current to hear "history repeats itself" and, unfortunately, I see it happen in the field of immigration.After separating many children from their parents at the borders of our country, the The government seems to be focusing solely on reunification, and although this is an important part of the process, it will never make families whole, children separated from their parents are not only confronted to a mental health crisis, but they will do so in the years to come. This is an area where the past can help us understand current conditions.

In 1923, the Franco-German border was disputed and therefore my mother, who was 3 years old at the time, was separated from her parents. She and her two younger brothers and sisters were sent to live with their family in Germany. It took several months before the three brothers and sisters returned to the other parent. While the family eventually came to understand seven children, the three oldest – those who experienced this traumatic separation – all suffered from major depression and two committed suicide

. I was 12 years old when My mother is dead. She was a highly respected physician in her Michigan adoption community, but she was unable to obtain adequate mental health support. The mental health and suicidal struggles of my mother, aunt and uncle were affecting the next generation, affecting me, my brothers and sisters and my cousins.

Several years later, medical studies would help us understand are. ACE studies provide a scientific explanation of the biological mechanisms that explain why the three older siblings ended up suffering so strikingly while others did not. Living a severe traumatic stress at a young age does not go away. It physically elicits connections in the emotional centers of the brain needed to form strong attachments and develop empathy as an adult. Traumatized children are much more likely to become adults with mental health problems. Some genes switch on or off, increasing the likelihood of physical health problems, including hypertension, heart disease, and stroke.

It is physically disgusting for me as a pediatrician, and a girl, to listen to news reports. separations of asylum seeker children from their parents and the trauma we are currently experiencing in the United States. Many of these families are fleeing significant violence in their home country. In addition, separation creates unnecessary physical and mental stress for young children who do not fully understand the situation in which they are placed.

Just as we expect parents to be responsible for the health and well-being of their children, Americans should also ask our government to be responsible for health and well-being children in our care. Mankind asks us to ask if these actions are the way other humans should be treated. As Americans, we would never require that a child be sexually abused or that his mother be beaten, but we create a toxic stress in another form by not meeting the long-term needs of these children. I encourage everyone to remember the lessons of our families' past and to face the future with these children and their families and not to turn away from them.

Teresa Holtrop, MD, is president of the Michigan Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and executive / medical director of Wayne's Children's Health Access Program.

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