Clean water is a pretty big deal for everyone. I remember growing up and going the the creek to fetch water, watching my mom boil it, and waiting for it to cool to get a drink, (and this was in the 1980's in America). We used that water to drink, take a bath, and then used the dirty water to flush the toilet. I can remember how great it was when we were able to get public water up our "holler." I remember thinking "oh, that's what that is for," referring to the faucet. What would have happened had my mom not have boiled it?
Picking a country to talk about was an easy for me. My church donates to an organization that main mission is to provide clean water to the people of Haiti. According to Wells for Haiti (n.d), Haiti has the poorest quality of water in the world. The people of Haiti are constantly battling illnesses that are caused by contaminated water. According to Charity Water (n.d), diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. 43% of those deaths are children under five years old. However, access to clean water and basic sanitation can save around 16,000 lives every week world wide.
How does this affect us as early childhood educators in the United States? You never know when you might get a new student who's family moved from a country with poor water quality. Or, you might end up teaching in Appalachian where there are still remote places without running water and electricity. Third, we can educate the children and families we work with about the need and have them help. In Girl Scout terms, make it a take action project.
References
http://cleanwaterforhaiti.org/
http://wellsforhaiti.com/
http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Birthing experience
I would like to talk about the birth of my son, since that is the one I know the best. He was born in 2010. I wanted a midwife, and most people thought I was crazy for wanting that. research midwifes in the area, thankfully I lived close to Cleveland, OH at this time so I had options. I remember filling out my birthing plan and chose to have him at the hospital because my mother was terrified of complications. I chose natural child birth, and the nurses thought I was crazy that I refused an epidural. The plus side of not having the epidural was that I was free to move around, and not confined to the bed during labor. I also was able to get a shower just a few hours after giving birth, which was the best shower ever! Nathaniel also scored a 9.9 on his first APGAR screening. He was very alert, and not drowsy like he would have been if I had taken the epidural. I have no regrets on not taking the epidural. He did have his first BM in utero, so I am glad that I opted for the hospital instead of at home. His mouth had to be suction before he took his first cry to prevent him from swallowing it.
I am glad that the USA is starting to make different birthing options available. I know when I was born cesareans was the norm, and one was scheduled weeks early with no real reason for the it other than it was convenient.
I decided to see how my birthing experience compares to that of Japan. Most women in Japan opt to not take any painkillers, but they do deliver at a hospital or birthing center, (Schalken, n.d.). I was surprise that the average hospital stay is 5-10 day after giving birth. I think I was only in the hospital for 2 days after giving birth. Another interesting fact, fathers are only allowed in the delivering room if they took a prenatal class with the mom to be, and have to be in the waiting room for a cesarean. I like this idea, my ex-husband was freaking out and made things worse for me. Last fact,Japan has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, and the USA is #27th according to Child Health USA (2013). I wonder if the extended post natal stay has anything to do with this.
References
Schalke, Lara (n.d.). Birth Customs Around the World. retrived from
http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/
International Mortality Rate retrieved from
https://mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa13/perinatal-health-status-indicators/p/international-infant-mortality.html
I am glad that the USA is starting to make different birthing options available. I know when I was born cesareans was the norm, and one was scheduled weeks early with no real reason for the it other than it was convenient.
I decided to see how my birthing experience compares to that of Japan. Most women in Japan opt to not take any painkillers, but they do deliver at a hospital or birthing center, (Schalken, n.d.). I was surprise that the average hospital stay is 5-10 day after giving birth. I think I was only in the hospital for 2 days after giving birth. Another interesting fact, fathers are only allowed in the delivering room if they took a prenatal class with the mom to be, and have to be in the waiting room for a cesarean. I like this idea, my ex-husband was freaking out and made things worse for me. Last fact,Japan has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world, and the USA is #27th according to Child Health USA (2013). I wonder if the extended post natal stay has anything to do with this.
References
Schalke, Lara (n.d.). Birth Customs Around the World. retrived from
http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/
International Mortality Rate retrieved from
https://mchb.hrsa.gov/chusa13/perinatal-health-status-indicators/p/international-infant-mortality.html
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