8080assign 4 mod 2 sharing your thoughts

EXAMPLE 1

Observing and Analyzing Child Development

Blog Post- Healthy Prenatal Development

Research-Based Overview

            Healthy pregnancies produce healthy births; early and regular prenatal care significantly impacts an unborn child's life. Even before birth, the brain grows and continues to grow faster than any other time long into early childhood. Children are born learners at birth.  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2020), they depend on parents, family members, and caregivers as their first teachers to develop the right skills to become independent and lead healthy and prosperous lives (p. 1). For the brain to develop correctly, children need a safe and nurturing environment to explore, build positive relationships, and learn while playing with others or by themselves. By providing a safe and nurturing environment, parents, families, caregivers help children met their developmental milestones throughout the stage of development. According to Diamond (2015), the quality of children's earliest environments is critical to the strength of their developing brains' architecture (p.11). The brain's architecture determines a child's future to learn, physical and mental health, and regulate emotions. Early prenatal care for mothers is essential in the development of a child's brain. For babies to learn and grow, their brains must be healthy enough to receive the knowledge they will learn.

Advocacy Message

As an early childhood professional, understanding the whole child means understanding the importance of a mother's prenatal care before the child is born. Proper care and nutrients are the keys to the healthy development of a child's brain, starting at pregnancy. Since a child's brain grows faster within the first eight years, providing healthy prenatal care, positive interactions with family and caregivers, and a positive environment are necessary for proper brain development. The development of a child's brain depends on the mother's prenatal

health and care at the beginning of conception. Teaching expecting mothers things to avoid like alcohol, cigarettes, and stress will assist mothers in making sure their baby's brain develops as it should. Mothers' will increase their child's chances of meeting the milestones at each stage of development. Informing and teaching mothers of proper health while pregnant will increase children's chances of becoming productive citizens in the future. 

Topic of Importance

This topic is vital because expecting mothers need the know-how proper prenatal care or no prenatal care affects their unborn child’s brain development and affects whether they meet their developmental milestones through the early years of their lives. Mothers need to understand that proper nutrition in the early years can help build the foundation for future learning, health, and life success (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). How the brain grows depends on the care the mother takes early in her pregnancy.

Questions or Call for Support from your Colleagues.

            Would you call other professionals in the education field to help educate expecting mothers, unborn babies, and caregivers on children's brain development?  Together we can educate parents, caregivers, and other stakeholders on the importance of early prenatal care and a child’s brain development.  By working together, we can provide resources and tips to help support mothers and families in proper nutrition, positive environments, healthy brain development, and developmental milestones.  By pulling together, we can ensure that children can develop into productive adults who can be positive members of society.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Early Brain Development. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/early-brain-development.html

Diamond, A. (2015). Studying early brain development: Educators reports about their learning and its applications to early childhood policies and practices. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 11–19.  https://eds-a-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=d1fdee57-6b7f-4009-92cc-199f307d84c8%40sdc-v-sessmgr02

Diamond, A. (2015). Studying early brain development: Educators reports about their learning and its applications to early childhood policies and practices. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 11–19.  https://eds-a-ebscohost-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=d1fdee57-6b7f-4009-92cc-199f307d84c8%40sdc-v-sessmgr02

The Ounce Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit. (2009). The Ounce Early Childhood Advocacy Toolkit. Child Development Council, 1–32.  https://startearly.org/app/uploads/pdf/EarlyChildhoodAdvocacyToolkit.pdf

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