SIDS facts in Germany

The topic that I chose for this weeks blog is SIDS.  SIDS stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.  SIDS is a death to an infant that there is usually no explanation as to why they died.  The baby or infant could appear to be a healthy baby, but die usually during their sleep, which is why SIDS is also known as a crib death.  There are several different symptoms that are said to be the main cause of this SIDS health disorder. Some include: 

• sleeping on the stomach (in the prone position)
• mother who smokes during pregnancy; smokers are as much as three times more likely than nonsmokers to have a SIDS baby
• belonging to an economically deprived or minority family
• mother under 20 years of age at pregnancy
• prematurity or low weight at birth

This topic is important to me because I do not have any kids right now, but when I do have kids, it is important to know the type of things to not do to prevent this from happening to a newborn or infant.  It is also important to know that not only if someone smokes, but just being around smoke could enhance the chance of their baby suffering from this health disorder.  The last reason why this topic is important to me, it will allow me to help others around me that have young ones and warm them about the symptoms and causes of SIDS.  

The area of the world that I searched on information about SIDS is in Germany.  These are some of the facts that I found interesting about SIDS in Germany.

         * In 2002, there were 359 infants that died from SIDS.

         * SIDS is the leading cause of death after the post neonatal stage.

         * Risk factors were identified, such as prone sleeping position, smoking of the mother during   

            pregnancy and heat stress.

         * SIDS occurred most frequently at the age of 2–5 mo (59%) and, as described in other studies on 

            SIDS, male infants (60.4%) had a higher risk than females.

         * Co-sleeping with an adult has a higher risk of SIDS in the infant.

This information provided above goes to show that  even the little actions a woman does while she is pregnant, she needs to be very careful throughout pregnancy and at the infant stage.  Just being around smoke will not only increase SIDS, but also other health disorders in the baby.  The information that I have learned about will help me in my future work because when I have a baby, I will be extra careful to not be around smoke.  If I working at a child care facility, I would have to be very careful and constantly checking on the child and making sure they are breathing.  I would also do my best to make sure that I did not lay the baby on his or her back to sleep.  Working in a child care with babies or infants at such a young age, I would just make sure that I paid close attention to them, even if they looked like they were okay.  

http://www.schwanger-in-bayern.de/fileadmin/content/sb_themen/gesundheit/sids/results_of_gesid.pdf

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/sudden+infant+death+syndrome

Birthing Experience

Throughout life, I have not been around many woman that have had a baby.  The only birthing experience that I can look back and remember is my own birth.  I was born on October 20th, 1988.  My mother was in labor with me for about 40 hours at Sparrow Hospital, in Lansing, Michigan.  Once I was born, my mother parents were also at the hospital.  My mom and dad had their first kid and I was the first grandchild to my grandparents.  My family that was at the hospital always talked about how much hair I had.  I had a head full of dark brown hair.  The main thing that I remember from this birthing experience is that once I was born, the nurse accidentally placed me in a boy's box.  When the nurses were talking to my mom, they kept saying that  they were going to bring in her baby boy.  My mom continued to tell them that she had a little girl, me!  They eventually realized that the nurse had put me in the wrong carrier.  I chose this example because this is the only birthing experience that I have been told about and experienced!  I do have a sister, but I was not in Michigan when my mother had my sister.  It is very important to provide the child from birth to adolescent, with the most comforting and loving environment.  Whether a little baby knows what their surrounding environment is like, that is how they learn the best.  The situation of birth in regards to child development is that children continue to grow day-by-day.  From learning their first words, crawling, walking, sounding out sounds, making words, to many others.  The most critical time in a child's development is near the time of birth of each child.  

The country I chose to research about is Spain.  In Spain, they tend to receive a lot of medical help, especially in the major cities.  In the larger cities, they are usually ran by social security and the smaller cities are run by health insurance.  Most of the pregnant mothers in Spain give birth the traditional way.  Once a women experiences they are pregnant, they most go see a doctor.  During the pregnancy a midwife will make an appointment to see the mother once a month.  If the mother is not fluent in Spanish, it is highly suggested that they have someone that speaks Spanish along with them.  Spain does not allow gas or air to be used, but epidurals are very rarely used.  The only difference between Spain and the United States is in Spain, they are much more common to do the natural births.  The interesting thing that I learned is that the mothers are in the hospital for at least five days after they have the baby, before they can go home.  Also, maternity leave for a new mother is only 16 weeks and the father only gets 15 days of paternity leave.  

http://www.expatica.com/es/essentials_moving_to/essentials/10-things-to-prepare-before-giving-birth-in-Spain.html