Mothers who receive a higher level of education might be able to provide better protection and health care for their children than those with less education. Without the proper nutrition and health care before and after birth, children will develop poor cognition, motor, and social-emotional maturity. Studies show a distinct relationship between mothers having a higher maternal education and the physical growth in children. With the higher level of education, women will have increased knowledge and understanding in how to increase the overall health and wellbeing of their children. It is noted that after the child’s birth the first few years are the most critical in the child’s life. According to Semba, et al., 2008 children who do not get the proper care cannot maximize and develop as functional adults because of growth stunting during childhood. He further stated that the consequences of growth stunting could adversely affect the quality of life of an individual. It is imperative to understand the implications of growth stunting on a child’s development, and the importance of maternal education in order to reduce its impact.
Current studies show that a higher level of education can decrease stunting in children by five percent. Additional studies show that an increase in the years of schooling has a greater impact on the children’s health and nutrition. For example in Kenya an increase in years of schooling for mothers increases their knowledge in choosing and providing better health care options for their children (Abuya, Onsomu & Moore, 2011). Studies have also compared a parallel relationship between maternal education and the level of income. Mother’s that are able to obtain a higher level of education have a greater know...
... middle of paper ...
... children in order to improve growth and development. While it is determined in this study that maternal education can prevent growth stunting in children, it should be realized that these studies are not conclusive in their findings as in some instance, internal and external validity could not be realized. For example, what defines wealth in some countries might not be the same determinant of wealth in another country. A mother might be capable of taking care of her child with the information and education that she has and not have a lot of wealth but the essentials nutrients or medication considered to necessary to developing a healthy child. Also, each study that was done should be collected and be repeated in a couple of years after the mother’s started to receive more proper education in order to see the impact or lack thereof on the development of the child.
World hunger is a very important epidemic because of the risks or implications it imposes on the rest of the world. Juveniles are the utmost apparent victims of under-nutrition. 2.6 million children die as a result of hunger-related causes each year. 66 million school-aged children go to classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone. One in four of the world's youth are kept from growing due to malnutrition. In developing countries the proportion can rise to one in three. A strong maternal-infant bond provided through psychosocial stimulation is essential for positive child development. The formation of this bond at the beginning of life is an essential step that sets the stage for cognitive,emotional, and social development later in life. Feeding and other care practices provide opportunities for psychosocial stimulation and help to establish a positive attachment between caregiver and child.(WHO) Under-nutrition magnifies the effect of every disease, such as measles,diarrhea and malaria. Asia has the largest number of hungry people (over 500 million) however S...
...oncludes that biological factors, poverty, cultural beliefs, socio-economic status, ecological factors etc., interweave with each other and assess the nutritional status of individuals in a population. Dettwyler achieves good case studies as she presents good ethnographic fieldwork where she herself was observing and experiencing the life within the Malian population. She provides vivid details of her data and observations thus spurring her biocultural approach. Dettwyler observed only those children who were born malnourished and died due to some illness or disease. She took the rural side of Mali which encompassed orthodox society and its beliefs but could have taken the urban and positive side of Mali by extending her study on children who were born healthy; then studied and analyzed their nutritional status and then compared it with that of rural Mali children.
...lem in the world. LBW is arisen because of preterm births and, intrauterine growth retardation, or both. Many risk factors including low pre pregnancy BMI, poor dietary patterns, poverty, low antenatal weight gain, and infections causes the infants to be Low Birth Weight. There are many health consequences can be seen due to LBW and some of them are neonatal morbidity and mortality, effects related to cognitive and neurological development. Some suggestions to decrease the incidence of LBW are improving food intake, getting medications for chronic diseases, preventing teenage gestations, educating teenagers and mothers about LBW and preventing from infections and malaria. South Asia is the highest low birth weight reporting region in the world. UNICEF and World Health Organization have been conducting many projects to lower the low birth weight rate in the world.
“Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers” Statement taken from the world health organization publication on the nutrition of exclusive breastfeeding.
Siega, R., Adair, L., & Hoebl, C. (1996). Maternal underweight status and inadequate rate of
Brown, L. & Pollitt, E. “Malnutrition, poverty and intellectual development”. Scientific American vol 274(2), pp. 38-43.
