Breastfeeding in public why not?

Melissa Mihalovic

Weds-6:30PM-9:50PM

Argumentative Essay

Draft

            Women should be able to breastfeed in public without feeling embarrassed or being criticized.  Breastfeeding is one of the most natural ways of feeding your infant baby.  It develops a special bond between the Mother and her new baby.  Breastfeeding in public is one of the most controversial topics in today’s society.  Breastfeeding in public is simply misunderstood and thought of by most people as an act of indecent exposure. 

            There are health benefits to breastfeeding for both the Mother and baby, reasons why public facilities as in restaurants, malls and places of employment should provide an area for breastfeeding Mothers to feed their babies, and reasons why a Mother should be able to breastfeed in public. 

            There are many health benefits for both Mothers and babies to breastfeed.  Breast feeding milk fights disease, the antibodies in breast milk help protect babies from illness, lower respiratory infections, asthma obesity, and type 2 diabetes.  It also has been shown to lower the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).  It can be good for the Mother too and is linked to a lower risk of certain health problems including; type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and postpartum depression.  It can help save money and can feel great, the bond and physical contact is important to the Mother and the baby, it helps the baby feel more secure, warm, and comforted.  There are even some studies shown that breastfeeding can assist the Mother with weight loss after pregnancy. 

            For nearly two years the U.S. department of Health and Human Services launched a campaign to promote breastfeeding by educating Mothers about the risks and importance of breastfeeding.  This increased the rates of breastfeeding in the U.S over the next three years by 75%.  This sparked the term “breast is best”, and these rates are higher in middle class, educated Mothers.  Communities have passed laws to support breastfeeding moms in the workplace they have passed laws to ensure that breastfeeding in public is not seen as indecency but a right, and therefore protects the rights of the mother. The Wisconsin law reads as follows: 

Section 1.253.16: Right to breast-feed.  A mother may breast-feed her child in any public or private location where the mother and child are otherwise authorized to be.  In such a location, no person may prohibit a mother from breast-feeding her child, direct a mother to move to a different location to breast-feed her child, direct a mother to cover her child or breast while breast feeding, or otherwise restrict a mother from breast-feeding her child as provided in this section.

Doctor’s, midwives, and nutritionist all recommend mothers’ breastfeed their babies for the health benefits still remains controversial.  While society wants moms to breastfeed they want them to do it behind close doors.  In 2007 there was an incident at an Applebee’s restaurant where a nursing mother was breastfeeding her baby and was asked by a employee to cover herself while she was nursing or to leave the premises.  This was in despite of a law that extended mothers rights to breastfeed in public.   Applebee’s received so many calls to headquarters by

Outraged mothers regarding this incident that all Applebee’s in the U.S. developed “nurseins” at every restaurant.  

            Infants require feeding almost every 2 hours at times, and a mother can not plan her day around a breastfeeding child with this frequent feeding schedule it is almost impossible.  Breastfeeding moms that breastfeed in public are subject to scrutiny by individuals that do not see breastfeeding for what it is, but rather as a public display of exposure.  The La Leche League International offers a few different ways to respond to people that criticize, ignore the comments or change the subject, share information on breastfeeding with the other person, make a joke about the situation to lighten the mood, show that you are recognizing the person’s viewpoint by asking further questions without agreeing or responding to the criticism. 

               Breastfeeding mothers and breastfeeding in public continue to be on the rise and should not be viewed as indecency.  I view it as if a mother is breastfeeding in a public place it is their right by law in most states, and if it bothers someone that bad look away, and remember babies must eat too and they eat all the time, why is it ok to scrutinize breastfeeding mothers when they are just feeding their hungry babies. 

