Childbirth Around the World

I've never had the pleasure of giving birth myself yet and unfortunately was away at school when my niece's were born. I've never had the opportunity to be involved in a birth, but rather arrived at the hospital after the birth had already taken place. I know from my what my mom has told me about my own birth that my father was allowed in the delivery room for the first time when I was born. My brothers were born in the 60's and 70's and according to her experience with my brothers, the father was not allowed in the delivery room during that time. She also remembers staying in the hospital longer with my brothers than with me. It seems that nowadays hospitals are looking to discharge new moms and newborns a lot faster than years ago. To compare health care during pregnancy, I feel today Dr.'s have a tendency to order more tests and be more cautious than years ago. 

Upon researching countries and their birthing rituals, Holland caught my eye. Women in Holland do not see an obstetrician, rather they are referred by their family doctor to a local midwife practice. Doctor's will only intervene if there are complications during delivery. Women are the ones who decide if they are giving birth at home or at the hospital, and they are even to purchase a kraampakket, all of the medical supplies necessary for a home birth. If the decision is made to have a hospital birth, an epidural is only given at the connivence of the anesthesiologist. The vast majority of moms do give birth naturally in Holland due the scheduling issues. If the baby is born early in the day and there are no complications, then the mom and baby may go home in as little as 2 hours. When home the unique Dutch system of kraamhulp (maternity home care) takes place. For seven days  a nurse comes to the home, a benefit covered by insurance. She provides medical care, cleans the home, cooks, and instructs the new parents in basic parenting skills. 

Whether in Holland or the U.S., prenatal care during pregnancy is so important to the healthy development of the child. There is a tremendous amount of information out there that is accessible to new and soon to be parents. Knowing the goods and bads during pregnancy is a must. 

Last week of my first course!

I can't believe this is the last week of this course, time sure gets away from me nowadays! I thought I wasn't going to be able to finish the course within the first few weeks, but I have pushed through and made it. I have learned so much and I know all of the knowledge I have consumed within the course will help me tremendously for all the rest to come. Thanks to all that have shared their ideas, thoughts and own knowledge regarding early childhood. This was a wonderful group of people to work with and I hope to work with you all again in the future!

3 additional resources

I found a book called Early Childhood Professionals-Leading Today and Tomorrow. Basically it is about what contemporary EC practitioners need to know in order to manage early childhood services in a professional way.

I came across a website from Kathy H. Lee, a speaker who conducts workshops all over the country. She speaks to teachers, directors, families who want to adopt, and families who want to homeschool their children. Being a director of a child care center, I am always looking for new voices to introduce to my teachers who can provide some more insight into various teaching tools and techniques.
Check it out:
www.kathyhlee.com

I stumbled upon a website that is full of resources for or early childhood educators, homeschoolers, parents and caregivers. There are so many categories to choose from on so many different topics, such as curriculum themes, back to school, art, product recalls, licensing and accreditation, special needs, professional development, and so much more. This is a wonderful resource to be used by almost anyone. This is definitely one to check out!
www.eced-resources.com

Course Resources 3- Early Childhood Organizations

And lastly....Early Childhood Organizations

• • National Association for the Education of Young Children
    http://www.naeyc.org/
  • The Division for Early Childhood
    http://www.dec-sped.org/
  • Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
    http://www.zerotothree.org/
  • WESTED
    http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
  • Harvard Education Letter
    http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
  • FPG Child Development Institute
    http://www.fpg.unc.edu/
  • Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
    http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
  • HighScope
    http://www.highscope.org/
  • Children's Defense Fund
    http://www.childrensdefense.org/
  • Center for Child Care Workforce
    http://www.ccw.org/
  • Council for Exceptional Children
    http://www.cec.sped.org/
  • Institute for Women's Policy Research
    http://www.iwpr.org/
  • National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
    http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  • National Child Care Association
    http://www.nccanet.org/
  • National Institute for Early Education Research
    http://nieer.org/
  • Pre[K]Now
    http://www.pewstates.org/projects/pre-k-now-328067
  • Voices for America's Children
    http://www.voices.org/
  • The Erikson Institute
    http://www.erikson.edu/

Course Resources 2- Global support for Children's Rights & Well-Being

• Global Support for Children's Rights and Well-Being

  • Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
  • Websites:
  • • World Forum Foundation
      http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
      
    • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
      http://www.omep-usnc.org/
      
    • Association for Childhood Education International
      http://acei.org/

Course Resources-Position Statements and Influential Practices

Here are valuable resources in Early Childhood Education:

• • NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
  • NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
  • NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
  • NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
  • NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
  • NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
  • Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
  • FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, fromhttp://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf

Words of Inspiration or Motivation

Here are 2 quotes from Marcy Whitebook:

"We know that teachers are the key to good child care - and as long as teachers are undervalued, American children, too, will keep getting less than they deserve"

“These truths about the early care and education workforce are not breaking news. We have known for two decades, since the release of the National Child Care Staffing Study in 1989, that limited education, lack of specialized early childhood training and poor compensation are inextricably linked to the poor to mediocre quality common to the majority of early care and education services across the nation. We have known, almost for that long, that the education level and pay of the workforce play a critical role in whether services can improve.”

And now quotes from T. Berry Brazelton:

"A family's responses to crisis or to a new situation mirror those of a child. That is to say, the way a small child deals with a n ew challenge (for instance, learning to walk) has certain predictable stages: regression, anxiety, mastery, new energy, growth, and feedback for future achievement. These stages can also be seen in adults coping with new life events, whether positive or negative."

"Parents don't make mistakes because they don't care, but because they care so deeply."

From Renatta Cooper:

"It's not all about you, you have to take your ego out of it and think about what's best for this child."