

The Guardian. Children of war: The generation traumatised by violence in Iraq. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/feb/06/iraq.topstories3

World Vision. Trapped! The Disappearing Hopes of Iraqi Refugee Children. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.worldvision.org/resources.nsf/main/iraqi_refugees_disappear_200706.pdf/$file/iraqi_refugees_disappear_200706.pdf?open&lid=CP_trapped

Immunization – my thoughts

We want to be healthy and safe.  We make sure to wash our hands, cough into our elbows, and use tissues (hopefully).  If/when we do fall sick; we take care to stay away from others, visit a doctor, and take any needed medications.  We also have immunizations to help prevent harmful and deadly diseases. Immunizations have helped to eradicate many diseases in many places in the world. Because of immunizations, millions of people do not need to worry about what seem like long-forgotten diseases such as polio or measles.  Many diseases have now become preventable and treatable.  Unfortunately, many countries of the world still do not have access to immunizations and vaccinations.  Organizations like UNICEF and WHO are working every day to help bring immunization programs and education to countries that still struggle with eradicating these “long-forgotten” diseases.  According to the WHO, “Every year more than 10 million children in low- and middle-income countries die before they reach their fifth birthdays. Most die because they do not access effective interventions that would combat common and preventable childhood illnesses” (WHO, 2012).  In Africa, goals have been established, between the WHO, governments, and religious leaders, to reach 80% coverage in 48 countries for immunizations. Millions of children’s’ lives in Africa are being saved do to this global outreach.  During the years of 2001 - 2005 an outbreak of Polio throughout Africa and Asia occurred due to a suspension of immunizations in Nigeria. With the help of major efforts from WHO, funding and distribution for vaccinations were reestablished and Polio, once again, became a preventable and controllable disease.

I feel strongly about the need for immunizations because of the crisis that happened in Nigeria.  Although, it was the country’s leader’s choice to stop immunizations, it ultimately impacted the health of millions beyond the borders of Nigeria. On a much, much smaller scale, I am aware that parents can make the choice to not immunize their child, but that decision could lead to their own child, or other children, falling ill to a preventable disease.   It is unsettling to know that parents would make this choice without thinking about the full implications behind it…there are significant reasons why these vaccinations were created and are required.  I am thankful to know that schools in the United States require proof of immunizations before a child can enter school.  This does not only keep the child safe, but also supports the safety for all the children and adults who that child will come into contact with throughout their schooling experience.  I understand that there are families who still make the choice to not vaccinate their child and go through the proper paperwork and procedures, I just hope that because of their choice, the health and safety of their own child, or that of another child, is not compromised.  

An evaluation of infant immunization in Africa: is a transformation in progress? (2012).  Retrieved from http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/85/6/06-031526/en/

Starting at the beginning

Starting at the beginning (almost)

As my mom so sweetly reminisced, “You came squawking into the world.”  

This is my birth story.

I have been hearing a lot of birth stories recently (it’s that time in my life when all my girlfriends are starting families), but, I have only my own story to share.   I am the fourth of six children.  My mom always tells us that all our births blend together. I interpret this as: each of us was born with little complication…she went into labor, we came out, there was a brief stay in the hospital, and then we all went home.  That’s pretty fantastic – 6 kids and nothing major to note about.  But, as I pressed my mom further to, please, think of my birth, to find something unique about me coming into the world, she came up with this quick memory.

I was an easy pregnancy.  Being the fourth, my mom knew what to expect.  The day I was born, she had contractions all day, yet still managed to teach a class that evening at the church. After relenting to the fact that she was, yes, actually in labor, my mom and dad went to the hospital.  She recalls that the labor was pretty short (no epidural) and…. Tada! I was born!  My mom remembers that I started squawking and carrying on with my first breath and didn’t stop until I left for college. The two of us, me, busy crying, and my mom, calmly resting, stayed in the hospital, while my very overwhelmed dad tried to manage the other 3 kids at home.  Five days later we left the hospital and so began my life…

My birth experience sounds pretty typical for a mother and her baby born within the United States. There was a hospital, trained professionals, infant and mother care and consulting, and all modern medicine had to offer. It is interesting to explore the world and see the differences and similarities birthing mothers experience based on their cultures, traditions, locations, etc.  In the Pacific Islands, depending on if a pregnant woman lives in a rural or urban region, her prenatal care and birth experience can be very different.  Many countries in this region provide free care for birthing mothers, but the accessibility pregnant women have to this care can be limited.  Many women do have a skilled birth attendant, but the definition of who constitutes as a skilled birth attendant, remains inconsistent.  Many women in the Pacific Islands have still are having home births, and because of this, many health and educational programs are being established to help support women and their babies.  Culturally, in the Pacific Islands, family is very much involved with the birth, before and after, while the mother rests and recovers.  In contrast, for my birth, my mom and dad were on their own. We did not have family to help support – my mom had to (and did) make it work.  I feel that although there are many differences between my birth story/experience and that of the birth experiences for women of the Pacific Islands, the strongest similarity is that each woman does what she feels and knows is best, based on her cultural norms and awareness, for her and her baby.

References

Maternal Health in the Pacific. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.unfpa.org/public/News/pid/2452

Philippines: Maternal Mortality Rates Not Making Sufficient Progress to Meet MDGs. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.unfpa.org/public/News/pid/2452