Brainstrom Ideas Argumentative essay

Brainstorming ideas:

• Should Women be allowed to breastfeeding in public?
• Should teenagers be allowed to get birth control without parents consent?
• Why children should have to receive vaccines.
• Genetic engineering
• Stem cell research
• Should countries limit the number of children a couple can have
• Health care for everyone
• Should nurses be allowed to assist with death in suffering patients
• Should spouses be allowed to pull tube feedings
• Should children be allowed to receive health care even if parents don’t believe in it? (Religion).

Thank Goodness for Second Chances

Melissa Mihalovic

Written Communication

Cause and Effect

Preeclampsia/Eclampsia:

               

 

                Today I will discuss some causes and effects of preeclampsia which can lead to eclampsia. Which is life threatening to the pregnant mother and baby.  I unfortunately know of eclampsia all too well, since this happened to me 4 years ago after giving birth to my last child.  It is very rare to only have eclampisa without having preeclampsia, actually only a 0.1% chance of this ever happening. 

                Preeclampsia is high blood pressure that develops or increase while a women is pregnant, and can lead to eclampsia which involves seizures of the women.  Preeclampsia usually develops after 20 weeks pregnant.  I can be mild or severe, and can even affect the kidneys, brain, liver and lungs.  If the women’s blood pressure gets too high then she can and will develop eclampsia which is a bleed in the brain and then causes seizures.  My seizures developed a full one week after I gave birth which is very rare.  There may be some signs and symptoms of preeclampsia which include agitation, confusion, changes in mental status, decrease urine output, nausea and vomiting, headaches and visual impairment.  I had all of these symptoms and went to the doctor several times but because this is so rare after giving birth they did not look for this and was sent home.  A lot of times there are no clues or warning signs that eclampsia will occur.  During or after a seizure a women may bite their tongue, break bones, harm her head, develop fluid in lungs and can also be life threatening.

                There are many causes that can contribute to preeclampsia and eclampsia, but there are times as in my case where they have no cause and no warning.  Some of these causes include, high blood pressure before even getting pregnant, or developing high blood pressure during pregnancy, also diabetes, having a baby before the age of 20 or after the age of 35, a first pregnancy, or low socioeconomic status.  These are just a few causes but there are many more that are not known. 

                Diagnosis begins with a complete history and physical while pregnant.  This does include multiple blood test and history of both father and Mother.  There can also be long term effects from having preeclampsia and eclampsia which include, increased risks for C section next time, placenta abrubtio, in which the placenta breaks away from the uterine wall, stillbirth, premature birth, death of mother, acute kidney failure, and PRES syndrome, which I was also diagnosed with, this is a reversible brain swelling to put it in better terms.  They say the only treatment for eclampsia is to give birth but as we know this does not always stop the seizures.  When this happens to someone once the risks for it the next time the Mother becomes pregnant is high. 

Response to "Why I Blog"

Response to “Why I Blog”, by Andrew Sullivan was a good essay to read and interesting.  I know I heard of Blogging but would never consider blogger as a hoppy, although I have enjoyed the experience of blogging in this semester of Written Communications Class.  My favorite quote from the essay of Andrew Sullivan’s essay, which I agree with, was when he said “Blogging is to writing what extreme sports are to athletics: more free-form, more accident-prone, less formal, and more alive.  It is in many ways, writing out loud”. People write blogs for all different reasons and on all different subjects like religion, house repairs, births, and family life.  I did think about writing a blog this semester on my family life, but with anyone being able to read a blog, I thought it could be dangerous.  I also liked how Sullivan said in his essay that blogging is free writing, and can just be thoughts of the person blogging.  To some people blogging and writing in general can be a stress reliever.  The thing about blogging is there are no editors, or any need for revisions.  It is simple how the blogger thinks, feels, and opinion. So may be after this class some of us will continue our current blogs, or start a new blog just for fun.  

