Dealing with Poverty as a Child

When I was growing up I had a friend that was homeless. She lived with her family in a shelter. I remember how sweet and shy my friend was and how the other kids at school would make fun of her because of her clothes and her living situation. We became friends in elementary school and remand friends until her death in 1992. She coped with her life in a very private way. She always hoped that things would get better for her and her family, but it didn't. She would never talk about her family and I think I was the only person that she introduced to her family. In my opinion I think my friend handled her situation as best as she could, because after all she was only a child when I meet her.

In South Africa there is an on going problem with children living in poverty. The experts give two reasons to why this is happening. The first is because of racial problems in the country. South Africa has to this day an on going problem with racial issues and poor black communities not getting the help they need. They also don't get the same medical treatment options or educational options that white communities get. The second reason they have so many children living in poverty is because of the very high unemployment rate in South Africa. This is happening because of the expanding trades and global market that has caused a lose of jobs in the agricultural and manufacturing areas.

Resource
http://www.stwr.org/africa/south-african-child-poverty.html

Nutrition and Malnutrition

I believe that nutrition and malnutrition are both very important issues that every one around the world as to deal with.  This issue is meaningful to me because I have seen children living in poverty and the only meals that they get through out the day are the meals and snacks they get at school. Reading the article Current food and nutrition situation in south Asian and south-east Asian countries as opened my mind a great deal. I always knew that there were food production problems in certain parts of the world but I did not know that even if the countries are producing food they could still have many problems with malnutrition issues.

Food production in the countries of South and South-East Asia has shown a general upward trend during the last decade. Despite the considerable increase in population in many of these countries, food production per capita in 1988-90 was significantly higher as compared to 1979-81 figures, the increase being specially marked in such countries as Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Available daily calorie supply was adequate to meet the requirement. The overall pattern of food production however has shown little change, with cereal production continuing to account for a predominant part of food production. There is no evidence of a significant uptrend with respect to production of pulses, milk, horticultural products, poultry or meat production in most countries. A unique and unfortunate feature of the nutrition situation in South-Asian countries is that the incidence of low birth weight deliveries is as high as 34% (1990), ranging from 25% in Sri Lanka to 50% in Bangladesh (as against less than 7% in the countries of Europe and North America). Even in countries of Africa where the overall food and nutrition situation is worse than in South Asia, the incidence is well below 20%. This is a reflection of the poor state of maternal nutrition in pregnancy. Florid nutritional deficiency diseases have shown a steep decline over the last two decades, but goitre and iron deficiency anaemia continue to be major public health problems, though some headway has been made with regard to the control of the former. Severe forms of growth retardation in children have declined but the majority suffer from mild and moderate forms of growth retardation. Countries of the Region are in varying stages of developmental transition. Among the burgeoning middle classes in some of these countries there are evidences of escalation of degenerative diseases such as diabetes and coronary heart disease. With increasing life expectancy, geriatric nutritional problems will demand increasing attention.

Resource
Biomed Environ Sci. 1996 Sep;9(2-3): 102-16.

Birthing Experience in the Netherlands

I learned that in the Netherlands, most women do not go to a hospital but chose to have a midwife and a home birth. They also do not go to an obstetrician, instead  the go to their family doctor who then refers them to a midwife. The mothers-to-be also get a birthing kit called a "kraampakket". This kit has everything the mother, midwife, and family needs for the birth(during and after the baby is born). This is very different from how women give birth here in the USA.  Almost all women in the United States give birth in a hospital with doctors, nurses, and an epidural. In Netherlands women do not use epidurals unless it is necessary and the midwife recommends it.

As far as my own experiences, I have never given birth nor have I ever participated in a birth. I don't remember my own birth but who does?

Reference
Schalken. L(2013). Birth Customs Around the World. Retrieved from
http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/birth-customs-around-the-world