Blog 10 Final Draft

A Hard life for Mothers

Women who become mothers face many barriers and obstacles that sometimes do not allow them to succeed. The mere fact of being a mother is very difficult, since this involves body and hormonal changes. In addition, the moment that a mother has her child in her arms, it means that her life has turned a hundred degrees. This is a drastic change that only women can experience. For that reason the role that women have in society is extremely important. Women must be in charge in order to be successful. However, what about the dream of being a professional and being able to succeed in a field or carrier outside the home? Some women have found it necessary to leave their studies, work and careers behind in order to raise their children. Moreover, mothers who work at home and outside the home have not been recognized.

Motherhood

According to the author of “Motherhood - Overcoming the Difficulties” (2007), this article explains the process of being pregnant and how to overcome different aspects after having a baby. Many women fall apart because they encounter many difficulties during pregnancy. For example, they have to deal with their physical changes and also with the aspect of being a new mother. Some of them have symptoms that make them feel bad such as fatigue, pain in the breasts and nausea with or without vomiting. Some women also experience abdominal cramping early and later on in pregnancy. These cramps are similar to menstrual cramps. They also experience nausea with or without vomiting, headaches, constipation, food aversions or cravings, mood swings, faintness and dizziness. Women face these entire problems during child bearing. However, after a baby is born, what are women supposed to do when they do not want to have sex or present a sign of post partum depression? The author suggests that relatives and women’s partners must understand and be patient with this terrible process that some women experience during the first three months of post partum. Due to the hormonal changes, again they work in a different capacity and returning to the state before being pregnant it takes some time.

Society

“The Cult of Domesticity and True Womanhood” (1910) written by Charles Gibson, states that the ideal woman during the period of the Civil War must be a virgin until she is married, otherwise she is considered impure. In addition, women’s submissiveness is another quality that society requires from women in order to get married and be able to do domestic work. Women have to be at home taking care of the children and doing house work. However, during the feminist movement that started in the eighteenth century, women were able to raise their voices in order to get recognition and education. The unfairness of being what society expects from us as women is the reason because women for a long time have been fighting for equality and equal voice in politics, employment, and rights equal to men. Sometimes society has been an influence on people’s mind because for a long time, many women have been oppressed and society has approved of it. Things have been changing a lot. At least women are allowed to get a job and an education in order to be able to support themselves, and not be dependent on their husbands anymore.

Mothers and Workforce

According to Han, Wenjui “Child Care Costs and Women's Employment: A Comparison of Single and Married Mothers With Pre-School-Aged Children” (2001), she writes in this article that many women have left the work force to take care of their children. It is very difficult to work and have children at the same time because children need supervision. However, in order to work, they have to take their children to a babysitter who is an unknown person. Sitters are often expensive. Often mothers are forced to leave their jobs because they cannot afford other expenses and can only pay the nanny’s fee. This is due to the minimum salary they earn, compared to men’s salaries in the same position. Many women have two jobs because when they come home, they have family chores to do. For instance, cleaning, laundry, cooking and checking their children’s homework, which is tiring and hard work.

Being a Mother is Also a Job

According to Yasmin Alibhai-Brown “Being a mother is a tough job, but wonderful too.” (2008). Mothers have a full-time job at home and this should be the highest salaried job compared to any field, in view of the fact that the only compensation is pure love. The task of mothers is present 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the protection of their children, and also house work. Usually, women become experts in nutrition, by giving to their children the right food to eat and a healthy way of exercising. For example, children must engage in energetic play. Mothers are also nurses because they make sure children’s needs are taken care of and their health is checked by good physicians. In addition, mothers are psychologists, because they give their children healthy doses of self-esteem and make sure their questions about life are answered in an appropriate manner. Also, mothers are teachers, because they monitor their children’s school studies and guide them through appropriate age lessons for their future when the children become adults. Mothers are administrators because they find the funds to care for their children, and save money and even make it stretch to invest in their future. Mothers are maids because they take care of their home by making sure it is safe and comfortable for them. Mothers are drivers because they get their children to where they need to go and when they need to be there. Furthermore, mothers are like sergeants because they teach to their kids the discipline that will make them balanced and tolerable to society. A mother is all of these things and more for all of her children, and this did not even include being a role model. Mothers are like superheroes because they are able to do and fight against everything just to protect and save their children from bad and negative influences.