Only one thing

Melissa Mihalovic

Written Communications

Wed.6:30pm-9:50pm/11/13/13

Instructor: Daykin

                                                                                “Only one thing”

 

                My every day to day work load as a LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) can be very long, and at times it can be hard to keep up with everything that I have to accomplish in one day.  At the nursing home I work at I actually do everything an RN does, and I am the only LPN that is in charge of her own hallway.  This means I am responsible for 27 residents each day, which includes there day to day health concerns.  Today though, I will tell you the step by step the process I have to go through to insure that each resident receives there medications safely, they receive the correct medications, in the right manner,  and actually this part of my job duties are the least worrisome in my line of work.

                The first thing to know about passing medications to all those residents, and anyone that passes medications to patient, residents or clients is you have to remember your five rights of following medication pass, which are right drug, right dose, right route, right resident/patient/client, and right time.  These five rights are very important when giving someone else medications.  The first thing you want to do is to wash your hands, before any direct contact with medications or with the resident. 

                The second step is to check the medication label with the medication record three times, this means each time you pass out a medication it has to be checked three separate times.  This does become very time consuming when a person just starting to pass medications begins.  At my place of employment only one nurse at a time can be at the medication cart.  This has been made a rule at my place of employment due to having two nurses one time trying to pass out medications on the same cart, a male resident received the wrong medications, which was an actual whole cup full of meds when I say a cup I mean a thirty cc medication cup, and he was given many different heart meds that he was not on and he already had a compromised heart.  This sent him to the ER which in turn sent him to ICU unit for many days.  Thankfully he did survive.  When passing meds the person needs to check the meds three times, including, when taking med from cart, when putting in cup, and just before giving medication to resident.  These helps to insure that nothing was missed and that you have the right person.  This can save many lives.

                The third step is to never leave the medication cart/treatment cart or med room unattended or unlocked.  This is where all the meds are kept, in a locked cart, with only that nurse having the key, and then in a locked room, medication room, and only the nurses and medication techs have the keys.  This is so there is only limited access to the meds.  When passing meds also never leave meds with a resident, make sure they take all meds while you watch, also the medication cart has to be within eye view of the person passing out meds, and if you step away from it, it has to be locked. It is my responsibility to know what meds are to be given before, after and with food, and to give appropriately. When measuring liquids this has to be done at eye level, and has to be given to the resident all liquids, you may have to add water to residue to insure all of the med was ingested.  If the person giving meds walks away before the resident takes their meds they may drop one. 

                There are many other small rules to giving meds to residents, like taking off old pain patches before applying knew ones, waiting 5 minutes between different eye drops unless it is specified to wait longer, and waiting 1 minute between each puff of same inhaler or waiting 5-10 minutes between puffs of different inhalers. This allows the medicine to get into the body and do what it is suppose too. 

                In conclusion, when I pass meds I have to follow the 5 rights of medication pass, which are right drug, right dose, right route, right resident, and right time.  I also need to chart after each medication given because not charting something is just like saying I didn’t do it.  This part of my day is only one small fraction of what I do in a day, but one of the most important things I do.  It is my responsibility to ensure that each one of my residents receives the proper medications that are ordered for them.  After all they rely on me and trust me.  

Process Essay: Only one thing

Process analysis essay

                My every day to day work load can be very long and at times it can be hard to keep up with everything that as an LPN have to accomplish in one day.  At the nursing home I work at I actually do everything an RN does, and I am the only LPN that is in charge of her own hallway.  This means I am responsible for 27 residents each day, which includes there day to day health concerns.  Today though I will tell you step by step the process I have to go through to insure that each resident receives there medications safely, and insure they receive the correct medications, and actually this part of my job duties are the least worrisome in my line of work.

                The first thing to know about passing medications to all those residents and anyone that passes medications to patient, residents or clients is you have to remember your 5 rights of following medication pass, which are right drug, right dose, right route, right resident/patient/client, and right time.  These five rights are very important when giving someone else medications.  The first thing you want to do is to wash your hands, before any direct contact with meds or with the resident. 

