Don't judge a book by it's cover, rang loudly in my ears as I sat on the floor in my bathroom with the pregnancy test in my hand and it read positive. On March 9 I found out I was pregnant. My life as a once knew it would forever be changed, a high school student, it's was my senior year i was ready to graduate, everyone always said i had a bright future ahead of me. Four mouths after finding out I was pregnant and the inital shock subsiding I not only found out the baby i was carrying was going to be a girl but would also be born with a birth defect called gastroschisis.
Gastroschisis is a birth defect of the abdominal (belly) wall. The baby’s intestines stick outside of the baby’s body, through a hole beside the belly button. The hole can be small or large and sometimes other organs, such as the stomach and liver, can also stick outside of the baby’s body.
Gastroschisis occurs early during pregnancy when the muscles that make up the baby’s abdominal wall do not form correctly. A hole occurs which allows the intestines and other organs to extend outside of the body, usually to the right side of belly button. Because the intestines are not covered in a protective sac and are exposed to the amniotic fluid, the bowel can become irritated, causing it to shorten, twist, or swell." (cdc, 2014
My belly grew larger and larger and my pregnany journey consisted of many doctor doctor appointments because of the baby's condition. There were so many test performed, I had to leave school early lots of times to make the doctor visits. While looking online at what to expect there were so many stories many in which scared me to read because i kept thinking what if my child's situation is worse.
In december I gave birth The defect was very complicated and no one knew how things would turn out. I remember the doctors letting me hold my precious baby and thinking all that i want to do was take the pain away from her.
Reference
Centers for Disease control and prevention (2014) Facts about Gastroschisis. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/gastroschisis.html
I believe that your story sounds very believable and the number of birth defects that occur each year are overwhelming. I have included a few websites that you might want to look at for your model. I currently work with the the Help Me Grow site so I thought it might be something you would find useful. I also included the website for the fetal treatment center. I am looking forward to reading your model.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.helpmegrownational.org/
https://fetus.ucsfmedicalcenter.org/gastroschisis
How would gastroschisis affect the child developmentally? What kind of early childhood systems would the child and the family need? There are some medical conditions that would require the intensive use of early childhood systems, and some others not so much. I wonder about children with gastroschisis.
ReplyDeleteMarla,
ReplyDeleteAn early childhood system brings knowledge to Early Childhood health and mental health. The defect of Gastroschisis affects the child developmentally becasue "Babies with gastroschisis are watched carefully by ultrasound for intrauterine growth retardation (not growing enough while in the womb) and for damage to the intestines. Damage to the intestine can be caused from exposure to the amniotic fluid or by impairment of the blood flow to the exposed intestine". ( Fetal treatment center, 2013).This defect can be the cattalyst for developing infections, fevers and lack in desire to feed causing low baby weight.
Mental health plays a role on the parents that are discharged from the hospitals but their child must stay in the NIC unit anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 months. Parents deal with the stress of watching milestones pass and not being able to adqualtly feel inclusive in the care giving process.
Reference:
The fetal treatment center. The birthplace of fetal surgery.(2013) Retrieved from https://fetus.ucsfmedicalcenter.org/gastroschisis
Ebony,
ReplyDeleteVery well written! You made me feel like I was in your story. While I was thinking of a situation to write my family into, I came up with a few similar to yours, but was worried that I would make it too difficult. I am looking forward to what you end up with in your early childhood system.
I am not sure what her birth defect was called, but i have a girl in my classroom currently that was born with her bladder outside of her body. She had to get reconstructive surgery after birth to put in back into place and to correct her female anatomy so that she would be able to urinate. She also has a speech delay, and developed more slowly motor wise. I do not know how this is all connected, But it seems similar to your situation.
Brandi
Brandi,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your added insight, I know exactly what you meant by the not wanting to make it more difficult than need be. I was thankful for Marla's questioned because it helped me to see how I could add more relevance to the story by connecting early childhood education into it.
Ebony