Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Conclusion On Maternal Health Seeking Health And Social Care Essay

Conclusion On Maternal Health Seeking Health And Social Care Essay The objectives of this study are to describe maternal health-seeking practices of adolescent and adult mothers during pregnancy and childbirth and to determine the effects of maternal health-seeking practices on their pregnancy outcomes. This study used the secondary data from a cross sectional survey named Survey of Pregnancy, Birth and Early Life (SPBEL) which was conducted in Kanchanburi province, 2003. A total of 117 nulliparous adolescent mothers aged 15-19 and 193 nulliparous adult mothers aged 20-29 who have delivered singleton live births within two years were included in this study. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the effects of maternal health-seeking practices on pregnancy outcomes. Our study found that the adolescent pregnancy rate (15-19 years) in Kanchanaburi province was 13%. Regarding their background characteristics, adolescent mothers tended to complete similar education level like adult mothers. A higher proportion of adolescent mothers were unemployed in comparison with adult mothers in this study. Concerning with health-seeking practices, a high level utilization of antenatal care was found in both adolescent and adult mothers and most of them received four or more antenatal visits. However, delayed and less frequent antenatal visits among adolescent mothers were found compared with adult mothers. Delivery rate at health facilities was very high and the rate did not differ between adolescent and adult mothers. With respect to pregnancy outcomes, adolescent mothers were found to have a higher incidence of preterm and LBW deliveries. Overall, pregnancy outcomes of adolescent mothers were more adverse than adults. Bivariate analysis showed maternal health-seeking practices had no significant effects on pregnancy outcomes of adolescent and adult mothers. Further adjustment of socio-demographic factors did not change the observed associations. On the other hand, we observed that age was a significant risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Nulliparous adolescent mothers had two times higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes than adults. In our study, we found the associations between pregnancy outcomes and their residence. The risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes for mothers from urban stratum was higher than that of mothers from rice fields, cash crops and upland strata after controlling age, health-seeking factors, level of education and employment status. Recommendation On the basis of our findings, some recommendations for policy implications and future studies are formulated in this section. Recommendations for policy implication High adolescent pregnancy rate calls for policy makers to give greater emphasis on sex education and promotion of contraceptive use among adolescents in schools as well as in the community. These interventions will help in delaying the initiation of sexual intercourse and improving use of birth control among adolescent women. Effective interventions to reduce either intended or unintended pregnancies among adolescents could improve adolescentsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ maternal and child health. Despite the overall high use of maternal health care, adolescent mothers were less likely to use maternal health services compared with adult mothers. It was suggested that physical and social barriers accessing maternal health care for adolescent mothers need to be addressed by the government to improve maternal health care utilization among adolescent mothers. It is also recommended to initiate teenage specific antenatal clinic with youth friendly manner which could provide multidisciplinary care by detecting and managing biological and social risk factors for pregnant adolescents. Adolescent mothers were more likely to deliver preterm and LBW babies who are at higher risk of neonatal death. Moreover, neonatal morbidity among babies born to adolescent mothers was relatively higher than babies born to adult mothers. Provision of better antenatal and delivery care for pregnant adolescents could minimize the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. It is crucial to provide training for health providers to understand more about the higher risks of adolescent pregnancy to achieve better pregnancy outcomes. In addition, health providers should be encouraged to pay special attention to postnatal contraception for adolescent mothers to postpone next pregnancy until they are biologically, psychologically and financially able to care for another baby. 5.2.2 Recommendations for future research Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between adolescent pregnancy outcomes and health-seeking practices. We suggest a prospective cohort study with a large sample size that includes information about potential risk factors of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as genital tract infection, pregnancy complications such as pregnancy induced hypertension and premature rupture of membrane, maternal malnutrition, anemia, and social problems faced by adolescent mothers to confidently conclude the effects of health-seeking practices on outcomes of adolescent pregnancy. Access to quality antenatal and delivery care will also be needed to consider as one important factor to determine the effects of maternal health care on pregnancy outcomes. Hence, it is recommended to include quality of maternal health care as one confounding factor of pregnancy outcomes. Our results provide a starting point to explore the reasons for relatively poor health-seeking practices of adolescent mothers. Qualitative study focusing on health-seeking behavior of adolescent mothers and social problems they encountered during pregnancy and delivery should be conducted for more in-depth understanding of adolescent pregnancy outcomes.

