Child birth in my life and Around the World

My daughter was born on October 18, 2011. I had a long delivery with her. She was born at 1:05am and weighed 8 lbs and 4 oz. I carried her full term, and she was born a week later. I was supposed to be induced the morning of the 17th if I had not gone into labor. That morning my water broke at home so I went to the hospital. I remember the staff kept telling me I would have her by lunch time that day but she was not born until 1:05 am on the 18th. I named my daughter Zoey Lynn Bragg. I had the support of my husband and my family. My husband helped the doctors some during the delivery. He even got to cut the umbilical cord. He was there with me the whole time. I enjoyed having the chance to hold her once she was born. Zoey is our only child so far. She was like our anniversary gift. Our anniversary was Oct 9th and her due date was Oct 10. Zoey is now 2 years old.

I chose to write about Zoey's birth because it is my only birth experience besides what my mom has told me about my birth. The things that can happen during the pregnancy and during birth can impact a child for life. For example, the use of drugs during pregnancy impacts the development of the child and the child might show characteristics of addiction after birth.

I chose to research births in Germany. I found in my research that in Germany births are performed by midwifes. Doctors are not mandated like the midwifes. Moms can stop work 6 weeks before due date. Moms are not allowed to work until 8 weeks after the birth. They get the full amount of pay while on maternity leave. The mother can take up to 3 years off of unpaid leave. The 3rd year is a floating year and can be taken any time. The mother or father can take off during the 3rd year. The Germany government has a list of names that is acceptable names to name a child. This is supposed to be to keep children from being picked on by other children.  In my experience, I had unpaid maternity leave. I also chose to have a doctor deliver Zoey because of the chance of complications that were likely due to me having a heart murmur.

Ideals of NAEYC

 

1. To be familiar with the knowledge base of early childhood care and education and to stay informed through continuing education and training. Things are always changing in the Early Childhood field. It is important to go to trainings to learn more about how to do things in other ways. Research in the field is also changing. I not only have to have training hours each year for DCD; I also have to have 150 contact hours each 5 year period to keep my license current.

 

2. To advocate for and ensure that all children including those with special needs, have access to the support services needed to be successful. Some children need extra help and support beyond what you can give them in the classroom. I feel these children need to have these services to develop to their fullest potential. Teachers have to be advocates for these children to receive the services that are needed. Each year I have children that I advocate for. Sometimes they receive the services and sometimes they don't. I do every thing I can for them but the parents have to make the choice.

 

3. To share information about each child's education and development with families and to help them understand and appreciate the current knowledge base of the early childhood profession. I work with my families to share information with them about their child and where they are developmentally. I give some suggestions on how they can work with them at home. I provide the suggestions based on what the children need help with and I give the activities in steps to the families. This way the children are being challenged as they are ready but not to the point that they are overwhelmed.

 

 



Classroom Resources

Classroom Resources

 

Position Statements and Influential Practices

• 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, from http://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, from http://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, from http://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, from http://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, from http://community.fpg.unc.edu/sites/community.fpg.unc.edu/files/imce/documents/FPG_Snapshot_N33_EvidenceBasedPractice_09-2006.pdf
  
  Note: The following article can be found in the Walden University Library databases.
• Turnbull, A., Zuna, N., Hong, J. Y., Hu, X., Kyzar, K., Obremski, S., et al. (2010). Knowledge-to-action guides. Teaching Exceptional Children, 42(3), 42-53.
  Use the Academic Search Complete database, and search using the article's title.

Part 2: 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, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
• Websites:
• • World Forum Foundation
    http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP's mission.
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/
    Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

 

Part 3: Selected 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/

Part 4: Selected Professional Journals Available in the Walden Library

• YC Young Children
• Childhood
• Journal of Child & Family Studies
• Child Study Journal
• Multicultural Education
• Early Childhood Education Journal
• Journal of Early Childhood Research
• International Journal of Early Childhood
• Early Childhood Research Quarterly
• Developmental Psychology
• Social Studies
• Maternal & Child Health Journal
• International Journal of Early Years Education

Other Resources:

Dr. Becky Bailey
http://consciousdiscipline.com/about/dr_becky_bailey.asp

Star Falls
http://starfalls.com

Francis Marion University School of Education
Center of Excellence to Prepare Teachers of Children of Poverty
http://fmucenterofexcellence.org

Parents as Teachers
http://parentsasteachers.org

Seeds of Empathy
http://seedsofempathy.org

http://ncee.org