Violence in Mexico

Domestic violence in Mexico has a huge impact on the children in that country.  It effects their overall school work.  Education is an important part of a child success in life.  Education allows children the opportunity to excel in life.  If there is violence in the home than the opportunity to be success is minimized.   “The combination of reduced educational attainment and less success in the labor market implies lower levels of human capital, and hence, reduced income-generating capacity for individuals, households and nations. Thus, child abuse contributes to perpetuating the poverty cycle”. (Knaul, 2005)  Violence in the country of Mexico and around the nation needs to stop.  It has a negative impact on children’s lives.

Reference

    Knaul, F. & Rameriz, M. (2005). Family Violence and Child Abuse in Latin America and the Caribbean The Cases of Colombia and Mexico.  Retrieved from:    http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsacd/cd66/FamilyViolenceChild.pdf

Violence I experienced as a teenager.

As a teenager I was a secondary victim of a violent crime.  The summer before my senior year my uncle took a rifle and shot my aunt.  The good news is my aunt survived.  The shooting affected me for decades.  That summer was awful.  I remember my cousin coming to live with us because my aunt was in the hospital.  I remember being upset over the crime because he was my favorite uncle.  At one point I felt that living at the house was so awful that I decided that I needed to runaway.  I didn’t get to far before my dad brought me home.  My wonderful parents saw that I was hurting and immediately put me in counseling.  It helped a lot but I had a fear of guns for almost thirty years.  My fear kept my son from experiencing new things.  I overcame my fears and took a shooting class.  I have to say I have overcome this violent event thirty plus years later.  The good news is that my aunt is alive and well.  I also have overcome my fear of guns; I purchased a hand gun for myself and a rifle for my son.  Something that was terrible growing up has become a sport for my son and I to enjoy together.

Births in Mexico

Births in Mexico are very different from births in the United States.  In Mexico women will have their baby’s at home with family or a midwife.  If the baby is born in the hospital the mother delivers the baby alone and the doctors still give the mothers an episiotomy.  When the baby is born the baby and the mother do not get any bonding time because they take the baby away immediately.  Births in Mexico seem to be not a personal and do not focus on the immediate bonding of the mother and the baby.

Giving birth to my wonderful daughter Rachel.

   Rachel was born January 23, 1996 at 8:15 P.M. Rachel took her own time to enter this world.   Rachel was born 5 lbs 8 oz.  She was small.  She was actually born early because  my OBGYN felt that she would gain more weight outside of me.  At 32 weeks that doctor informed me that Rachel was not growing like she should be.  I was an executive at a huge retailer working 50+ hours a week,  He immediately put me on bed rest and instructed me to eat.  During the time that I was on bed rest I would go to the hospital every other day to do a non-stress test to ensure her heart rate was normal.  At 39 weeks that doctor found that I was dilated to a 1 (yay! LOL) so he said lets deliver your daughter tomorrow.  That night I was preparing for her arrival even though I knew I needed to be resting.  The nesting effect kicked into overdrive. We arrived at  the hospital at 430 A.M. on January 23rd.  The nurse was supposed to give me a drug to speed up my labor but she didn’t do it.  So by the time the doctor came in to check on me it had been four hours and my labor had not progressed,  They immediately gave me the drug.  I only dilated to a three,  So they upped the drug, broke my water and gave me another drug to take the edge off the labor.  This lasted all day.  Never dilating past a 3.  Finally, at 6 PM the doctor said that if i didn’t have her soon he was going to do a c-section.  A half hour later I threw up because of all the drugs they had pumped into me to speed up my labor.  I told Rachel’s dad that i wanted the c-section now! He immediately told the nurse who then told the doctor and they started prepping me for surgery.  During the surgery I couldn’t feel anything(I swear c-sections are the best). Then the doctor announced that she was coming out.  After they suctioned her lungs they placed her near my cheek.  She was crying and I just said; “shh,its OK”.  They then took her.  They finished my surgery and wheeled me to recovery where i stayed in there for two hours.  As soon as I was out of recovery they brought her to me where they told me i need to nurse her right away.  I choose Rachel’s birth because of the complications and the end results was still a success.  I don’t believe the birth had an impact on her development.  Her development was delayed for a while due to her low birth weight.  Sixteen years later you would never guess that she was a low birth weight baby.