Monday, January 20, 2020

The Plight of Genetically Engineered Food Essay -- Analysis, Ronald an

I was one of those people who believed that there was something chemical or artificial about genetic engineering. To be quite honest, I had never really thought about the process of GE and I think that is the problem with the average consumer. After reading the book Tomorrow’s Table by Pamela C. Ronald and Raoul W. Adamchak, I realized just how far my perception was from the truth. Genetic engineering is directly related to organic farming, which strives to create more nutritious, better tasting food without the use of chemicals. The book describes organic farming as â€Å"better farming through biology† through the use of living organism (Ronald & Adamchak, 13). The widely accepted method of farming in the US involves using chemicals like pesticides and fertilizers. It is strange to think that we, as a society, have become so accustomed to consuming foods exposed to pesticides, yet many are unwilling to eat GE foods. Genetic engineering has been used for over thirty ye ars without any evidence of harming anyone. Over one billion acres of GE crops have been grown and distributed throughout the world without a single legitimate case of health risk (Ronald & Adamchack, 52). This is in contrast to pesticides, again a widely accepted presence in farming, which is believed to poison (and sometimes kill) several thousand people each year, albeit, mostly farmers who have a more direct exposure (Ronald & Adamchak, 87). It is unsettling how little attention is paid to a chemical presence which has been documented to harm, whereas genetic engineering, a biological process is feared and unfairly judged. I am sure this peculiar result is due to how little the average person understands about genetic engineering of food, and the way it has been pres... ... people; the right people, so that it can achieve the most good for the largest amount of people. Without proper government involvement and implementation to ensure farmers and consumers benefit, the development of such technology has little use (Ronald & Adamchak, 150). This technology needs to be directed at the public good, and not private interests of corporations. Tomorrow’s Table helped me understand a lot about genetic engineering that I did not previously. I think this book would be an excellent resource for those who are unaware of the process and about GE foods. I think that overall, based on what I have read, GE technology is a positive tool that can help solve or at least alleviate many of the problems we will face in the coming fifty years and beyond. This is farming for the next phase of our society and I think is crucial in order for it to thrive.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

High School and Graduation Essay

Graduation is a goal that everyone wants to accomplish in life. Whether it is from daycare, middle school, high school, or college, it’s a major accomplishment. Graduation from high school was something that I always looked forward to. The fact that it took twelve years of grading school to get a diploma made it more exciting and made me more anxious. Graduation also comes with an emotional impact. Especially when you’ve spent half of your life growing and learning to love your fellow classmates. From making best friends in kindergarten, to making pointless enemies in middle school. We never know how big of a deal it is until high school. That is when we realize that it starts the countdown of how many days that we have left with each other. We never really realize how much we will miss everyone and everything until the closer we approach graduation. Cherish every moment! The actual day of graduation contains the most emotion for some and most excitement for others. For me, it was both. I remember the exact feeling of waking up that morning. The smell of a huge breakfast meal aroused me. It was my day. I was beyond anxious and excited. Almost so anxious to the point of an anxiety attack but so excited to the point of a panic attack. Waking up and realizing that this was my first official day of a graduate was so amazing. I was going to college. I was getting the chance to fulfill my dreams. I remember walking into the kitchen and seeing the meal and looking at my momma and crying. I sure was going to miss this. The home cooked meals and family gatherings would be missed the most. After graduation, the summer before my new beginning, was different. I felt like an adult. My parents treated me more like an adult. Going out with friends and staying out late was great. I still remember going to Orientation at Ole Miss. Meeting new people and learning the campus. Not having to worry about high school and going to meet teachers was wonderful. Life was beginning for me! Graduating from high school has changed my life dramatically. I am now a freshman in college and I love it. My first week was amazing, everything was crazy. My legs are still sore as I type this. The University of Mississippi should be named the University of Hills. There are hills galore! It seems as if everything is always busy on campus. People running around like headless chicken. I also enjoy the freedom of college. No curfew is great! As far as family goes, I miss them like crazy! Phone calls from my mother comes in seem to come like every ten minutes. So, as far as graduating goes, it’s a great experience. Comes with many different emotions. Some good emotions and some bad emotions. We realize how much we actually care for your peers. It is always fun and a great learning experience to begin a new chapter in life. I will never forget my graduation day, from beginning to end. Walking across the stage with the biggest Kool-Aid smile, hearing loved ones scream and chant my name, and looking my principal, Mike Martin, in the eyes as he hand me my diploma telling me congratulations. I’ve learned to cherish every moment I spend with my peers. I never knew I’d miss something that I hated doing so much. As I said before, cherish EVERY moment!!