Sexual abuse and the development of a child

When thinking about different stressors child may be exposed to I decided on sexual abuse - it is a hard topic to discuss but something that has long term affects on an individual. 

Being sexually abused as a child has put a strain on my friends relationships, both with partners and peers. She was very closed off in high school, has anxiety about going places alone, and poor self-image. After talking with her this week to get a better idea about her lifestyle I believe the abuse is the number one cause. She has grown tremendously through counseling and talking with family/friends about her insecurities. She has also gone to her doctor to help with her anxiety. 

Growing up with a friend who was abused as a child (by her brother) and thinking back to how this affected her emotionally it opened my eyes to others who may have experienced abuse and how they have coped with it. I researched how individuals in Australia cope with being abused as a child, they tend to have the same effects as my friend. There is, however, an organization in Australia called Bravehearts. There mission is to stop sexual assault in their society and their vision is to make Australia the safest place in the world to raise a child (Ronken & Johnston, 2012). This program uses three piers they believe will help with the prevention of abuse; educate, empower, and protect. They have two types of programs to educate individuals, one for early childhood and one for older child. They empower by having community awareness campaigns and a White Balloon Day. Their goal for protecting victims of abuse is by having counselors and advocates. 

References:

Ronken, C., & Johnston, H. (2012). Child Sexual Assault: Facts and Statistics. Bravehearts.

         Retrieved from https://www.bravehearts.org.au/files/Facts%20and%20Stats_updated141212.pdf

Breastfeeding - the great debate! 

I personally was not breastfed - my mother was a single mom and had to return to work shortly after I was born. She explained to me that there was no place in her office building at the time that could accommodate woman to pump in private and it was frowned upon to do that in the restroom. I love walking into businesses and they have designated rooms for woman who would like to provide for their child(ren) in that way or that it is becoming a little more accepted by society.

This can be a topic women (and some men) are very passionate about - the health of their children are affected by it. This can also be a sore subject for some women who would love to breastfeed their children but physically cannot - one of which is my sister in-law (Michelle). Michelle was able to breastfeed her first son for the first year of his life with no problems but with her second child her milk supply ran out after five months. My other sister in-law (Jessica) was able to produce milk for both of her children for the first year of their life (either through pumping or actually breastfeeding). This made me question how and why women's supply runs out or that they just don't produce any? Through research I found that stress, maternal obesity, postpartum hemorrhage, cesarean delivery, infection/illness with fever, diabetes, thyroid condition, or prolonged/strict bed rest during pregnancy could affect a woman's delay in milk production (University of Rochester Medical Center, 2015). 

Breastfeeding in public seems to be more accepted around the world than here in the United States according to (http://www.007b.com/public-breastfeeding-world.php). There are some countries, like Saudi Arabia, that it is not accepted for woman to openly breastfeed in public - they prefer the woman to do that in private. Whereas, in other countries woman will walk down the street breastfeeding and not be covered by anything because woman's breast are not considered sexual objects (http://www.007b.com/public-breastfeeding-world.php). I enjoyed reading about the acceptance of breastfeeding around the world from citizens of the specific countries. This really opened my eyes to how we (as Americans) have a negative view of woman who breastfeed in public and what we can do to change. 

There is a World Breastfeeding Week sponsored by UNICEF which is an annual celebration that highlights the critical importance of promoting the value of breastfeeding globally, nationally and at the community level (UNICEF, 2014). I will be providing the director of my program the information about World Breastfeeding Week and working with her to see how we can incorporate this within our program. We have family support workers that can help our expecting mothers when it comes to the importance of breastfeeding their little ones.

References:

Female Intelligence Agency. (2015). Breastfeeding in public around the world. Retrieved from http://www.007b.com/public-breastfeeding-world.php

UNICEF. (2014). Breastfeeding. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_24824.html

University of Rochester Medical Center. (2015). Milk Production and Your High-Risk Baby.      Retrieved from http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P02390

Childbirth is something people tend to not like to talk about but I find it fascinating.  The thought of fostering the growth of another human for nine months then having them finally in your arms is amazing. 

The most recent childbirth experience I have been apart of was the birth of my niece. I was originally going to be waiting in the hallway waiting for the arrival of my beautiful niece but once the time came my sister invited me to stay in the room with her. While excited I was still a little uneasy - that's a very intimate time for the mother and father. The nurse (who was holding one of my sisters legs) had walked away as the doctor started having my sister push. The doctor looked at me and said "she needs you right now, come on over." I was a little in shock but stepped up to help my sister. Witnessing the birth of my precious niece made me realize I could eventually do it myself - I had heard so many horror stories in the past. 

Childbirth in Poland is pretty similar to childbirth in the United States. My boyfriend is from Poland and remembered parts of his little brothers birth. They lived in a small village and the closet hospital was about forty minutes away but he does remember they made it to the hospital. Learning about the small town that he grew up in really opened my eyes to the fact that they still went to the hospital - I assumed the majority of the families in his village had their children at home.