                The next step is to check the medication label with the medication record three times, this means each time you pass out a medication it has to be checked three separate times.  This does become very time consuming when a person just starting to pass medications begins.  At my place of employment only one nurse at a time can be at the medication cart.  This has been made a rule at my place of employment due to having 2 nurses one time trying to pass out medications on the same cart, a male resident received the wrong medications, which was an actual whole cup full of meds when I say cup I mean a 30 cc medication cup, but he was given many different heart meds that he was not on and he already had a bad heart.  This sent him to the ER and he was in the ICU unit for many days.  Thankfully he did survive.  When passing meds the person needs to check the meds three times, including, when taking med from cart, when putting in cup, and just before giving medication to resident.  These helps to insure that nothing was missed and that you have the right person.  This can save many  lives.

                The next step is to never leave the medication card/treatment card or med room unattended or unlocked.  This is where all the meds are kept, in a locked cart, with only that nurse having the key, and then in a locked room, medication room, and only the nurses and medication techs have the keys.  This is so not everyone can get access to the meds.  When passing meds also never leave meds with a resident, make sure they take all meds while you watch, also the medication cart has to be within eye view of the person passing out meds, and if you step away from it, it has to be locked. It is my responsibility to know what meds are to be given before, after and with food, and to give appropriately. When measuring liquids this has to be done at eye level, and has to be given to the resident all liquids, you may have to add water to residue to insure all of the med was ingested.  If the person giving meds walks away before the resident takes their meds they may drop one. 

                There are many other small rules to giving meds to residents, like taking off old pain patches before applying knew ones, waiting 5 minutes between different eye drops unless it is specified to wait longer, and waiting 1 minute between each puff of same inhaler or waiting 5-10 minutes between puffs of different inhalers. This allows the medicine to get into the body and do what it is suppose too.  

                In conclusion, when I pass meds I have to follow the 5 rights of medication pass, which are right drug, right dose, right route, right resident, and right time.  I also need to chart after each medication given because not charting something is just like saying I didn’t do it.  This part of my day is only one small fraction of what I do in a day, but one of the most important things I do.  It is my responsibility to ensure that each one of my residents receives the proper medications that are ordered for them.  Afterall they rely on me and trust me.   

Compare vs. contrast essay

Alternative medicine vs. traditional medicine

            Many people use traditional medicine to assist with illnesses and prevention of diseases.  Most people don’t think of the healing process as needing both alternative measures and traditional medicines.  Today I will compare and contrast both traditional medicines and alternative medicines. 

            First I will discuss traditional medicines, which most people use in this culture and in the United States of America.  There are many things we can do when someone we love become sick or we ourselves become sick.  There is Xrays when we have possible broken bones, or infections.  Also antibiotics are very common to be used with infections, but these are used too much and then it becomes a problem with germs becoming immune to it. Some invasive measures such as radiation, chemotherapy, are used if someone had a cancer diagnosis.  There are also IV’s for medications or fluids.  People may need slings or cast for broken bones, and many different medications for any disease diagnosis possible, even for the diseases that are not curable such as Alzheimer’s, certain Cancers, Parkinson’s and MS to name just a few.  Many of these can be successful for prolonging death, or in some cases curing some disease.   

            Next I will discuss alternative medicines, which are used more and more in this country, but are more open and used in other cultures such as the Chinese culture.  Some of these alternative Homeopathic measures people believe are more beneficial than traditional medicine.  I will discuss a few of them, such as Acupressure, in which trigger points are used to help promote healing.  There is chiropractic care which can help with overall health.  Homeopathy is the use of herbs and “potions” to help illnesses.  There are people that specialize in these.  Also people use Yoga, which is stretching and using your mind.  Acupuncture is the use of needles that are placed throughout your body in pathways to deliver triggers through your nerves.  There is also healing energy, and Reiki which is used to release negative energy from your body, now for this type of healing a person needs an open mind.  There are many different ways a person can attempt to heal there illnesses, aches and pains, and which ever you choose to do you must have a positive attitude.