Saturday, June 29, 2013

Childbirth experience

I have to be honest. I do not have children, I do not remember my childbirth, and I only have one close friend that has had a child.

I am going to briefly talk about my friend's childbirth experience because she had her baby one month ago. However, I was not in attendance...this experience I will write about is all through conversation.

I have to say that  my friend was truly lucky with her childbirth. She started to have contractions around 1 am on a Friday and delivered her baby by noon on Saturday. She was admitted into the hospital around 4 am. She had a few contractions early on, received her epidural, and really had no pain. The nurses checked on her hourly and around 11 am she was 9 cm dilated. At this point the nurse also realized her water had not fully broken, so she "popped" the remaining. The labor really began then, and within 30 minutes the baby was born. The baby boy was healthy and my friend was ready to begin motherhood.

What I know from this experience is that prenatal care is important. My friend went to the doctor regularly and attended birthing classes. Again, I have not had much experience with childbirth so it is hard for me to truly comment on my beliefs about this.
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Childbirth in Mexico

I chose to look at Mexico's childbirth statistics and practices. I chose Mexico because I have had many Hispanic children during my teaching, and I also love visiting and vacationing in Mexico.


Statistics

-        Mean age of mothers first child is 21.3 years which is one of the youngest mean ages in the world.

-        Cesarean sections are the second highest in the world- 40%

-        44% of indigenous women die during child birth- most gave birth alone or with one family member in attendance

-        64% of women who died during child birth had no prenatal care

-        In 1970 43% of births were attended by midwives. By the mid 90’s it was down to 17%

-        Midwifery is still vibrant in Mexico even though the tradition is diminishing

 

Beliefs/Practices

-        Women are seen as “hot” when they are pregnant- therefore should bathe in tepid water often and take long walks. If not then she will have a long and difficult labor.

-       Women should stop nursing a child at the onset of another pregnancy because they believe the milk will become weak and watery and will sicken the child.

-        If the mother is pregnant again, she cannot pick up, hug, or sleep with any other children because they view pregnancy as being “hot” Therefore the child is deprived of a familiar source of security.

-        Mayans believe that it is the father’s responsibility to bury the placenta to make sure the baby is healthy. Girl's placentas are buried under the hearth and boys are buried in the yard.

-        The "cuarentina” (40 day confinement) is the period following birth where dietary and activity restrictions are observed by the mother. This is a time of recovery from the birth and also a time to bond with the child.

-      It is tradition to close everything rather then open it. In Mexico doors and windows are closed and the slightest hole is blocked with cloths. It comes from the belief that when you give birth you are at risk of receiving evil forces, so the baby and mother need to be protected. 
 
 
-        Cultural tradition dictates that a husband not see his wife or child until the delivery is over and both have been cleaned and dressed. In general, Hispanic women prefer that their mothers attend them in labor.

 Implications:
During my research of childbirth practices in Mexico it is very apparent that prenatal care is not as prevalent as it is in the United States. Many times this is due to the women living in such rural areas, that going to a doctor is out of the question. Another aspect of Mexico's practices that is different then the United States is the use of midwives. In many rural/indigenous areas, midwives are the primary attendant in a birth. Mexico is rich in traditional aspects of life due to the Mayan/Aztecs. Because of these traditions, Mexico practices many more "folklore" beliefs when it comes to childbirth. When reading over some of the traditional practices, I questioned how they impacted the children. For example, not encouraging women to pick up and hug their children if they are pregnant again because they are viewed as being "hot." I cannot support this practice because of the bonding children need to have with their mothers. The lack of prenatal care is also questionable in my mind. The Mexican government is trying to put more prenatal care into their health system, but it is more about the local availability then the health care system.

 

http://www.instituteofmidwifery.org/MSFinalProj.nsf/a9ee58d7a82396768525684f0056be8d/a66f5bafd9f749918525699d007bdc6d?OpenDocument

http://www.culturediversity.org/hisp.htm

http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/SF2.3%20Mean%20age%20of%20mother%20at%20first%20childbirth%20-%20updated%20240212.pdf

 
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Monday, June 24, 2013

End of Course EDUC 6005

It is hard to believe that this is the end of 8 weeks! I honestly can say that these two months have gone by so quickly. I feel part of that is due to the excellent discussions I have had with my fellow ECE. It was truly great to hear about other ECE experiences, beliefs, values, and insights. I look forward to other courses with this group. 

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Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Code of Ethics

It was hard to choose just three ideals/code of ethics from the NAEYC and DEC documents. I have chosen four ideals/codes that I can specifically relate to.

The first three codes of ethics I chose are from the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council of Exceptional Children.

1. We shall serve as advocates for children with disabilities and their families and for the professionals who serve them by supporting both policy and programmatic decisions that enhance the quality of their lives.
  • As a teacher of children with special needs, this code of ethics is particularly important to me. For most of this year, my job was supporting students in Head Start. My job was to advocate for these students to make sure their IEPs were being met and that their needs were being accommodated for.
2. We shall support professionals new to the field by mentoring them in the practice of evidence and ethically based services.
  • I chose this code because I feel that this can be an area that is lacking. When I was a first year teacher, I was actually forgotten about and did not go through the PA mentoring program. It was not until my second year of teaching that I went through the program. My mentor was also not doing the same teaching as I was, and was 45 minutes away from me. Needless to say, there was no actual "mentoring" going on. I think as first year teachers or teachers in a new field, it is especially important to have a positive mentor. It feels horrible to be left to your own devices, questioning if you are actually doing the right thing. I would really like to be a mentor of a young teacher because of the experience I had.
3. We shall empower families with information and resources so that they are informed consumers of services for their children.
  • As a teacher of children with special needs and an ESL teacher I feel that parents can rely too much on the teachers to make sure their children are receiving the right services. It is our jobs as teachers to empower parents to be advocates for their children because in the end they know their children the best and will be with them for the rest of their lives. The Chinese proverb "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime" is a great way to view empowering parents.
The final ideal is from NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct.

4. To ensure that each child's culture, language, ethnicity, and family structure are recognized and valued in the program.
  • As a former ESL teacher this ideal is extremely important to me. Every child needs to feel that their culture/ethnicity is valued and an important part of who they are.



 NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved June 16, 2013 fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

 The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved June 16, 2013 fromhttp://www.dec-sped.org/
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Monday, June 3, 2013

Course Resources

  • Here are a list of ECE resources from EDUC 6005 (Parts 1-4)
  • Part 5 are the resources I listed

Part 1: Position Statements and Influential Practices




Part 2: Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being


 

Part 3: Selected Early Childhood Organizations


Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available
  • YC Young Children
  • Childhood
  • Journal of Child & Family Studies
  • Child Study Journal
  • Multicultural Education
  • Early Childhood Education Journal
  • Journal of Early Childhood Research
  • International Journal of Early Childhood
  • Early Childhood Research Quarterly
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Social Studies
  • Maternal & Child Health Journal
  • International Journal of Early Years Education


Part 5: Resources I chose about ECE

Book: "The Hidden History of Head Start"
 by Edward Zigler and Sally J. Styfco

Website: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com

Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/05/opinion/sunday/a-childs-wild-kingdom.html?_r=0

 
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