The poverty issue in Japan

Poverty is an issue that will not go away. In some part of the world there will always be someone or a group of people that are hungry and/or without basics on a regular basis. One country I want to talk about that has a growing number of poverty stricken citizens is Japan. Japan has the third largest economy so one would not think it has a poverty problem, yet it does. The rate of poverty on this country has grown over the years. In October 2009, Japan's Labor Ministry released a report which stated that almost one in six Japanese, which would be 20 million people, lived in poverty, in 2007. Another study showed that 1 out of 3 Japanese women in the age group of 20-64, and those who live alone, were living in poverty.  The poverty rate is increasing at a rate of 1.3% and not much is clear as to why the rate is growing. 

The Impact good mental health in parents has on child development

Not having good mental as a parent or in the family in general can have lasting effects on the development of a child. Infants need a good secure attachment with their caregivers for good emotional devleopment to occur. With a secure attachment, infants learn about emotions and how to regulate them. It effects them mentally and physically. When an infant's caregiver is emotionally unstable or is mentally unstable, the infant picks up on this and in turn he/she's development is stunted. They may not grow as fast as other healthy infants and they will grow to be anxious toddlers.  Infants cannot be spoiled with too much love. They need lots of love and attention for healthy cognitive growth that they will use later to learn in preschool and grade school. In my career Inhave seen the effects depression has on children. The children did not want to play and explore. Some did not want to eat. Children thrive on consistency and routine.

Okinawa Island, Japan is considered the healthiest place in the world. There are over 450 citizens over the age of 100. A healthy mind and a healthy body are huge contributors of this. Most of their residents eat only fruit and veggies and stay active. Good habits like these are passed to their children. Eating healthy with a diet rich in fruits and veggies has been shown to boost one's mood and keep depressive states away. Some studies have suggested that just he smell of a banana boosts one's mood. This is also true of exercise. I just think these findings are interesting and may keep us from taking pills which I believe are over prescribed.

Makin sure everyone in the family is me tally healthy gives children a great chance at being happy, healthy children and adults. The family is one unit when one is effected, all are effected.

My Birthing Story

The birthing customs from around the world are very different and very interesting. In some countries it is custom to birth in a siting position. Here in America women give birth lying on their backs so that the doctor has a clearer view of the baby. Here is an article from Parents.com that discusses some birthing customs from different countries including China and Brazil. http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/vaginal/birth-customs-around-the-world/


I have no children of my own yet and I have not witnessed a birth so I will use my own birth to write about...with the help of my mom. Here is her birthing experience when she had me:

The day you were born started around 2am. I woke up because I had a contraction. It was 9 days before your due date and I thought it might be Braxton Hicks contractions, since I had not had any yet. I sat in the living room watching TV for about an hour before I felt another contraction. Thirty minutes later, I felt another contraction, then another one thirty minutes later. When I had another contraction 15 minutes later, I woke your dad up. The contractions stayed about 15 minutes apart for the next hour. Around 5am I got out my pregnancy book, because the Internet didn't exist then, and re-read the section on when you should call your doctor or go to the hospital. The book recommended calling your doctor when the contractions were 10 minutes apart. The contractions weren't particularly painful; I would describe it as an uncomfortable feeling. Within the next 45 minutes, the contractions started to come regularly 10 minutes apart. I think I called the doctor's on-call number, but it may have been your dad. Either way, after asking questions about how long the contractions had been happening and how far apart they were, he recommended that we go to the hospital.

I vividly remember the ride to the hospital. It was in our 1981 Toyota Celica, which was low to the ground and had a manual transmission. The contractions were coming on a regular basis and I think your dad hit every pot hole between the house and the hospital - I was not happy. Once we got to the emergency room at the  hospital, they took me to a room and your dad had to go move the car. Dr. McKee came in to examine me and determined that I was in labor, so I was admitted to the hospital. It was around 6:30am and my contractions were about 8 minutes apart. While the nurses hooked me up to all the monitors, your dad went to a pay phone and called our parents. That's when it hit me that I was going to have a baby, that day, not some random day in the future.

I watched the morning TV programs. The nurses would come in and check on me every few minutes, but my contractions were stuck at 8 minutes apart. Sometime after 7am our parents arrived and visited me for a few minutes. They would leave the room when the doctor came by to check on me. While they were gone, the doctor decided to put me on Pitocin to speed up labor. The contractions started coming more frequently and I could feel my cervix dilate. While the contractions were bearable, the dilatation was very painful and felt weird. The contractions were still more than 5 minutes apart, so your dad and our parents went to the cafeteria to have breakfast.

Around 8:30am Dr. McKee came in to check me. He broke my water, another weird feeling, then soon after, gave me an epidural. I have to say, the epidural was the worst part of the whole experience. The contractions were very close together and I had to sit on the edge of the bed while a nurse pushed down on my shoulders to expose my back for the epidural. Since I was having contractions, being folded over on my stomach hurt. Then at 9am, Dr. McKee came in again and said it was time to go to the delivery room. Your dad was still at breakfast! They started wheeling the bed to the delivery room and I was panicking because your dad wasn't there. Fortunately, he showed up while they were wheeling me down the hall and the floor nurses directed him to us.

The delivery room was really cold. Your dad stayed by my head and held my hand through it all. I remember trying to push but not being able to feel what I was pushing. I think there were three nurses in the room with the doctor. I'm really not sure, because I was focused on Dr. McKee. I remember voices telling me to push; I remember your dad talking to me although I don't remember what he said; I remember Dr. McKee saying he was going to use forceps. They he held you up for me to see and told us that you were a girl and you had 10 fingers and 10 toes. One of the nurses whisked you over to a weighing station and did all the measurements. Dr. McKee looked at the clock and said to put 9:18am. I tried to talk him into 9:20am, since that's what my birth certificate says, but he wouldn't budge. You were 6 pounds, 3 1/2 ounces. A tiny little girl.

After the nurse finished cleaning you up, I finally got to hold you. I kissed your forehead, happy not to taste salt. Gran had told me that a salty taste could mean you had cystic fibrosis. Your dad and I both wept with joy at having a healthy daughter. Not big loud crying - gentle tears and smiles and an indescribable feeling of being needed. You were so small and helpless. Your dad checked your ears first to make sure you didn't have my attached earlobes - seriously. After a few minutes, I handed you to your dad and he left the delivery room to show you to your grandparents.

We had several visitors that day, since you were born in the morning. I would try to list them, but you know how big your dad's side of the family is and my side isn't exactly small. I think everyone came by that Friday. It was good. I remember Gran was very upset at your dad that night. He and a friend had tickets to a concert that night - it was a Friday night - and I told him to go, since we already had tickets. I was fine, you were fine. I wasn't going anywhere and he had spent all day at the hospital. What better way to celebrate the birth of your child? Your birth is the only time I remember your Uncle Chris visiting anyone at the hospital. You were in the nursery, so he and I walked down the hall so he could see you. Things were different back then. I had to ask them to bring you to my room. I tried to keep you there as much as possible, but they would only let you stay for an hour or two.

The day after you were born, it snowed. I was glad to be at the hospital because they had a generator and the power was out over much of Trussville. The snow didn't keep family from coming by. Nana brought you two preemie outfits because the newborn ones we had swallowed you. Remember, we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl. All the clothes we received were yellow or green or some other non-gender-specific color. We were lucky that we had been playing dress up with you, because they took your picture that day. They didn't tell us ahead of time, but because Nana and I had been dressing you in your new clothes, you are wearing an adorable, girly outfit in your first official portrait.

We brought you home on Sunday. My birthing experience was over and my parenting experience had begun.