I don’t have any children so I will discuss my own child birth experience. I was born at six months. I recall my mother telling me the events that took place that lead up to my premature birth. My mother had a lot of complications in her pregnancy due to stress. My mother was in her third month of pregnancy when my dad decided that he no longer wanted to be with her. At the time my mother was more concerned about financial issues that will occur because of my dad leaving rather than her health and well being. My dad no longer being apart of the household created a stressful environment. My mother told me that she would cry daily and just ask God to get her through this pregnancy. On some occasions she did not eat. One morning she woke up due to chronic pain so my grandmother rushed her to the hospital. By the time mother got to the hospital the doctors advised her that the bay was ready to come. Several hours later I was brought into this world weighing only one pound. I was hospitalized for six months. I eventually gained two ponds and was released from the hospital weighing three pounds. I chose my own birth experience because it made me realize that a mother’s health during her pregnancy can have a tremendous impact on her child’s development. Because I was a premature baby I ‘m anemic, have very low iron, and have asthma. After hearing what my mom experienced during child birth, It made me realize how important it is for a mother to get adequate nutrition, prenatal care, and not stress. I will not let things that are out of my control consume me. I want to provide a safe, healthy, and caring environment for me and my unborn so that their development is not effected by my negligence.
The country that I chose to research was the United Kingdom. A lot of mothers in the United Kingdom experienced premature birth. “One in 14 babies in the UK which averages about 49,000 a year, are born underweight or premature” (Medical News Today, 2003). It was said that “social class differences were a factor, with the most low-weight babies born to single mothers and manual worker families” (Medical News Today, 2003). I can relate to this because my mother grew up poor. There were always a lot of stressful circumstances leading up to her unhealthily delivery. During my mother pregnancy she was diagnosed with diabetes and the trait was passed to my sister and me. Some facts that I discovered from this article were:
· Low birthweightscan lead to health problems either immediately, in childhood or later in life.
· Low-weight infants are also more likely to be shorter, have increased blood pressure, suffer diabetes, and have higher rates of heart disease, stroke and lung disorders.
I found this article to be very interesting because it saddens me to know that the United Kingdom don’t have enough staff to handle the increasing premature birth rate. Some mothers are sent all over the country so that they can receive adequate care. This can results in a lot of untimely deaths. I believe that a country with some many premature births should have a plan in action so that doctors in the United Kingdom could better assist mothers. Some mothers can even suffer from depression.
Nequiatuia,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post it really showed me how stress can really effect childbirth and the importance of taking care of yourself and the baby. I knew stress has a huge impact on health , but I didn't now how much. It was great to see you recover from being only a pound. I agree with you more should be done to better help the premature babies in the UK.