Chapter 4: Birth and Physical Development During the First Three Years Flashcards
What is Labor?
The process of giving birth
What is Parturition?
It begins two weeks before delivery, sharply rising estrogen levels stimulate the uterus to contract and the cervix to become more flexible
What are Braxton-Hicks Contractions?
Muscles of the uterus tighten for about two weeks. These contractions are mild and irregular
How many Stages of Childbirth are there?
Three
What happens during the First Stage of Childbirth and how long does it last?
Regular and increasingly frequent uterine contractions cause the cervix to dilate or widen in preparation for delivery.
It usually lasts for 12-14 hours.
What happens during the Second Stage of Childbirth and how long does it last?
The baby’s head begins to move through the cervix into the vaginal canal and ends when the baby is outside the mother’s body
It lasts 1-2 hours.
What happens during the Third Stage of Childbirth?
The placenta and the umbilical cord are expelled from the mother
Lasts about 10 to 60 minutes
What is Electronic Fetal Monitoring used for?
This is a device used to track fetus’ heartbeat during labor and to find out how the fetal heartbeat is
What are the Pros and Cons of Electronic Fetal Monitoring?
Pros: It is okay to use in high risk deliveries, if the fetus is premature or is in a breach position, if the fetus is in distress, or when labor is induced with drugs
Cons: It can restrict movement during labor, there is a high false positive rate
What happens during Caesarian Delivery?
The baby is surgically removed from the uterus through an incision in the mother’s abdomen
When is it appropriate to give birth through Caesarian Delivery?
Labor is progressing slowly There is Fetal Distress Mother is bleeding vaginally Baby is in breach position Baby is in transverse position Baby's head is too big for the mother's pelvis
What are complications that may arise during and after a Caesarian Delivery?
Bleeding Infections Damage to Pelvic Organs Postoperative Pain Risk of Problems in future pregnancies
What are the benefits the baby can derive from the mother giving birth naturally?
Surge of hormones that clear lungs and excess fluids
Mobilized stored fuel to nourish cells
Blood is sent to the heart
What are the types of Delivery?
Natural Childbirth
Prepared Childbirth
What is a Natural Childbirth?
Method of childbirth that seeks to prevent pain by eliminating the mother’s fear through education about the physiology of reproduction and training in breathing and relaxation during delivery
What is Prepared Childbirth?
Method of childbirth that uses instruction, breathing exercises, and social support to induce physical responses to uterine contractions and reduce fear and pain.
What is the Neonatal Period of a newborn baby?
Baby’s first four weeks of life
It is a transition time from the uterus, where the fetus is supported entirely by the mother, to an independent existence
What is a Neonate?
Newborn baby up to four weeks old
What are the physical characteristics of a Neonate?
Average about 7 1/2 pounds Average about 20" long Loses about 10% of the birth weight Large head Receding chin
What are Fontanels?
Soft spots on the head covered by tough membrane
What is Lanugo?
Fuzzy prenatal hair
What is Vernix Caseosa?
Oily protection against infection that dries within the first few days
If an infant doesn’t breathe within 5 minutes of birth, what conditions can cause brain injury to the infants?
Anoxia - lack of oxygen
Hypoxia - reduced oxygen supply
What is Meconium?
A stringy, greenish-black waste matter formed in the fetal intestinal tract
What is Neonatal Jaundice?
Condition, in many newborn babies, caused by immaturity of liver and evidenced by yellowish appearance; can cause brain damage if not related promptly
What Medical Assessment is used to measure a newborn’s condition?
APGAR Scale
What Behavioral Assessment test is used to assess an infant’s neurological status?
Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale
What is the APGAR Scale used for?
Standard measurement of a newborn’s condition
It assesses appearance, pulse, activity, and respiration of a newborn
What does the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale do?
It assesses Motor Organization, Reflexes, State Changes, Attention and Interactive Capacities, and Central Nervous System Instability
State of Arousal
An infant’s physiological and behavioral status at a given moment in the periodic daily cycle of wakefulness, sleep, and activity.
What are Complications of Childbirth?
Low Birth Weight
Stillbirth
What are Premature Infants?
Infants born before completing the 37th week of gestation
What are small-for-date Infants?
Infants whose birth weight is less than that of 90% of babies of the same gestation age, as a result of slow fetal growth
What factors increase the likelihood of having low birth weight babies?
Low Socioeconomic Status
Medical Factors
Prenatal Behavioral and Environmental Factors
Medical Conditions associated with the pregnancy
What is Kangaroo Care?
Method of skin-to-skin contact in which a newborn is laid face down between the mother’s breast or an hour or so at a time after birth.
What is Stillbirth?
The death of a fetus at or after the 20th week of gestation
What are Protective Factors?
Influences that reduce the impact of potentially negative influences and tend to predict positive outcomes
What are examples of Protective Factors?
Individual Attributes
Affectionate ties with at least one family member
rewards at school, work, or church that provide a sense of meaning and control over one’s life
What is Infant Mortality Rate?
Proportion of babies born alive who die within the first year
What is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?
Also known as Crib Death
The sudden death of an infant under age 1 in which the cause of death remains unexplained after a thorough investigation that includes an autopsy
What are the Principles of Development?
Cephalocaudal Principle
Proximodistal Principle
What is the Cephalocaudal Principle?
Principle that development proceeds in a head-to-tail direction, that is, that upper parts of the body develop before the lower parts of the trunk
What is the Proximodistal Principle?
