The Effects of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

On August 23,2005, Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas and crossed southern Florida as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, causing some deaths and flooding there before strengthening rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico.  On August 29, the storm weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 storm in southeast Louisiana. The most significant number of deaths occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana. The storm surge caused more than 50 breaches in drainage canal levees and also in navigational canal levees, which flooded as the levee system failed. Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.

By August 31, 2005, 80% of New Orleans was flooded, with some parts under 15 feet of water.Ninety percent of the residents of southeast Louisiana were evacuated but a small percentage did not. Many who remained in their homes had to swim for their lives, wade through deep water, or remain trapped in their attics or on their rooftops.

Yolanda and her families we one of the families not so fortunate to be successful evacuated and were forced to tread through water; exposing 7 year Yolanda and her 9 year old brother Jeff, to dead human and animal corpses floating in contaminated water.

 Yolanda and her family eventually made it to safety ,but Yolanda and her family would never be the same.The stress and exposure to this natural disaster left her family emotional distraught and mentally unstable.

In 2007, I gained the privilege of case managing Yolanda as she had now moved to Texas receiving Special Education services as a student with Emotional and Behavior Disorders. Yolanda had now been diagnosed Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Before the attack of Hurricane Katrina, Yolanda was a straight A student, who enjoyed reading and was very free spirited with no behavior issues. Sad to say after the disaster she was no longer performing on grade level and was now afraid of the thundering and lightening. After she I grew closer she would tell me of the events that occurred and what she encountered. When it would rain accompanied with lighting and thunder she would so frightened and shut completely down.

The effects left a negative impression on not only her family but millions of others who are still left to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina today.   

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

                 During infancy Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is a growing concern of parents and care givers.    Since 1992 SIDS rates have dropped since parents were alerted to place their infants to sleep on their backs and sides to help reduce the chances of SIDS. According to studies SIDS remains the number one culprit of infant deaths each year in the United States. The apparent cause of SIDS is still unknown. Many parents seek more information on its causes from popular print and internet media because of the convenience; not certain of their accuracy. How accurate are the popular media sources? This blog will briefly compare and contrast the accuracy of two articles published about SIDS, one from a popular media site, Health NewsFlash and the other from the database of ProQuest Psychology Journal.

The article, Sudden Infant Death  Syndrome, published in the Lancet  defines SIDS as "the sudden death of an infant under one year of age, which remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history". This journal article provides an overview of  SIDS which also discusses the epidemiological and  pathophysiological findings, risk reductions and  controversies related to some  of  the  recommendations.  The article is very detailed stating research results from several different sources. The article points out that, despite the overall decline in SIDS worldwide, there are still racial and ethnic disparities. In the USA, infants who are African American, Native American, or Alaska Native have SIDS rates that are two to three times the national average, irrespective of socioeconomic status.

According  to Health Newsflash, SIDS, is the diagnosis given for the sudden death of an infant under one year of  age  that remains unexplained after a complete investigation, which includes an autopsy, examination of  the death  scene, and a review of the systems or illness the infant  had prior to dying and any other pertinent medical history.  This article provides risk factors related  to SIDS pointing  out  that  mothers  who smoke  during  pregnancy  are three times more likely  to have a Sudden Infant  Death  Syndrome baby and  exposure  to passive  smoke from smoking by  mothers, fathers, and others  in  the  household doubles  a  baby’s risk of  SIDS. It  also list  other  risk such as  the  age  of  the  mother at the time of  their  first  pregnancy  and the lack of  prenatal care. The article also described   possible causes of SID. According to Health Newsflash, Studies of SIDS victims reveal that many Sudden Infant Death Syndrome infants have abnormalities in the "arcuate nucleus," a portion of the brain that is likely to be involved in controlling breathing and waking during sleep. Babies born with defects in other portions of the brain or body may also be more prone to a sudden death. These abnormalities may stem from prenatal exposure to a toxic substance, or lack of a vital compound in the prenatal environment, such as sufficient oxygen. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy, for example, can reduce the amount of oxygen the fetus receives. 

In comparing the two articles I found that the media article would be easier for a parent or care giver to understand.  The research article provides more scientific descriptions making it a little more difficult for someone to understand who is not familiar with some of the terms. The web article was written more from an information standpoint.   Most of the information in the research article did appear in the popular web article.  The research article states, “Warmer room temperatures and multiple layers of clothing or blankets on the infant have also been associated with an increased SIDS risk. This increased risk of overheating is particularly evident when infants are sleeping in the prone position and heat loss from the face is reduced; the risk is less clear when infants are supine.”  According to Health Newsflash, Babies should be kept warm, but they should not be allowed to get too warm because an overheated baby is more likely to go into a deep sleep from which it is difficult to arouse. The temperature in the baby’s room should feel comfortable to an adult and overdressing the baby should be avoided. The two articles also stress the factor that smoking plays in SIDS. The journal article  published in Lancet states, Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a major risk factor in almost every epidemiological study of SIDS. Postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke has emerged as a separate risk factor in a few studies, although this variable is difficult to separate from maternal smoking prenatally. Prenatal smoke exposure results in decreased lung volume and compliance and decreased heart rate variability to stress. Additionally, nicotine has neuro teratogenic effects, resulting in alterations in autonomic pathways, including decreased arousal to hypoxia and other stimuli. All of these effects could directly affect SIDS risk. If in-utero smoke exposure was eliminated, a third of SIDS deaths could possibly be prevented.

