June 12th,2019
These chapters focused a lot on relationships and important aspects to consider when planning a family. For this weeks blog, I decided to focus on the important aspects of relationships and the importance of being stable when starting and supporting a family.
Chapter 4
This chapter discussed many different components of relationships. The first section, which talked about the characteristics of intimate relationships really caught my attention. It stated that there are four major characteristics of intimate relationships. Those four characteristics are:
- Behavioral Independence- the impact a couple has on each other as their relationship intertwines.
- Need Fulfillment- each person’s need to share our feelings and be intimate.
- Emotional Attachment- each person’s feelings of love and intimacy. This is not limited to sex. It can be about their spiritual or emotional intimacy as well.
- Emotional Availability- each person’s ability to give and receive emotionally from others without being consumed with fear of rejection.
These components were very fascinating to read about because as a young adult I have seen and discussed these aspects of relationships through not only personal experiences, but with friends in relationships as well.
Chapter 5
This chapter focused on reproduction and the safe ways of which to go about having a child (or preventing one). As a future health educator, I feel that this chapter is what most people think of when they discuss topics within health. The section that stood out to me was section eleven: Planning a Pregnancy.
I found this section to be incredibly understandable and the more I read it, the more I wished that everyone having a child would read it prior to doing so. The main important issues to consider when having a child were:
- Emotional Health- Take into consideration why you may want a child and consider all responsibilities involved.
- Maternal Health- You must be in good health yourself before creating another life or else that child is at great risk right at the start of their life.
- Maternal Age- Keep in mind that women over age 35 are more likely to experience a miscarriage or give birth to a child with birth defects.
- Paternal Health- It is important for men to be in just as good of health as the mothers of their child.
- Financial Evaluation- It costs an average of $223,610 to raise a child until the age of 18.
- Contingency Planning– When starting a family, it is important to have an in-case-of-emergency plan prepared in case something happens to you.
I believe that the emotional, maternal and paternal health aspects are something that many people do not take into serious consideration when beginning a family (or rather not working to prevent starting a family). One example I can think of as to why I feel this way has to do with my mother’s job. As a labor and delivery nurse, she has patients everyday who are starting and adding to their families. One thing that I have learned from her experience in this field is that not everyone who has a baby is fit to be a parent. Unfortunately, a large number of women who deliver children at her work never even have the chance or (desire to) be mothers to their newborns because they are addicted to drugs and are seemingly unfit to raise a child safely. Although there are a number of other issues listed that should all be addressed prior to having a child, I feel that physical health (which effects how a child will grow and develop prior to being born) is incredibly important to take into consideration. If someone is unable to keep themselves healthy and stable then they certainly should not be housing or growing a young life that could potentially be getting setup to have complications right at the start of their lives.
Chapter 6
This chapter covered the heavy topic of addictions and drug abuse. I enjoyed reading section two of this chapter (titled: Addictive behaviors) because it addressed that there are a wide range of addictions and behaviors which inhibit people from living their best lives (aside from the most known addiction to drugs). This chapter discussed that process addictions are behaviors which are addictive because they are mood-altering.
Until recently, the word addiction was only used when describing issues related to drugs. Today, it is used to describe the wide variety of challenges people are consumed with. Some commonly experienced addictions include: gambling disorders, compulsive buying disorder, technology addictions, work addictions, exercise addictions and compulsive sexual behavior just to name a few. Over 55% of people who receive treatment for these issues are being treated for more than one problem, proving that they are not uncommon to experience.
These topics were addressed very well within chapters 4 through 6. I can relate the addictive behaviors to my health aspect by how certain eating habits can be mood-altering and addictive. Although I do not personally have an addiction related to clean or unclean eating, it is certainly something that many could have an issue with.
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