My experience

I am a mother of three children. When I was pregnant, I felt scared because it was something strange and new to me. The changes were too many. The first five months, I lost approximately twenty pounds. The doctor recommended that I rest during the first three months of my pregnancy because I got anemia due to the nausea that did not allow me to eat as much as I usually did. In addition, I threw up everything I ate and my baby needed some vitamins. I was very sensitive about everything and cried easily. For example, any odor such as perfume also provoked me to throw up. During the fifth month of pregnancy, I looked like a skeleton and felt so ugly. On the other hand, when I was in my seventh month, I started to gain weight and had a huge appetite. I woke up at midnight to eat sour food such as lemons, oranges and tangerines. When I was almost ready to give birth, my belly was as big as a balloon. I barely could sleep. The last four weeks were so exhausting to me because the baby moved inside and it was painful for my ribs and my womb. At the same time, my legs were swollen because of water retention. Finally, the day of birth came and an excruciating pain in my hips prevented me from standing up. However, the doctors told me to walk as much as I could, so that my hip bones could become relaxed and could hold the contractions. The process of painful contraction of giving birth was approximately twenty hours. I remember like it was yesterday because it was a Thursday at noon and my baby was born the next day at seven in the morning. Having a baby was new for me. I did not know what kind of food a baby ate, how to bathe my baby and what to do when my baby was sick. I had to learn all these things by asking other mothers who already had experienced it. It was difficult to do on my own because I was alone, I did not have my mother or a relative who could help me or give me some advice regarding babies or even about life. I had my first child when I was nineteen years old.
I came to the United States when I just finished high-school in my country, Ecuador, without knowing the language, and having lot of debts to pay from traveling to this country. I had to work hard to pay the debts acquired in Ecuador and also to send money to support my parents. It was very hard to adapt to this kind of life which is a very busy and stressful one. I established my life in New York City, the place where there are many Spanish people. I rented a room which I shared with a roommate in order to be able to pay the rent. Also, because of my debts and my job schedule which were just a few of the many obstacles, I could not keep on with my dream of having a career in the health field. When I had my first baby, I could not go to college to start fulfilling with my dream. I started to work again when my child was one month old, in clothing factory because having a baby required not only nurturing her, but also giving her monetary support for things such as diapers, milk and clothes. I also needed an additional room for me and my baby. That meant renting a new apartment, which also implies more expenses. Therefore, I moved because that small room was too little for my roommate, my baby and me. Having a job and a baby was very complicated because I barely slept during the first three months after my baby was born. I left my baby with a babysitter and almost all my money went to her. When babysitters take a newborn baby, their fee is more expensive than for a toddler.
In a couple of years, I got married and had two more children. In total I have three children ages five, seven and eleven. I dedicated my life completely to my beloved three daughters. For that reason, again, I had to put my dream aside and choose to take care of them. Being a housewife is an important job because it includes many diverse responsibilities of tasks. There is no remuneration for overtime work and no time to take vacations. My typical day starts at six in the morning to make breakfast, clean up the house, prepare the children for school and take them to school. At ten in the morning, while I am watching my two year old daughter, I have to cook a nutritional menu that consists, of course because I am Spanish, of soup, rice and dessert. The menu is not ready until noon. Then my two year old and I eat it together, I wash the dishes, and again I have to get ready to pick up my other two daughters from school and serve them food, let them rest for a while and help them do their homework. After finishing homework, I have to plan some activities to keep them active, otherwise they want to sleep in the afternoon. As a consequence, they won’t let me sleep at night. In the evening, I have to clean up again the mess they make, give them dinner, and give my children a bath. It is a very busy day for a mother. All of this work without mentioning the tasks on the weekends, which consist of doing laundry, going to the supermarket and taking the children to a park.
It was not until I could bring my father to this country to help me with my children that was possible to work. Two of my children are in school and the last one is in a Day Care. While I am working, my father picks my children up and stays with them until I go home. Two years have passed since I decided to go back to school, but because of my father’s help, I had the opportunity to enter college to continue with my education that had been prolonged for a long time. Even thought I do not have enough time now to spend with my children, they are the reason why I will keep fighting to reach my American dream which is finishing my studies and having a career, that I love serving people who need me. In addition, my goals are being able to fulfill myself as a mother, professional and wife.

BLOG 8 Coments

I got some critical comments that helped me to improve my article, and Iam rewriting it. so, that I can develop it better in order to get a good grade for it.

