So many times, we think of how important it is to start teaching children as soon as they are born. What about the care they need from us before birth. There are so many critical developmental moments during a woman's pregnancy that can cause a child to miss the mark if a mother is not careful. Is it fair to measure, assess, and have the same expectations for all children when they don't have the same in-utero care to give them a equal start?
There is a helpful website (Womenshealth.gov) where information about the importance of prenatal care, how often you should visit your doctor or clinic, what you should expect during a routine prenatal visit, and how to get free or reduced prenatal care in this country, is provided. This website is sponsored by the Office of Women's Health by the Department of Health and Human Services.
South African Antenatal Care:
I continuously educate expectant mothers in my program on the importance of early and consistent prenatal care throughout their entire pregnancy for a better chance of a healthy baby.
Dantaya,
ReplyDeleteI agree that prenatal care is extremely important because a lot of developmental milestones do happen in the womb. We learned last week about a lot of teratogens that affect a fetus such as drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and other toxins. Prenatal care can help reduce the effects through educating the woman and preparing for the outcomes at birth. You have a good point that we measure and assess children for general outcomes. Yes it is hard if they do not have the same equal start. But we must remember all children come from different backgrounds so even if all children were to get an equal start through prenatal care, they are born into environments that off set that equal start. In my opinion we need to measure and assess children against themselves. We should worry about their individual development and not compare them to others. What do you think?
Myra
Myra,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. The reason for my statement was to hopefully, as you did, have more people consider and recognize the need for children to always be assessed as individuals taking into account their previous and current circumstances. State standardized test don't consider such things, however society weights heavily on their outcome to predict in some cases, those who are mostly likely to be successful and not always using that information to better know how to approach teaching them. Thank you so much for sharing your comment:)
Hello Dantaya,
ReplyDeletePrenatal care is very important for mothers and infants. This type of care allows a mother to receive proper nutrients in order for their newborn child to grow and develop healthy. So far, I have learned powerful information and tips for pregnancy. At each prenatal visit my doctor gave me a mother-to-be handy bag. The bag includes magazines, prenatal vitamin sample, resources, pamphlets and etc.
Tanya Terrell