 Research documented in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics states that risk factors for SIDS vary across countries and, therefore, are likely to contribute to the variability in rates. According to reports from smoking rates are high among the Maori in New Zealand and American Indians, groups in which the rate of SIDS remains high.

Though both articles viewed several issues relating to SIDS similarly there is one issue that the two differed in. Breasting feeding according to Health Newsflash was mentioned to have been a risk reduction factor. Stating, “There is some evidence to suggest that breast feeding might reduce the risk of SIDS. A few studies have found Sudden Infant Death Syndrome to be less common in infants who have been breastfed. This may be because breast milk can provide protection from some infections that can trigger sudden death in infants.”  The journal article discusses epidemiological studies have produced inconsistent findings on the protective effect of breastfeeding for SIDS. Some studies have shown a protective effect where as others did not show an effect.

SIDS is the leading cause of death among infants 1 month to 1 year old, and claims the lives of about 2,500 each year in the United States. Despite years of research it remains unpredictable.  With more information and risk interventions the reduction of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome will go on an incline. I found both articles to be very informative, providing generally the same information just in a completely different format. It’s  important that  you  check other facts and not  always  rely  on one particular source especially  when dealing  with  issue as SIDS.

  Though researchers are still searching for the underlying cause of SIDS, in the process key suggestions to prevention have been established.  This information was particularly of interest to me in that parents need to more information and education about the risk of SIDS and key preventions. As a child care provider is my responsibility to aid in the efforts of parents being aware of SIDS.  One way in which several states child care licensing facilities are helping in the cause is by providing information to child care centers so that they may forward the information to parents.  Reflecting on this information today I have decided that in addition to the parent training that my center offers that I will also included training on the Risks and Affects of SIDS. Just based on my research different articles it is one thing to provide the information to a parent. It is the next action we take in making sure that they understand the language on the risk of SIDS.

References

       

  

 Hauck R.F. and Kawai T., International Trends in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Stabilization of Rates Requires Further Action , Pediatrics September 2008; 122:3 660-666; doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0135

     

Health Newsflash, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Fact Book(2002) retrieved January 11,2012 http://www.healthnewsflash.com/conditions/sids.htm 

Moon, R., Horne, R., & Hauck, F. (2007). Sudden infant death syndrome. The Lancet, 370(9598), 1578-87.  Retrieved September 19,2009, from ProQuest Medical Library. (Document ID: 1383348921).

My Personal Birthing Experience

 
The thought of birthing three children is an experience in itself. While carrying your unborn child you begin to think about the child’s future, you establish a bond, and dedicate your every breathe and move into providing proper prenatal can for a healthy developing baby. I anticipated the coming not considering the pain that I would bare in the process.

My first two deliveries compare nothing to my most recent one. One would think that I was well prepared and knew what to expect on my third go around. My third delivery it was extremely different.

The entire process happened so quickly. I went in for a weekly check and while there the doctor discovered that the baby’s heart rate had begun to drop. He immediately schedule for an induction 4:00 hours later from my visit. Within the four hour period I began to have contractions. At about 8:00 pm I arrived to the hospital.I began rounds of Pitocin to speed up contractions andantibiotics to protect the baby from contracting Group B Step. Around 12:30 am, boy did the contractions grow at a steady pace.

I allowed myself to nap for a little until finally they began to hit me again. I cringed at every contraction I felt, began to have deep hot flashes and felt very faint. Before we knew it my water had broken and contractions began to get worse. The grand finale was about to occur and my doctor was nowhere in sight. Sooner than we knew it I began screaming, pushing and attempting to break my husband’s arm. All the pain and screaming all came to an end at 4:30 am on June 9, 2010. We were blessed with a beautiful healthy little girl, Peylyn. Regardless of all the pain I endured and feeling as my life was coming to an end it was still a beautiful experience.

My third delivery was different from the other particularly because I did not receive any anesthetic or epidural. I am so afraid of the side effects that can occur. In the past I cried and stressed out more about getting the anesthetic than going through the birthing process.

I found that decision to deliver without any painkillers is very common in other countries compared to the United States. Like Dutch and German women, the majority of Japanese women strive to give birth without the use of painkillers. It is a belief among Japanese that labor pains act as a kind of test that a woman must endure in preparation for the challenging role of motherhood.