Over one billion people are living in poverty, lacking safe water, housing, food, and the ability to read. There is a high concentration of communities in poverty in Africa; particularly Central Africa. States that are considered in Central Africa are the following: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central Republic of Africa, Chad, Equatorial Guinea and the Congo. The majority of these Central African states’ economies are dependent on agriculture. As a result of this dependency, natural disasters, droughts and wars can displace subsistence farmer from their land resulting in poverty becoming even more prevalent and harder to come back from. Also with a history of dependency on farming there tends to be the trend of education not being a primary focus for the youth which is another factor into the stagnant poverty trend in Central Africa.
On attaining independence in 1963, the inaugural Kenya government identified poverty illiteracy, disease and unemployment as the most debilitating of challenges facing the country. Almost five decades later, despite numerous policy efforts, these challenges continue to enslave many Kenyans. The situation is even more debilitating when one is a youth. According to the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey , approximately 67 per cent of the unemployed in the country are youth.
Child development and growth observation can be quite fascinating considering the uniqueness of each child. As children grow, they normally develop and acquire new skills whether complex or not. The abilities experienced by each child progresses differently that is it depends on the nurturing given by the parent or guardian and on the characteristics that they inherit. Proper development and growth of the child occurs when basic needs are provided by the reliable adult guardians, including such things as love, food, encouragement, shelter and warmth. The essay evaluates child development and growth through observation conducted by myself on my nephew. The essay will include physical development, general health, emotional development,
Poverty and lack of education are widespread and negatively influence a child. Both of these have severe long-term and short-term effects. Poverty affects a child both physically and mentally. Lack of education puts a limit job selection and successfulness. It also encourages the cycle of poverty. By providing an education, both of these factors can be resolved. Help should go to all children- not just the ones that are prominently featured. Hopefully, one day those vivacious children from the poor Kenyan village will be successful individuals.
All mothers, especially first time mothers need help moral support and advice during the first few days after their delivery to ensure proper care of their newborn. The care and help given to first time mothers is of utmost important during this period as to maintain the normality in their babies as well as to prevent any further complications. Typically all pregnant women are counseled during their antenatal period on how to prepare themselves mentally on the care of their babies after birth. Upon delivery, majority of the mothers would stay for a short period in the hospital. During this short stay, they would need time to recuperate, need to know what care to give their baby and how to carry out the care and also learn what to do if their baby is feeling unwell. Thus it is important for health care providers to assist first time mothers be it at the hospital or at home since it is a crucial period for them and they often requires more help and moral support especially when it comes to the proper care of their newborn. ("Routine care of a newborn baby")
A child’s proper growth depends greatly on their nutrition and health. A healthy diet is essential to the developing child. Food should never be used to reward, punish, or bribe a child. Instead children should have three healthy meals with snacks in between. It is also important for children to have good self care behaviors (including bathing, washing hands, brushing teeth), and adequate sleep.
Child growth and development is a process that consists of some building blocks, which are components that combine in an infinite number of ways (Cherry, n.d.). As a result of the variations of building blocks in a child’s development, educators, psychologists, and philosophers have been constantly engaged in the debate of nature versus nurture debate. Many researchers agree that child development is a complex interaction between his/her genetic background (nature) and his/her environment (nurture). In essence, some developmental aspects are strongly affected by biology whereas other aspects are influenced by environmental factors. From the onset of an individu...
In the contemporary society, education is a foundational human right. It is essentially an enabling right that creates various avenues for the exercise of other basic human rights. Once it is guaranteed, it facilitates the fulfillment of other freedoms and rights more particularly attached to children. Equally, lack of education provision endangers all fundamental rights associate with the welfare of human beings. Consequently, the role of education and in particular girl child education as a promoter of nation states welfare cannot be overemphasized. As various scholars asserts, the challenges and problems faced by the African girl child, to enjoy her right to education are multifaceted. Such difficulties include sexual abuse, child labor, discrimination, early pregnancies, violence and poverty, culture and religious practices (Julia 219). Across the developing world, millions of young girls lack proper access to basic education. In the contemporary society, this crisis, which is particularly critical in remote and poor region of sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia have fascinated increased public attention. However, almost all global nation states have assured their commitment in addressing various girl child challenges and allowed a declaration to enable each young girl and boy receive education by the year 2015 (Herz and Sperling 17). This target was firmly established and approved in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. However, this study will focus on girls’ education in Africa and its impacts to their livelihood.
One of the many jobs a mother has is to help ensure that a child grows throughout the various stages of their