Foundations of Early Childhood

Childhood Immunization at Record High Childhood immunizations have risen over the past decade but there are 24 million children still immunized. UNICEF, the World Bank, and the World Health Organization   report that one in five children are not receiving routine immunizations against preventable diseases like measles, tetanus, and diphtheria. Recent declines in child death rates are a direct results of higher immunization rates. Worldwide measles deaths declined by 74 percent between 2000 and 2007 due to higher immunization. This improvement will not continue without continued attempts to vaccinate children around the world. Immunization is an issue that we face here in the U.S. and globally. Here in the U.S. reasons include lack of information, access to affordable health care, personal and religious preference, lack of funding is a primary reason in other countries  (Immunization state of the world's vaccines: Childhood immunization at record high, 2009) . The r...

Childbirth Here and Around the World Being a part of my grandson’s entry into the world brought me a tremendous amount of joy. My daughter has wanted a child for a long time and she was blessed with a perfect son.  Her pregnancy was categorized as high risk due to her age and prior to her pregnancy she was diagnosed with high blood pressure which required medication during, the pregnancy her blood pressure was perfect, she was instructed to discontinue her medication. She erred on the side of caution and chose to have the genetic testing done to assure the pregnancy was going well. Her test results were those of a twenty year old- she celebrated her 40 th birthday this past November.  The doctor’s visits, two each week one to her primary obstetrician and the other to the high risk clinic to monitor the baby as the pregnancy progress caused a bit of apprehension but her healthy lifestyle and the excellent prenatal care she received, her  healthy 8lb.1oz. son was de...