Born in the ROK pt 2

After he was born, I had a chance to briefly see him to make sure he was okay. He had all his toes and fingers and he looked great. From here is where my experience soured and differs I think from babies delivered in the USA. It was 6 days from the day he was born to the day we left the hospital. My wife was recovering from surgery but she was doing very well. We planned on breastfeeding exclusively, but for some reason the Korean nurses and doctors wouldn't let my wife nurse. They kept him in the nursery and we had viewings twice a day. I did not get to hold him until the day we left. It was only after 3 days that my wife had a chance to go down to nurse. I was very upset by this. From everything I had read, the best chance of long term success in breastfeeding was trying immediately after birth. 

I think it is standard operating procedure in Korea to whisk away the baby after even natural births. There is no time for bonding between mother and child. And the child is kept isolated from the parents. Our gentle birth plan allowed for one hour after birth for the baby to rest on his mother's chest to bond and then I was to give him a bath, but the emergency C-section dashed our plans. 

I think that the bonding time after child birth is so crucial for the child development. The child has gone through such a traumatic experience to enter the world, I think just by knowing that his mother is close and has survived the process is so beneficial to the baby. Korea is very advanced in many ways. But their child birthing practices are very much stuck in the past. 

This is my son just a few days ago. He is now 9 weeks old, and he's doing very well.

Born in the ROK!!

My son was born this year on April 27th in Daegu, South Korea.

Before he was born, we wanted a natural (vaginal) birth. South Korea has one of the highest rates of C-sections in the world (Gibbons, 2010, pg 18). We were wary about C-sections and how sometimes doctors in Korea suggest surgery even if it is unnecessary. Everything was going according to our plan... We took a gentle birthing class, something not very common in Korea. We also changed OB/GYN, because we felt that the hospital we were going to kind of felt like a baby assembly line. Doctor's visits were so short, maybe a couple of minutes at the most, and I felt that our doctor wasn't concerned with my questions. 


As an aside, the medical system in Korea is really efficient and excellent. Everyone has healthcare by the single payer system, and it really is cheap and affordable. Basic care and basic visits are covered by a copayment of less than 5 US Dollars. And up to 80% of medicine costs are covered by insurance, so you usually end up paying a few dollars for your prescription. The downside is all of the prices of medical services are dictated by a board consisting of influential doctors and government officials. As a result, doctors are pressured to see lots of patients in a day and sometimes recommend a lot of expensive and unnecessary exams and procedures. And since doctors are revered here in Korea, the people ask no questions and completely trust doctors.


Because of this, my questions were not received very well. I grew up in the US and armed with google I went in with A LOT of questions.  So everything was going well, but because of the Korean medical system, the doctors wanted us to come in often. Biweekly in the first trimester, once a month during the second trimester, and weekly in the third. We had a lot of sonograms. One per visit. For those of you in the States, what is the normal amount of sonograms? 


Anyway, everything was going swimmingly until April 26th about 10 days from the expected due date. My wife calls me and says she's leaking something. We call the doc and she says to come in. We go in and she says its time. Arrgh. We are totally unprepared, because just that morning, we went in for an exam and she says there were no signs of labor at all and our son would probably be a little late. 


So my wife checks into the hospital and they have to induce because her water broke but she isn't effaced or dilated at all. At this point, we are still determined to have a vaginal birth but 24 hours later... it is determined that she is not progressing fast enough and we opt for surgery. Less than an hour later, I met this guy.

Gibbons, L., Beliza, J., Lauer J., Betran A., Merialdi M., & Althabe F. (2010) The Global Number and Cost of Additionally Needed and Unnecessary Caesarean Sections Perfomed per Year:  Overuse as a Barrier to Universal Coverage., World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/healthsystems/topics/financing/healthreport/30C-sectioncosts.pdf

감사합니다!! Thank you very much!!

The past 8 weeks have been great. Thanks to you guys, my first graduate level class has been fun and rewarding. I especially enjoyed reading your blogs and the great discussions we had on the class website.  I hope everyone will keep updating their blogs as I will frequent them often.

I will "see" everyone in our next class. Have a great weekend and good luck with all your future endeavors. Big shout out to our intrepid leader, Dr. Anthony Morgan. Thanks for all your help.