BLOG No 7

Hard life for Mothers

The mere fact of being a mother is very difficult, since this involves body and hormonal changes. In addition, the moment that a mother has her child in her arms it means that her life has turned ninety degrees. This is a drastic change that only women can experiment. For that reason the role that women have in society is extremely important and with a big responsibility. However, what about the dream of being a professional and be able to succeed within the field. Some women have found it necessary to leave aside their studies and careers in order to raise their children. Moreover, mothers who work at home and outside of the home are not paid fairly.
To begin with, many women fell apart because they encounter many difficulties in their lives. For example, those who are pregnant have to deal with their body changes and also with the aspect of being a mother. Some of them have symptom that make them feel bad such symptoms as, Tender, swollen breasts. Your breasts may provide one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. As early as two weeks after conception, hormonal changes may make your breasts tender, tingly or sore. Or your breasts may feel fuller and heavier. Fatigue. Fatigue also ranks high among early symptoms of pregnancy. During early pregnancy, levels of the hormone progesterone soar. In high enough doses, progesterone can put you to sleep. At the same time, lower blood sugar levels, lower blood pressure and increased blood production may team up to sap your energy. Slight bleeding or cramping. Sometimes a small amount of spotting or vaginal bleeding is one of the first symptoms of pregnancy. Known as implantation bleeding, it happens when the fertilized egg attaches to the lining of the uterus about 10 to 14 days after fertilization. This type of bleeding is usually a bit earlier, spottier and lighter in color than a normal period and doesn't last as long. Some women also experience abdominal cramping early in pregnancy. These cramps are similar to menstrual cramps. Nausea with or without vomiting. Morning sickness, which can strike at any time of the day or night, is one of the classic symptoms of pregnancy. For some women, the queasiness begins as early as two weeks after conception. Nausea seems to stem at least in part from rapidly rising levels of estrogen, which causes the stomach to empty more slowly. Pregnant women also have a heightened sense of smell, so various odors — such as foods cooking, perfume or cigarette smoke may cause waves of nausea in early pregnancy. Food aversions or cravings. When you're pregnant, you might find yourself turning up your nose at certain foods, such as coffee or fried foods. Food cravings are common, too. Like most other symptoms of pregnancy, these food preferences can be chalked up to hormonal changes — especially in the first trimester, when hormonal changes are the most dramatic. Headaches. Early in pregnancy, increased blood circulation caused by hormonal changes may trigger frequent, mild headaches. Constipation. Constipation is another common early symptom of pregnancy. An increase in progesterone causes food to pass more slowly through the intestines, which can lead to constipation. Mood swings. The flood of hormones in your body in early pregnancy can make you unusually emotional and weepy. Mood swings also are common, especially in the first trimester. Faintness and dizziness. As your blood vessels dilate and your blood pressure drops, you may feel lightheaded or dizzy. Early in pregnancy, faintness also may be triggered by low blood sugar. Raised basal body temperature. Your basal body temperature is your oral temperature when you first wake up in the morning. This temperature increases slightly soon after ovulation and remains at that level until your next period. If you've been charting your basal body temperature to determine when you ovulate, its continued elevation for more than two weeks may mean that you're pregnant. By all these symptoms women have to pass through.
But not only that, we also have to face unfairness of being what the society expects from us as women. Women in the US and many other countries have been fighting for equality: an equal voice in legislature, equal pay at jobs, and equal rights to the benefits that men are entitled to. They've countered the arguments about genetic and mental inferiority through science and proven their ability to compete at the same level as men in almost every field. Yet the actualization of equality is still far from our reach. Despite the fact that women and men are nearly the same physically, the fact remains that our bodies are different. The presence of a womb does make us different from men and able to do something which they cannot, whether we choose to use it or not. Other studies in psychology have shown that most women do process things differently than men. Women are known to be better at multi-tasking than most men, who must process things one at a time rather than all at once. Whether it's conditioning or biological, the fact remains that there are differences between men and women, so can the two sexes ever really be considered equal?
On the other hand, much attention has been focused on career women who leave the work force to rear children. What seems to be changing is that while many women in college two or three decades ago expected to have full-time careers, their daughters, while still in college, say they have already decided to suspend or end their careers when they have children. "At the height of the women's movement and shortly thereafter, women were much more firm in their expectation that they could somehow combine full-time work with child rearing," said Cynthia E. Russett, a professor of American history who has taught at Yale since 1967. "The women today are, in effect, turning realistic." Some researchers agree and others disagree with the notion that women need to raise their children because it give to their children a better relationship and children feel more prepare to face the world out of their parents. Those who agree argue that being a good example for children and be able to finish a career make children feel to continue the same pattern as their parents. Also help parents to be more educated how to raise children with more knowledge and appropriate.
Being a full-time mother is one of the highest salaried jobs in any field, since the payment is pure love. To be a mother you are on watch 24 hours a day for the protection of your children. You are a nutritionist, in getting them the right foods to eat and a healthy way of exercising (through vigorous play). You are a nurse, in making sure their boo boos are taken care of and their health checked by the proper physicians. You are a psychologist, in that you’re instill in them healthy doses of self-esteem and make sure their questions about life are answered in appropriate fashion. You are an educator, in that you monitor their school studies and you guide them through age appropriate lessons for their future as an adult. You are a banker, in which you find the funds to care for them, and invest in their future. You are a maid, in which you take care of their home and make sure it is safe and comfortable for them. You are a chauffeur in that you get them to where they need to go when they need to be there. You are a drill Sergeant in that you’re instill in them the disciplines that will make them balanced and acceptable to society. A mother is all of these things and more for all of her children. And this did not even include a role model. All real, all full-time.

