Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Psychology of The
Black Child
Chapter 1 - The Prenatal Period
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All this things are done with the reason that our children will
achieve the socio-economic equality with whites if and when
black children are given the same opportunities and reared the
same as white children. Eg Bussing out
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What kind of the world is the black child born into?, he is much
more victim of that world adverse effects than any other ethnic
child?
The unfortunate effects of Apartheid, past and present racial
discrimination and cultural deprivation, make themselves felt
during this period when the very foundation of life is being laid.
The condition of black mothers existence influences her childs
basic physical and mental development.
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Maternal Health
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Maternal Health
Disease and disorders may negatively affect the health,
growth and development of her child. Eg Syphilis,
Gonorrhoea, Poliomyelitis, Rubella, Smallpox,
Chickenpox, Measles, High blood pressure and Diabetes
Poverty-stricken sociocultural conditions, absence or
lack of adequate prenatal medical care affect
development of mental and physical body of the child.
Even if the unborn black child is not exposed to
maternal diseases and infections, he is far more likely
than his white counterpart to contract these diseases
and infections during childhood or adulthood.
A great percentage of black potential is destroyed in the
wombs of black mothers as a result of the black
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condition.
Drugs
The black condition also induces ingestion by black mothers harmful drugs such as
Alcohol, Nyaope, Weed etc
In her efforts to cope with environmental stress, personal problems, peer group pressure.
The black mother may increase her intake of Alcohol, cigarettes and other drugs with the
objective of finding temporary escape from stress or as a means of accomplishing peer
group approval and social acceptance.
The maternal bloodstream is the source of foetul nourishment, growth and development.
Substances may acutely or chronically upset the healthy constituency of the maternal
blood and impose a strain on her Physiological functioning and of the foetus thereby
poses a threat to the fetuss normal mental and physical development.
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Drugs
The social-cultural disruption caused by addictive drugs
is well known. However, less well known in the
developmental disruption addictive drugs cause in the
children born of addicted mothers.
Marijuana which is not an addictive drug, has no
demonstrated effect on the fetus.
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Maternal Malnutrition
The fetus obtain its nourishment from its mothers
bloodstream it is essential that the mothers diet
provide the necessary nutrients if the fetus is to attain
its full genetic, mental and physical potential.
1. Proteins Tissue growth, repair and building
2. Fats fat tissue formation, body fuel
3. Carbohydrates strength and energy
4. Vitamins and minerals Growth and for maintaining
the body in optimal physical
condition and working
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Maternal Malnutrition
Poverty stricken families produce an infant mortality
rate two to three times higher than middle class
families.
It was found that 94% of the infants born in good or
excellent condition were born to mothers who
maintained good or excellent diets during pregnancy.
It has been demonstrated that the intellectual
development of children is related to prenatal nutrition.
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Maternal Emotions
Marital problems, severe housing problems, economic problems etc
Stress on the pregnant mother can be harmful at various developmental
stages between fertilization and implantation of the ovum, harmful
enough to create abnormalities in the fetus or lead to its abortion.
Women who are not happy about their pregnancies, because pregnancy
interferes with the pattern of their lives or brings economic hardship,
often experience continued emotional tensions
Emotional stress may cause mental retardation if the hormonal
imbalance which results from that stress occurs during the time the
brain is developing.
The constant stress of being black in a racist society, the ongoing
struggle with identity problems, inferiority complexes, doubleconsciousness, the stress brought on by economic problems, marital
problems, broken homes, teenage pregnancy create a state of chronic
emotional stress in black mothers.
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Maternal Emotions
The black mother is far more likely to work late in her
pregnancy and is therefore more likely to suffer from
fatigue harmful to her child.
She is more likely to receive inadequate financial
support from the father of the child, her family, from
government grant, the black mother suffers adverse
emotional stress and strain and physical exhaustion,
thereby reducing the life-chances of her unborn child.
The absence or lack of emotional support by the babys
father or families can create a damaging Psychological
state of mind which may be behaviourally harmful both
before and after birth. Motimele Tseke
Prematurity
Prematurity a condition in which the new-born infant is relatively
unfit for extra-uterine life because of a lack of development or a
retardation in development caused by shortening of the fetal period.
Premature infants are especially vulnerable to brain damage during
birth. This is due to the fact that at birth the skull of the premature
infant is not well developed enough to shield its delicate brain
tissues from the physical stresses and pressure of the birth process.
This usually means that the premature new-born must stay longer in
the hospital and incubator, requiring intensive medical attention.
Premature children have the tendency to be more shy, more closely
to their mothers and more dependant than their full-term
counterparts.
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QUESTIONS?
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