The Affects of Stress on Cognitive Development

Poverty is a stressor that can affect child development beginning in utero. Poverty will affect the mother’s ability to have access to proper nutrition and medical care. Proper nutrition affects brain development. Parents who are experiencing conditions of poverty are not able to provide stimulating experiences for their children. They are often uneducated themselves and do not understand the importance of providing stimulating experiences for their children. Children from poor families usually do not have access to good preschool programs. Instead, they stay with a neighbor or family member that is also untrained in the area of how to support cognitive development in young children. There are nonprofit organizations that provide childcare for low income families, but the quality of care is not adequate enough. The qualifications for employees are bare minimum, making the child’s experiences similar to what they would be receiving from a neighbor or family member. Children who do not have access to a preschool experience are less likely to b e successful in Kindergarten compared to those children who have had the exposure. I began working at a non-profit preschool part time when I was 17 years old. 100% of the families fell under the poverty line. The center received government funding in order to operate. The teachers were under paid and met only the minimum educational requirements that the state enforced. Many of the teachers were struggling financially themselves and were there just for the pay check. I think it is fair to say that the children were receiving a less than stellar education. Over the years I have managed to keep in contact with a few of the families. Unfortunately, the majority of the children that I used to care for have begun to repeat the cycle of poverty that they were raised in. Many of the young girls became pregnant before they left high school and are now on public assistance. Just two of the children that I managed to keep in contact with are in college and seem to be doing well. They have a deep want to escape the poverty that they were raised in and not continue the cycle. From watching these children grow up I have learned that many of them equate their own abilities on what they see around them. They do not see people trying to overcome, so they don’t. Instead they see people settling for what they have without seeking opportunities to do better and they believe this is all they will be able to do. Very few of these children find the drive to overcome adversity and succeed. The possibility is there, but the drive is not.

Nutrition/Malnutrition and Child Development

Nutrition/Malnutrition is a public concern that affects child development in many different ways. Before the baby is even born it requires nutrients from the mother in order for it to grow and develop. Poor nutrition or malnutrition during pregnancy can have lasting effects on the growing fetus. “The long-term effects of poor prenatal nutrition are becoming a matter of increasing concern throughout the world. While the consequences of inadequate caloric and/or vitamin intake during pregnancy have been well characterized, in recent years it has become clear that serious long-term adverse effects may also result from gestational nutrient imbalance, even when total caloric intake is more than sufficient to meet the demands of pregnancy. Excessive fat, carbohydrate or protein intake may permanently alter the homeostatic mechanisms in the fetus, predisposing the offspring of affected pregnancies to serious chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. This review summarizes the growing literature on this subject, with particular emphasis on the lasting health-related effects of macronutrient imbalance on fetal development.” (https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/surg/article/view/421/666) Children who are predisposed to these health problems will face obstacles in both their health and cognitive development. Children who are deprived of proper nutrition may develop learning disabilities, due to slow brain development as a direct result of improper nutrition. Government programs like WIC (Women, Infants and Children) were put in place to help combat poor nutrition in pregnant women and breast feeding women, infants and young children (under the age of 5). This is a temporary assistance program with income guidelines in order to qualify. This topic is meaningful to me because I have worked in preschools and schools were poverty was an over whelming issue. I believe that good nutrition plays a major part in how a child will develop and learn. Children who go to school hungry are irritable and sometimes lethargic with no energy. Thankfully, schools and local government are becoming more aware of the role that good nutrition plays in child development and learning. Many schools offer healthier menu choices with fresh fruits and vegetables and products made with whole wheat opposed to white flour. There are also free and reduced lunch programs to help families that are considered low-income. I recently worked at a Title One school (a school that has a high poverty level and receives extra funds from the government) where a local church donated money to fund a “Saturday Snackers” program. These types of programs bag up and send food home for children of low income families to eat on the weekend. I personally try to prepare healthy meals for my own family and promote good nutrition by bringing healthy snacks for school functions and birthday parties. Resources WIC Program over View and History, https://www.nwica.org/overview-and-history Long-term health consequences of poor nutrition during pregnancy, https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/surg/article/view/421/666

Child Birth All Around Us

My first experience with child birth was my own. I will start off by saying that it was nothing that I thought it would be and in my honest thoughts, somewhat dissappointing. Don't get me wrong, I was thrilled with the outcome; a beautiful and healthy baby girl! It was the actual experience that was not what I had imagined. I watched several baby birthign shows where mothers got there baby placed on their chest and the mother was smiling and happy and the father was taking pictures, but my experience was nothign like this. My pregnancy was not too difficult. I experienced severe edema all over my body, not just in my hands and feet, gained 70 pounds and worked until the day my daughter was born, but it could of been worse. I went to all of my doctor visits and there was nothing to worry about. On delivery day things started out good, I was dialatign quickly and then suddenly the baby's heartbeat dropped all the way down to zero! The nurses worked quickly to get her heartbeat back up by asking me to lay on my side, giving me an oxygen mask and stimulating her heartbeat by reaching in her hand and rubbing my baby's head. Thankfully all of these things worked and shortly after that I was in the operating room having an emergency Cesarean. It turns out that my daughter got tangled up in her umbilical cord, which in turn hindered the amount of oxygen she was getting. When she came out she was purple, I was scared and vommiting from all of the medication I was given and I fell asleep shortly after that and didn't remember anything else until I woke up in the recovery room to my overjoyed boyfriend, smiling from ear to ear and holding our daughter. Like I said, I could not be any happier about my daughter being born and the fact that she was healthy and happy, but the experience itself was just not how imagined it would be. I sometimes feel like I missed out on something because I am not happy with my actual birth experience, but who knows, maybe better luck next time! :0