Jae

Code of Conduct and Ethics

The NAEYC and DEC have a strict code of conduct and ethics. After spending some time reading through them, these are the ones I find meaningful.

NAEYC Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment


I-1.8—To support the right of each child to play and

learn in an inclusive environment that meets the

needs of children with and without disabilities. (NAEYC, 2005)

The key word in this code is INCLUSIVE. Even though some teachers may not admit it, but they may show bias towards certain children even if it is subconscious. All children have the right to be included.

P-1.1—Above all, we shall not harm children. We shall

not participate in practices that are emotionally

damaging, physically harmful, disrespectful, degrading,

dangerous, exploitative, or intimidating to

children. This principle has precedence over all

others in this Code. (NAEYC, 2005)

Obviously, children should not be harmed, but it does not hurt to mention this code over and over again. Do no harm. Unintentional or not, educator should always be cognizant about their role in their students lives. Are you support your student? Are you causing them stress? Is your own personal life affecting your student's education? 

DEC Code of ethics


Professional Collaboration

3. We shall honor and respect the diverse backgrounds of our colleagues including such diverse

characteristics as sexual orientation, race, national origin, religious beliefs, or other affiliations. (DEC, 2000)

We should have learned this in kindergarten, but in case you haven't. Respect others and they will respect you. Honor others and others will honor you. I learned this in kindergarten as the GOLDEN RULE. 

                                                          References

NAEYC. (2005, April). Code of ethical conduct and statement of commitment. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSETH05.pdf

DEC. The Division for Early Childhood. (2000, August). Code of ethics. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from

http://www.dec-sped.org/

Lots o' links!!! (or Course resources)

• NAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/dap
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on child abuse prevention. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/ChildAbuseStand.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on school readiness. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/Readiness.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009). Where we stand on responding to linguistic and cultural diversity. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/diversity.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2003). Early childhood curriculum, assessment, and program evaluation: Building an effective, accountable system in programs for children birth through age 8. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/pscape.pdf
  
• NAEYC. (2009, April). Early childhood inclusion: A summary. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/DEC_NAEYC_ECSummary_A.pdf
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. (2010). Infant-toddler policy agenda. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_pub_infanttodller
  
• FPG Child Development Institute. (2006, September). Evidence-based practice empowers early childhood professionals and families. (FPG Snapshot, No. 33). Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~snapshots/snap33.pdf

• Article: UNICEF (n.d.). Fact sheet: A summary of the rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Retrieved May 26, 2010, from http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
  
• Websites:
  
• • World Forum Foundation
    http://worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wp/about-us
    This link connects you to the mission statement of this organization. Make sure to watch the media segment on this webpage
    
  • World Organization for Early Childhood Education
    http://www.omep-usnc.org/
    Read about OMEP's mission.
    
  • Association for Childhood Education International
    http://acei.org/
    Click on "Mission/Vision" and "Guiding Principles and Beliefs" and read these statements.

• National Association for the Education of Young Children
  http://www.naeyc.org/
  
• The Division for Early Childhood
  http://www.dec-sped.org/
  
• Zero to Three: National Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families
  http://www.zerotothree.org/
  
• WESTED
  http://www.wested.org/cs/we/print/docs/we/home.htm
  
• Harvard Education Letter
  http://www.hepg.org/hel/topic/85
  
• FPG Child Development Institute
  http://www.fpg.unc.edu/main/about.cfm
  
• Administration for Children and Families Headstart's National Research Conference
  http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/hsrc/
  
• HighScope
  http://www.highscope.org/
  
• Children's Defense Fund
  http://www.childrensdefense.org/
  
• Center for Child Care Workforce
  http://www.ccw.org/
  
• Council for Exceptional Children
  http://www.cec.sped.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
  
• Institute for Women's Policy Research
  http://www.iwpr.org/
  
• National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education
  http://www.ncrece.org/wordpress/
  
• National Child Care Association
  http://www.nccanet.org/
  
• National Institute for Early Education Research
  http://nieer.org/
  
• Pre[K]Now
  http://www.preknow.org/
  
• Voices for America's Children
  http://www.voices.org/
  
• The Erikson Institute
  http://www.erikson.edu/

Here are a few I found as well:

• Montessori.org
  http://www.montessori.org/
• Unesco's education website
  http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/
• Los Angeles First Preschool (a school near and dear to my heart)
  http://laschool.com/