To qualify to be a parent

I'm posting psychology homework again. It's because the subject material is stuff that I really actually care quite a bit about. Isn't it great when you can study what you love. Too bad my professor is completely incompetent and a pain in my _____. That is a whole separate subject that I won't go further into. Ahem. This assignment involved imagining that the law required people to be screened for certain criteria before allowing them to parent. I was to author an essay explaining the importance and validity of my criteria, and present a screening form. The practicalities and ethics of an actual parental screening process and requirement is very debateable, but for the fun of imagining, here is mine:

For my parenting screening form, I chose to screen for influences that create well being for a child starting in the womb, as well as into infancy and childhood. For the first one, I chose to screen for mothers who have access to, education about and a commitment to the pursuit of good nutrition. Nutrition is one key factor that decides the health of the newborn, as well as determining a person’s lifetime of health. Poor nutrition, as well as any drastic change in nutrition, or simply too much of certain kinds of bad nutrition in the mother can cause her baby to have insufficient or excessive birth weight, and can have long term effects on blood sugar, metabolism and cardiovascular health, among other concerns. Research has shown that “any abnormality in the intra-uterine environment can be detrimental to fetal growth. Failure to supply the adequate amount of nutrients to meet fetal demand, for example due to maternal malnutrition…leads to fetal undernourishment. [Also,] a decrease in maternal food intake leads to a fall in the concentrations of fetal insulin, the IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor-1) and glucose, causing reduced transfer of amino acids and glucose across the placenta, ultimately reducing the rate of fetal growth. Metabolic programming is thought to occur, for example the fetus prepares to store nutrients as fat in anticipation of poor postnatal nutrition…Subsequently it was shown that there is a strong and inverse relationship between birth weight and blood pressure, which is a major cardiovascular risk factor. High level of maternal dietary fat intake during pregnancy increases the incidence of cardiovascular risk factors in children. To date, the origins of many diseases in adulthood are thought to lie in fetal life (1).”

The second influence that I think is important is abstinence from drugs and harmful chemicals during pregnancy. Many substances in our work environments, social environments, and those that we ingest regularly and occasionally have drastic effects on a baby, and some of those effects, such as fetal alcohol syndrome, are irreversible, causing abnormality to the child for their lifetime. “A woman's drug use can affect both her fetus and her newborn. Most drugs cross the placenta--the organ that provides nourishment to the fetus. Some can cause direct toxic (poisonous) effects and drug dependency in the fetus. After birth, some drugs can be passed to the baby through breast-feeding(2).”

Also considered to be a drug, but in a whole separate category of it’s own would be a screening for smoking. In order to be healthy, babies need to breathe smoke free air. As basic and obvious as that may seem, it is unfortunately not a universally given right. That is why I think that parental smoking should not be permitted, and smoking should be restricted around pregnant women and babies. Smoking exposure in utero has been known to retard growth and brain development, impair breathing after birth, increase the likelihood of prematurity, and increase the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (5).

Something that has not always been a mainstream choice, but in my opinion is necessary for the absolute well being of a child is for a mother to choose to have a natural (ideally home) birth. In our medical system, birth has come to be seen as a medical issue rather than a natural, healthy process. Doctors are scheduling births to accommodate their personal vacation schedules rather than the biological clock of the unborn baby. Cesarean section rates are ever increasing, much to the detriment of infants and mothers alike, and are largely brought on by drugs like pitocin and epidurals, that get in the way of normal labor rather than helping it proceed. I believe that a major shift toward natural birth is needed for the birth healthier babies, and is the ticket to a healthier larger society in the long run. “Four major hormonal systems are active during labor and birth. These involve oxytocin, the hormone of love; endorphins, hormones of pleasure and transcendence; epinephrine and norepinephrine, hormones of excitement; and prolactin, the mothering hormone. These systems are common to all mammals and originate in our mammalian or middle brain, also known as the limbic system. For birth to proceed optimally, this part of the brain must take precedence over the neocortex, or rational brain. This shift can be helped by an atmosphere of quiet and privacy, with, for example, dim lighting and little conversation, and no expectation of rationality from the laboring woman. Under such conditions a woman intuitively will choose the movements, sounds, breathing, and positions that will birth her baby most easily. This is her genetic and hormonal blueprint. All of these systems are adversely affected by current birth practices. Hospital environments and routines are not conducive to the shift in consciousness that giving birth naturally requires. A woman's hormonal physiology is further disturbed by practices such as induction, the use of painkillers and epidurals, caesarean surgery, and separation of mother and baby after birth(3).” Additionally, I have long suspected, that a child’s birth scenario is something that sticks with him or her, creating a whole array of physiological and psychological conditions that may positively or negatively impact future life. In speaking to teachers and others in the medical community, I know that this is a common theory.

Hand in hand with natural birth, and the discussion of the mother’s body’s ability to produce helpful hormones for the health of her and her baby, comes the benefit of breastfeeding one’s baby. “Oxytocin is made in the hypothalamus, the "master gland" deep in our brains, and stored in the posterior pituitary, from where it is released in pulses…[for many functions including breast] milk ejection, or let-down reflex, in breastfeeding… The baby also produces oxytocin during labor, perhaps even initiating labor, so, in the minutes after birth, both mother and baby are bathed in an ecstatic cocktail of hormones. At this time ongoing oxytocin production is enhanced by skin-to-skin and eye-to-eye contact and by the baby's first suckling…During the months and years of lactation, oxytocin continues to keep the mother relaxed and well nourished. One researcher calls it "a very efficient antistress situation which prevents a lot of disease later on." In her study, mothers who breastfed for more than seven weeks were calmer than mothers who did not(4).” According to this information, breastfeeding alone will produce a happier, better adjusted mother, which is vital to good parenting, and well adjustment of a child.

