Child Development and Public Health

Malnutrition and Nutrition 

Public Health Topic

This topic  is meaningful to me because of the things I have been learning about it lately. A few months ago I started changing the way I eat. I studied about what foods I should be eating and which foods have the most health benefits for your body and which ones should be avoided. Throughout my work with young children, I have also learned about what a problem malnutrition has become in The United States and around the world. I worked in a Head Start preschool during my time student teaching to earn my Associate's Degree. I learned a lot of things during my time there. One thing that became pretty clear to me is that poor nutrition is so bad for a child's development and growth. I began learning more about things about WIC and welfare and what they are doing to help fight the malnutrition problem in the United States.

 Michelle Obama also has started an initiative to help promote health and nutrition in The United States. All of these things as created an interested in me to change my own ways of eating. I believe one positive way to promote and encourage healthy eating in young children is for adults to model it in their own lives and be an example for the children.

 Malnutrition in Africa

6 Facts of Malnutrition in Africa:

• 1 in 10 Infants die within the first 12 months of life
• 1 in 5 children suffer from chronic malnutrition
• 1 in 10 children suffers from severe malnutrition
• 50% of children have a calcium, iron and zinc deficiency
• 75% of South Africans, have inadequate access to food
• More than 1 in 5 children are physically stunted due to malnutrition.
  

 The causes of food insecurity and malnutrition in Africa are diverse, multi-factorial and interlinked. Poverty and food shortage are the main catalysts of food insecurity in the world; unfortunately, they occur in a vicious cycle. In 2004, 121 million sub-Saharan Africans lived on less than a meagre US$ 0.50 a day. People living on less than US$ 1.00 per day are unable to pay the prices they would need to buy all of the staple food they require and meat and fish consumption for the many poor Africans is a luxury. Although the share of the population living in extreme poverty in SSA declined by more than 10% to 48% between 1999 and 2008, SSA still has the highest concentration of the ultra poor in the world. Despite the rapid economic growth rate in SSA over the past decade, there is historical evidence that this has not been converted into poverty reduction as effectively as in other developing regions, like East Asia and the Pacific.

How this will effect my work in the future 

I think this will effect my work with children in the future because it has re-ignited my interest in teaching young children about nutrition. I have been trying to figure out what kind of advocacy I would like to participate in to help advocate for young children. Advocacy is a piece that has been lacking in my work with young children. Learning more about WIC and the Let's Move campaign have given me a good start for resources and information about what I can be doing for young children. It has come to my attention recently how important it is to help children learn about nutrition and to provide them with both the education and the resources when it comes to nutiriton and malnutrition in young children. I am looking forward to continuing to find resources and to opportunities to support healthy nutrition for young children. UNICEF is an organization that has caught my interest lately. They work nationally and internationally to help fight malnutrition in children. This is an organization that I am interested in learning more about and possibly working with in the future!

 






Sources:
-http://food4africa.org/
- http://www.consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1122:food-insecurity-and-malnutrition-in-africa-current-trends-causes-and-consequences&catid=61:hiv-aids-discussion-papers&Itemid=268
- http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic
-http://www.letsmove.gov/

Childbirth in Your Life and Around the World

 Birth I was a part of:
The only birth that I particularly remember being a part of, is the birth of my nephew. He was born in May of 2012. Although I was not there for the actual birth, I can think back to visiting in the hospital. I remember a lot of things changing after he was born. It was amazing to me how much my family changed, not just the structure of my family, but also it changed the actual people in my family. My sister in law gave birth at the hospital and she did have an epidural. Her labor lasted about 4 hours. My brother periodically texted throughout the birth to keep me updated about what was going on, this was one way that I was able to participate in the birth.

Birth in another country:

Birth

Laboring women are isolated due to birth-related pollution beliefs.

 

Women usually cry in pain and scream as the birth approaches.

 

Some women may prefer lying on a bed during delivery, while others

may prefer to squat, either

on the floor or on a stool.

 

Profuse bleeding after delivery may

be viewed as a good sign linked to

the purification of the uterus

 

After birth

The mother and the child are usually isolated immediately after

delivery, due to beliefs about pollution and impurity linked to the

delivery process.

 

The period of seclusion and confinement of postpartum women varies

across regions. In many regions, t

he confinement period of postpartum

women can be up to 40 days.

 

Confinement is is practiced to protect mother and infant from exposure

to disease and from evil spirits. Both mother and child are considered

to be in a vulnerable state after birth.

 

Postpartum practices are usually

upheld and enforced by mothers-in-

law, aunts and other elderly female relatives. These women may

decide the kinds of food a postpartum woman can consume.

 

Some women may be required to follow a diet of puffed rice, tea and

hot water for the first three days after delivery.

The consumption of milk, butter, ghee and some types of fish is

encouraged due to the belief that these foods will increase the quantity

and quality of breast milk.

 

Postpartum women may consume a large quantity of garlic, to aid in

the contraction of the uterus or to ‘dry the womb’.

Common foods that are traditionally avoided by postpartum women

include certain varieties of green

leafy vegetables, fibrous vegetables,

melons, pumpkin, papaya, eggplant, shell fish, eggs (in certain castes

and communities), certain varieties of fish, lemons, limes, oranges,

grapes, chillies, bell peppers, spic

es, bananas, yoghurt, and oily food.

 

The placenta may be disposed of by

burying it under the floor of the

room where the birth occurred, or

in the courtyard

of the house.

 The placenta is buried to keep an enemy or

evil spirit from seizing it and influencing the well-being and longevity of the child. Health

professionals should offer the placenta to a postpartum woman.

Cold baths or showers are avoided. In the hospital, a postpartum

woman may accept a warm bath, but may be reluctant to have a warm

shower. 

 

 http://www.health.qld.gov.au/multicultural/health_workers/indian-preg-prof.pdf