The Stress Of A Natural Disaster

I sat and thought long and hard before deciding I was going to talk about natural disasters.  I went through Hurricane Katrina as an adult and it still lingers in my heart and mind.  I also know some children who went through this and it was and still is a major stressor.  As an adult I am still not over what happened to my beloved City of New Orleans and it is even more troubling for children to try to understand why this happened.  I came in contact with one boy who got out of the city but has memories of going back afterwards and seeing houses and all the things he could remember moved up the street from where it used to be.  He remembers going into his house and seeing everything covered in black mold, all of his families belongings washed away.  He used to have nightmares about the storm. But he has recovered well from what he saw when he returned after the storm.  When he and his family returned to the city he started receiving counseling through his school and he has come a long way.

Keeping with the topic of natural disasters, I decided to talk about Haiti.  We all know about the terrible earthquake that hit earlier this year but we don't hear about anymore.  The people in Haiti are still living in tent cities and are now dealing with disease.  So not only did they go through a deadly natural disaster but now they are dealing with the stressors of disease and extreme poverty.  I can only imagine what the children in that country must feel.  They probably think how and when is this going to get better.  This country has also been hit by many hurricanes and tropical storms in the past.

Breastfeeding

I chose the topic breastfeeding because I believe it is the best thing for a baby.  I tried to breastfeed and was quite disappointed when it did not work out.  I try to promote breastfeeding to anyone I talk to who is pregnant.  Here in the United States it is more common to give our babies formula instead of breastfeeding. Many women don't even give it a try.  They don't want to go though the pain.  I was going through a lot of pain but I was trying everything to give my baby the best thing for him.  I read that in Kenya breastfeeding is a priority.  A woman who does not breastfeed is frowned upon.  It is nothing for women in Kenya to whip out a boob whenever and where ever to feet their baby.  It is so common that the mothers don't even use a cover up.  No one pays a breastfeeding mother any mind when she is feeding her baby.  If a mother in the United States tried to breastfeed in public with no cover up or anything, she would be frowned upon and maybe arrested for indecent exposure.  I think it is ridiculous that a lot of the poorer countries have enough sense to encourage breastfeeding but women in the United States just think of themselves instead of the baby.  I believe a lot of mothers in the United States are being selfish in a sense.  One goal of mine is to give workshops to parents to help better themselves and the life of their children.  Breastfeeding would be a great topic for one of my workshops.  I would show how mothers around the world don't have a choice but to breastfeed and all of the positives of breastfeeding.

My Birthing Experience

I have always wanted to have children and was told it would be very hard for me to do this.  A couple of years went by and out of no where I found out I was almost three months pregnant.  I now have a healthy, energetic 14 month old.  I went into the hospital to be induced on a Monday morning at 3a.m.  Things were progressing very slowly.  I was surrounded by my boyfriend, parents and step parents and my boyfriends mom.  On Tuesday morning I finally reached 4 cm and they broke my water bag.  Shortly after things progressed rather quickly.  I began to feel every contraction and lasted a good while before asking for an epidural.  I pushed for about an hour or so before they realized he wasn't going any further so I had to have a c-section.  I was so tired I was falling asleep in between pushes.  I had not had anything to eat since Sunday night and I had not slept.  I was exhausted.  After he was born I started feeling every pull they made on me so they gave me some medicine that knocked me out.  For the first few hours of his life I was in out and can't remember much.  I have to rely on pictures and stories.  My little Ethyn is the best thing that ever happened to me.  I call him my miracle baby!!

As for birthing in Japan, things go a little different.  Minimal noise and expressions are accepted.  Loud expressions are considered to be shameful.  Mothers are expected to deal with pain in a stoic manner.  I mentioned I had my boyfriend and father there and in Japanese tradition men/significant others are not to be present except male doctors.  In the US breastfeeding is optional, where as the Japanese consider breastfeeding a priority the day after birth.  In the japanese tradition mother and baby are not allowed to leave the house for 2-4 weeks.  The Japanese also have a few traditional ceremonies after the birth of a baby that we in the US don't have.
Oshichia- a ceremony when the baby turns 7 days.  This when the parents officially names the baby.
Hesono O- when the babies cord dries up and falls off, it is put inside a special wooden box and kept indefinitely.
Hyakunichimairi- a ceremony when the baby turns 100 days old.  Baby, mom and grandmother all dress in the finest clothes then visits family and then returns home to a celebration that includes friends, family and a lot of food.

Resource
http://www.halocc.hawaii.edu/nursing/RNJapanese03.html