Becoming a Parent

Chapter 6

Holden, George W. (2014) Parenting: a dynamic perspective, 2nd Edition. Californian:SAGE

Publications

Tomoko Saida
September 23, 2015

Being a Parent Means...

Fundamental Life Changes
By their very coming into existence, infants forever
alter the sleeping, eating, and working habits of their
parents; they change who parents are and how
parents define themselves
By parenting expert Marc Bornstein (Holden, pg. 154)

Do You Plan to Become Parents?

People do not plan to become parents!

51% of the all pregnancies in the United States are unintended!

(Guttmacher Institute, 2013)

The rates are highest among...

Young, poor, and low-educated women.

How about other counties?

The U.S. rate (51%) is about double of the rate (25%) of

European countries.
(Singh, Sedgh, & Hussain, 2010)

What are Factors for a High Rate of

Unintended Pregnancies?
Most young adults report that it is very important to them to avoid pregnancy.
(Hayford & Guzzo, 2013).

Factors among young adults are

Lack of accurate information and sex education

The difficulty in obtaining simple and inexpensive contraception
(Finer & Sonfield, 2013)

85% of couples who are sexually active but do not use any form of contraceptive will
experience a pregnancy within a year.
As a result of unintended pregnancies,

60% of unintended pregnancies result in births

40% were terminated with abortions
(Guttmacher Institute, 2013)

Raising a Child is Expensive!

Costs include

Food
Housing
Health care costs
Child care
Education
Transportation
Miscellaneous expenses (toys, books, personal care, entertainment

The first three years of a childs life will cost parents

$18,580 to $42,000 estimated by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
(Lino, 2013)

The cost for a middle-income couple to have and raise a child through age 17 years
$241,000

(Lino, 2013)

You can estimate your expected expenses associated with rearing children and how the costs change
based on family structure, region of the country, and family income,
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/tools/CRC_Calculator/default.aspx

Choices to Have a Child

2 types of couples without child

Childless - Couples struggling with infertility

Childfree - Couples choosing not to have a child

What are motivations for couple to choose to be childfree ?

The society has more accepted choice of childfree

Couples
are/get old due to delayed marriage or/and prioritizing career success
dislike children
seek a different lifestyle
have financial or career concerns
view the world as too hostile a place to introduce children
In the United States, 18% of couples do not plan to become parents

4 Types of parents

30% of the couples - pro-children (identified many pros and few cons to becoming parents)
30%of couples - anti-children (saw few benefits but many problems)
20% of the couples - ambivalent (equally identified both pros and cons to the idea)
20% of couples - indifferent (had not thought much about having children, because they mentioned few advantages

Potential Dangers
to the Developing Embryo
Teratogens - harmful substances

Drugs (including prescriptions, OTC medications, alcohol, and nicotine)

Health factors (such as diabetes)
Infections (especially sexually transmitted diseases)
Environmental chemicals (such as herbicides)
Physical agents (especially X-rays)

Alcohol

Two common, but easily avoidable teratogens

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) - a continuum of permanent birth defects

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) - one of the most severe FASDs
- Abnormal facial features
- Growth deficiencies
- Problems with a childs central nervous system
- Learning, memory, attention span, communication, vision, and hearing are commonly affected

Cigarette smoking
16.5% of women and 10.7% of pregnant women smoke during the last trimester in the U.S
Less amount of oxygen that crosses the placenta and exposes the fetus to nicotine and carbon monoxide
- Doubles the likelihood of having a low-birth-weight or preterm baby
- Increases the risk of pregnancy complications, including stillbirth (delivery of a dead baby)

Maternal Problems During

Pregnancy
3 common problems

Miscarriage - Pregnancy losses that end before 20 weeks of gestation (after 20 weeks they are called stillbirths)

- Miscarriages are very common

- Causes of miscarriage
A wide range of issues - chromosomal abnormalities, hormonal imbalances, uncontrolled diabetes, injuries to the
abdomen, and substance abuse. However, in a majority of cases, the cause is simply unknown.

Ectopic - The fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube

- The embryo is unable to survive and must be removed surgically in order to protect the mothers health

Psychological distress - stress, anxiety, and depression for women and men

- Strains in intimate and family relationships, financial and employment concerns, and pregnancy-related problems
- Affect fetal growth and the risk of having a baby with a low birth weight (Dunkel Schetter, 2011)
- Differences in motor and mental development
- More behavioral problems (Glover, 2011)

Preterm & Low Birth Weight Baby 1

A preterm baby - is born prior to 37 weeks of gestation
A low birth weight baby - weighs less than 5.5 lb. (or 2,500 g)
moderately low birth weight (3.3 to 5.5 lb. or 1,500 to 2,499 g)
very low birth weight (less than 3.3 lbs. or 1,500 g)

In 2011, 8.1% of U.S. newborn as low birth weight and 1.4% as very low birth weight.

What are health problems for preterm babies especially with low birth weight?

"The earlier the birth, the greater the risk for long-term problems"
cognitive delays
mental disabilities
cerebral palsy
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
school ,
(Moster, Lie, & Markestad, 2008; Wolke, 1998)

Preterm & Low Birth Weight Baby 2

The major risk factors for preterm delivery baby

Being an adolescent
Smoking
Having a previous preterm birth or a birth of multiples
Being underweight or obese
Having certain medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, hypertension)
Experiencing high levels of stress

(Goldenberg, Culhane, Iams, & Romero, 2008; Watson, Rayner, & Forster, 2013).

Infant Mortality - 1
One of the measures of that test is how often newborn children die

In the U.S., the rate is at 6.14 per 1,000 live births in 2013
The rate has dropped dramatically over the years due to improved health and
medical care.

Racial differences for the infant mortality rate in the U.S.

African American women (in 2007) was 13.3 per 1,000 birth
Hispanic women was 4.6 per 1,000 birth
(Mathews & Macdorman, 2011)

The major causes of death

Low birth weight

Congenital malformations
Sudden infant death syndrome

Infant Mortality - 2
The U.S., one of richest nations in the world has
higher infant mortality rates (6.7%) than 50 other countries!
France (3.34) Sweden (2.73) Japan (2.17) Monaco (1.81) in 2014

Why does the United States have such a high rate of infant mortality?

Poverty
Lack of education
Lifestyle choices (drinking, smoking)
Lack of prenatal care
- being an adolescent, being unmarried, and having low education are risk factors
Lack of health insurance
The gender of the child
Whether or not the child was planned
Not adequate national newborn-screening standards, as recommended by the American
College of Medical Genetics
Not adequate health care through childhood vaccinations