Environmental Factor
Ensuring the safety of a newborn child becomes the primary and most important task of parents. Especially in the first year of life, the child is unable to protect himself from damaging environmental factors. Examples of such harmful effects may be air and water pollution, excessive sun exposure, or dust and chemicals. This work analyzes the harmful environmental factors for a child under one year old and offers health promotion to protect newborns from harm.
Sources emphasize that in 2012, almost two million children under the age of five in the world died due to the environment (“Children’s environmental health,” n.d.). The causes were respiratory tract infections, malaria, and various injuries and injuries. The most dangerous is that once experienced, illnesses and injuries can affect the child’s further development and its formation in adolescents.
The main environmental factor is air and water pollution.
Adverse environmental impacts and pollution substantially impact morbidity, disability, and in some cases, death. Thus, among the aspects that are involved in this factor are air pollution, inadequate water, and hazardous chemicals and waste that also pollute everything. Among the dangers are “lower-respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, brain damage and inflammation, blood disorders, and jaundice” (“Air Pollution,” n.d., para. 2). Air pollution can be hazardous during the mother’s pregnancy since already at this stage, the child’s health will deteriorate. In addition to chemicals, there may also be harmful particles of dust and dirt in the air, which can enter the newborn’s body through the respiratory tract.
Polluted water or lack of clean water for the child and family can be very serious. This problem is particularly acute in developing countries, where people’s access to water resources can be severely limited. It is important to note that newborns are given water only on the recommendation of a doctor in the first months of pregnancy. However, water plays a valuable role in the functioning of the child’s body and must meet specific criteria to ensure safety. Minimal consequences can be poisoning or allergies, which can develop into more serious diseases.
Another factor of harmful effects on the child during the first few years that are involved in environmental pollution is harmful chemicals and garbage. This is because children begin to explore the world around them after getting the opportunity to become mobile. Therefore, one of the ways to get acquainted with the new is a touch and a taste test. Hence, there is a possibility of stumbling upon substances that can be spilled on the street. Examples may be chemical poisoning or skin burn. Exactly the same properties are swinging garbage, which can harm the health of the child and affect the further development of the body.
Health Promotion Plan
This part of the scientific work provides a health promotion plan that can which provide knowledge for caregivers on how to prevent and protect newborns from environmental risk.
- Monitor what the child is doing both at home and on the street
- Carry out water purification before use with the help of special filters. An alternative may be the purchase of bottled water, which will be intended for newborns.
- If possible, avoid places where there is a high level of air and water pollution near factories and production.
In other words, it is necessary to maintain the necessary air quality, which is determined by the absence of excess gases, dust, and odors. To do this, it is essential to ensure constant ventilation in the room and to maintain a moisture balance in order to limit the occurrence of mold harmful to the newborn. All these actions are due to the fact that newborns have a high respiratory rate and a larger lung surface area in relation to their body weight. Due to the faster and more intensive immune system development, they are most susceptible to external environmental factors.
- Ensure compliance with hygiene standards, which also apply to being on the street or in a public place.
- To avoid poisoning with toxic substances, it is necessary to thoroughly wash vegetables and fruits before giving them to a child.
- Avoid tobacco smoke and the smoke from burning things.
Consultation with the attending pediatrician is necessary about what actions should be taken in emergency situations and the basics that are important to ensure the safety of the child’s health.
This article raises the topic of such danger for newborns and the growing spread of sudden infant death syndrome. This is influenced by multiple external and internal factors, such as the high vulnerability of the body, the negative impact of environmental factors, and exogenous stress, such as sleeping on the stomach or a soft bed, during a critical period of development (Carlin & Moon, 2017). The source is a valuable source of information for highlighting recommendations for the care of infants. Thus, caregivers should take care of such aspects as proper sleep, a bed for the baby, soft bedding, tobacco smoke limitation, cohabitation, and immunization.
This source provides information and recommendations in the event of a collision with air pollution. This problem is a threat to the health of society, especially to children. Due to the high level of urbanization, more and more infants are exposed to polluted air from vehicles and various industrial plants. The source emphasizes the importance of creating strategies aimed at preventing the adverse effects of pollution on children’s health (Gouveia et al., 2018). Moreover, caregivers should pay special attention to airing the premises and avoiding the close proximity of the child to sources of polluted air. The information provided in the scientific article can also help monitor changes in health effects due to strategic interventions.
One of the problems that external factors can cause is growth retardation in infants, which will have particularly serious consequences in adulthood. This health problem can worsen in the first few years of a child’s life. The authors state that “climate change will cause significantly more stunting through a reduction of food security” (2018, p. 551). This source provides recommendations and generalizations on environmental risk factors that were associated with growth retardation. Hence, if there is a threat, it is necessary to carry out measures to strengthen the health of infants, including steps to improve nutrition and take care of the condition of the room in which the child is located.
References
Air pollution. (n.d.). State of Global Air. Web.
Carlin, R. F., & Moon, R. Y. (2017). Risk factors, protective factors, and current recommendations to reduce sudden infant death syndrome: a review. JAMA pediatrics, 171(2), 175-180. Web.
Children’s environmental health. (n.d.). World Health Organization. Web.
Gouveia, N., Junger, W. L., Romieu, I., Cifuentes, L. A., de Leon, A. P., Vera, J.,… & Tzintzun-Cervantes, G. (2018). Effects of air pollution on infant and children respiratory mortality in four large Latin-American cities. Environmental Pollution, 232, 385-391. Web.
Vilcins, D., Sly, P. D., & Jagals, P. (2018). Environmental risk factors associated with child stunting: a systematic review of the literature. Annals of Global Health, 84(4), 551. Web.