BLOG No 6

For my article I have collected as many researches as I could, of course related to my topic which is “mothers”. From that point I was able to read some articles that could help me to generate some ideas relating to my article's topic. It also let me understand the type of writing a magazine wants in order to post it. I gather some statistics that demonstrate and help me to argue about the mothers that stay at home against those who work and study, it gives the reader a visualize notion of the lack of women that leave aside their profession and their education. The topic I chose is “Difficult life for mothers”. Furthermore, there are some questions for this topic. One is how mothers feel leaving aside their dreams of education and professional lives, to raise children? Another, what the role of women in society is. The other is what symptoms and periods women face in pregnancy time? Finally, is there any compensation for mothers who sacrifice their dreams? At the end of my article I would like to present my experience as a mother and student at the same time, so that the reader get a little of knowledge of the difficulties of being mother and all the responsibilities this leads. On the other hand, what I need to get done is more researches and my conclusion to the answers I have made in my article.

BLOG No 5

Here are some articles and some megazines that publishes.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Federal-Scholarships-Available-to-Single-Mothers-Going-Back-to-School---Get-Your-$10,000&id=2938071

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-15672027/mothers-start-school-community.html

http://workingmothers.suite101.com/article.cfm/going_back_to_work_vs_stayathome_mom_sahm
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=whats_a_working_mother_worth

http://www.rexanne.com/article-mothers.html

http://www.enotalone.com/article/19281.html very important

http://books.google.com/books?id=5r5obtRneqoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=motherhood&source=gbs_similarbooks_s&cad=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
http://www.dianefeinberg.com/article1.html

http://www.helium.com/knowledge/1888-going-back-to-work-after-having-a-baby this may be for posting the article

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7216/stayathome_mom_goes_back_to_school.html?cat=4 this for publishing

http://www.articles-heaven.com/ to post the article

http://www.host-my-post.com/ to post articles

BLOG 4

One of the articles I read is about a professional woman who had a prosper job position in Wall Street company. This woman narrates her experience as professional and mother. She have to deal with the difficult decision of leaving her career dream aside and take care of her baby or do both thinks at the same time. With the help of her husband and people surround her, she made possible to succeed in both fields. He article is a narrative article which counts her life and is written in different topics. From the beginning she recounts her achievements as professional, then the difficulties of being pregnant and not able to work at the same capacity of before. The narrator also mentions the people who were always with her, such as, co-workers and relatives.
The other article is about teenager girls that get pregnant at early age. Due to be mothers without experience and support, Teenagers have to quit school and stay at home. This circumstance makes teenagers being exposed to physical abuse by her partners and dependent of them. This article was written by a journalist that uses data to show the audience the percentages of staying at home teenagers.
The third article criticize the role of women that during decades have being the ones that take care of their husband and children, making women very hard going to work and being able to get a career.

BLOG No 3

It was very difficult to make a decision to choose the topic which I am going to write about it. I was debating between Mothers and Pentecostal Costumes; however, I have decided to write about the topic of Mothers going to school. It is much easier to write about a topic that I know from experience, and which I have more affinity to it. I will narrate my life, as an example, and I will explain how hard is for a woman to be a mother, housewife, student and worker. I have been searching information about statistics that shows the percentage of mothers going to school. In addition, I was searching the percentage of mothers who are still taking care of their children at home and who could not fulfill their dream of completing a career. Also, what are the social expectation about mothers and what implies as a family? On the other hand, I am not sure yet where can I post my article. It can be in webzine or Wikipedia, I will appreciate if you give me an advised regarding to.
Thank you, Jenny Cordova

Blog 2

Literary Journalism is an art that only the people who like writing can do it. However, the author explains in his book that there are many news journalists who have learned the art of writing by reading others authors books. This makes an interesting point, that everyone can be a journalist. There are many journalists that trough their articles and journals have motivated others to become journalists. Being a journalist as the author state in his book, implies a hard work and contribution from new journalists. I also learned that that there are many kinds of writing in literary journalism such as, ideas that become a fact by writing them down, irony articles, and criticizes articles which are written in magazines using the life of artists and famous people as the central topics. In addition the narrative articles and the story telling writings narrate the life of a specific person who can be from the past or present, written in a fiction feature or as biography. Learning, nowadays is very important because we can do whatever we want if there are people who encourage us with their knowledge and help us with their literature and experience.

Blog 1

One of my interests are listening music and watching TV . The Tv programs must be something interesting, educational and realistic such movies as, Romantics and suspense. The music I hear should be concruente and meaningful, and have positive messages. Also one of my interests is to finish my studies and have the opportunity to get a job related to my chosen career.