My final stipulation for clearing a parent to produce and raise a healthy child is a parent’s commitment to bond with, attach to and comfort their baby, as well as provide a calm, gentle home environment. Beyond, physical health and nutrition, I think that the most important part of parenting a healthy child is a great ability to nurture and provide an emotionally healthy home life. This involves listening to the baby’s cues and fulfilling needs, or just holding, even if you don’t know what the need is. Many parents, especially in past generations believe that this kind of availability to a baby is spoiling. Modern thinkers disagree, saying that a baby cannot be spoiled. “But there is no doubt that repeated lack of responsiveness to a baby’s cries—even for only five minutes at a time—is potentially damaging to the baby’s mental health. Babies who are left to cry it out alone may fail to develop a basic sense of trust or an understanding of themselves as a causal agent, possibly leading to feelings of powerlessness, low self-esteem, and chronic anxiety later in life. The cry-it-out approach undermines the very basis of secure attachment, which requires prompt responsiveness and sensitive attunement during the first year after birth (6).” Additionally, parents need to be unconditionally patient and in control of themselves. As difficult as this may sound, it is one of the more challenging but non-negotiable job prerequisites. When parents lose their cool with children, it can be devastating to the child, and repeated bouts of this behavior cause lasting damage. “Yelling is not an acceptable form of discipline because it is not discipline. Yelling falls under the category of punishment… Discipline is calm, and gentle. Discipline has a nurturing tone of voice. Discipline teaches through communication. When a parent disciplines a child for acting unacceptably they are teaching their child why the behavior is unacceptable, not just that it is. A child who is disciplined is never yelled at. They are not scolded or reprimanded. They are not called names or insulted. They are not made to feel shamed or belittled. Yelling makes children feel all of those things. Yelling makes good kids feel like bad kids. A child who is disciplined is talked to and with, not ever at. Yelling at your kids can both scare and scar them. The long-term effects of yelling include poor self image and esteem, lack of self control, impulsiveness, anger and temperament issues, lack of patience, and mental childhood issues. Also, parents who yell at their children often will most likely have children that yell at their children (7).” It is so important that we parent well, because as we parent our babies, we are teaching them how to parent theirs, and the cycle continues, building healthy communities or dysfunctional ones, depending on the ways in which children are or are not cared for.
Sources:
1) http://www.biochemsoctrans.org/bst/034/0779/0340779.pdf
2) http://www.addictionca.com/drug-use-pregnancy.htm
3) http://mothering.com/pregnancy-birth/ecstatic-birth-the-hormonal-blueprint-of-labor
4) http://mothering.com/pregnancy-birth/ecstatic-birth-the-hormonal-blueprint-of-labor
5) http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t105800.asp
6) http://mothering.com/parenting/crying-for-comfort
7) http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/430938/damages_and_effects_caused_by_yelling.html?cat=25



Parenting Screening Form

1. Nutrition
a. Please create a detailed journal of your typical eating habits for one normal week. Write a description of what you think is involved in maternal nutrition in order to grow a well baby.
b. Do you have easy access to all of the ingredients, supplements and supplies in order to consume this healthy diet?
c. Is it important to you to follow this diet closely, and is there anything that you need in order to be supported in doing so?
d. Are you willing to seek nutritional counseling?

2. Drugs and chemical exposure.
a. Do you currently, and have you ever used any prescription or other drugs occasionally or habitually? Which ones?
b. Please explain what you know about drug use during pregnancy, and the effects that can be experienced by the baby.
c. Please explain what you know about chemical exposure during pregnancy and the effects that can be experienced by the baby.
d. What drugs, if any, do you think you might use during pregnancy?
e. How will you avoid chemical exposure during your pregnancy?

3. Smoking
a. Do you smoke tobacco?
b. Do you spend time in the presence of others who smoke?
c. Do you understand the risks of smoke and second hand smoke to unborn and born babies?
d. Do you have a plan for eliminating smoke exposure during pregnancy? Please explain.

4. Birth plan
a. Where do you intend to birth your baby?
b. Do you intend to utilize medications for pain or to promote your laboring efforts during your baby’s birth?
c. Do you know about the role that natural hormones play in facilitating the labor process and helping both mother and baby through the birth process and beyond? If so, do you about the effects of labor drugs on these hormone levels?
d. How do you view birth?
A- a joyful and natural process
B- a medical process requiring intervention
C- empowering
D- terrifying
E- other: please elaborate

5. Feeding plan
Do you plan to breastfeed your baby? If so, for how long do you intend to breastfeed? Do you think that you would need instruction or support in order to do so, successfully?


6. Attachment, comfort and yelling
a. Do you believe that crying babies should be held?
b. Do you think it is important for a parent to bond with their baby?
c. What does the term “bonding” mean to you?
d. In what way(s) do you intend to bond with your baby?
e. Do you tend to raise your voice when you are upset?
f. Do you think that raising your voice is an effective way to discipline your child?
g. Do you think that raising your voice is an effective way to communicate with your child?
h. Do you think that raising your voice is an acceptable way to speak to your child?
i. What (if any) ways do you use to steer away from angry reactions?