Principle that development proceeds from within to without, that is, that parts of the body near the center develop before the extremities
How does the human body change in proportion during growth?
The head becomes smaller relative to the rest of the body
Subtle changes in the stability of the trunk proportion (neck to crotch)
Increasing leg proportion is almost exactly the reverse of the decreasing head proportion
What are the patterns of growth during the first three years of life?
Rapid Growth Rate
What comprises the Central Nervous System?
The brain, spinal cord, and a growing peripheral network of nerves extending to every part of the body
What are the Major Parts of the Brain?
Cerebellum
Cerebrum
Brain Stem
What is the Brain Stem responsible for?
Bodily functions such as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, circulation, reflex behavior, and the sleep-wake cycle
What is the specialization of the hemispheres called?
Lateralization
What is the left hemisphere responsible for?
Language and Logical Thinking
What is the Right Hemisphere responsible for?
Visual and Spatial functions such as map reading and growing
What is the tough band tissue that joins the two hemispheres of the brain?
The Corpus Callosum
What is the function of the Corpus Callosum?
Allows the two hemispheres to share information and coordinate commands
What are the four lobes of each cerebral hemisphere?
Occipital Lobe
Parietal Lobe
Temporal Lobe
Frontal Lobe
What is the Cerebral Cortex?
The outer surface of the cerebrum
What is the function of the Cerebellum?
Begins to control balance and muscle tone, it later coordinates sensory and motor activity
What is the function of the cerebrum?
It constitutes almost 705 of the weight of the nervous system
It handles thought, memory, language, and emotion, as well as, sensory input and conscious motor control
What is the function of the Occipital Lobe?
It processes Visual Information
What is the function of the Temporal Lobe?
It helps with Hearing and Language
What is the function of the Parietal Lobe?
It receives touch sensations and spatial information and facilitates eye-hand coordination
What is the function of the Frontal Lobe?
It permits such higher-level functions such as speech and reasoning
Grows gradually during the first year
What is the Cerebral Cortex?
The outer surface of the cerebrum, consists of gray matter
What are the structures within the Cerebrum?
Thalamus
Hippocampus
Basal Ganglia
What do the structures within the cerebrum do?
They affect control of basic movements and functions and are largely developed at birth
Describe Brain Development during Gestation.
3 Weeks - Beginning of Fetal Nervous System Development, Closing of the Neural Tube which then develops into the brain and the spinal cord
4 Weeks - Major regions of the brain appear in primitive form (forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain, and optic vesicle)
7 Weeks - Hindbrain and the spinal cord start to develop
3 Months - The Forebrain develops
9 Months - The Brain Stem, an extension of the spinal cord, is almost fully developed at birth
What kind cells is the brain composed of?
Neurons
Glial Cells
What are Neurons?
Nerve cells which send and receive information
What are the Glia or Glial Cells?
These are cells that nourish and protect the neurons
What are Neurons composed of?
Axons
Dendrites
What is the function of Axons?
They send signals to other Neurons
What is the function of Dendrites?
They receive signals from the axons
What are Synapses?
These are the Nervous System’s communication links
What are Brain Growth Spurts?
Fits and Starts of the brain’s growth
What are Neurotransmitters?
Chemicals that are released by the neurons
What processes do Neurons go through as they migrate to their assigned locations?
Integration
Differentiation
What is Differentiation?
Through this, each neuron takes a specific, specialized structure and function
What is Integration?
The process by which the neurons that control various groups of muscles coordinate their activities
What is Cell Death or Pruning?
In brain development, the normal elimination of excess brain cells to achieve more efficient functioning
What is Myelination?
The process which enables signals to travel faster and more slowly, permitting the achievement of mature functioning
What are an infant’s early reflexes?
Moro Reflex, Darwinian (Grasping) Reflex, Tonic Neck Reflex, Babkin Reflex, Babinski Reflex, Rooting Reflex, Walking Reflex, and the Swimming Reflex
What is the Reflex Behavior?
These are automatic, innate responses to stimulation, controlled by lower brain centers that govern other involuntary processes
What are the types of Reflexes?
Primitive Reflexes
Postural Reflexes
Locomotor Reflexes
What are Primitive Reflexes?
These are related to instinctive needs for survival and protection or may support the early connection to a caregiver
What are Postural Reflexes?
These are reactions to changes in position or balance
What are Locomotor Reflexes?
These resemble voluntary movements that do not appear until months after the reflexes have disappeared
What is Plasticity of the Brain?
It is its modifiability or molding through experience and it also enables learning
What are an infant’s Early Sensory Capacities?
Touch and Pain - first to develop, most mature
Smell and Taste - begins to develop in the womb
Hearing - functional before birth
Sight - well developed by 3 months, 20/20 by 8th month
What is a Developmental Milestone?
An achievement that develops systematically, each newly mastered ability preparing a baby to tackle the next
What are Systems of Action?
These are increasingly complex combinations of motor skills, which permit a wider or more precise range of movement and more control of the environment
What does the Denver Developmental Screening Test measure?
It is a screening test given to children 1 month to 6 years old to determine whether they are developing normally or not
It tests Gross Motor Skills, Fine Motor Skills, Language Development, and Personality and Social Development
How does Head Control develop as Infants grow?
Neonates can turn their heads from side to side while lying on their backs
After 2-3 months, they can lift their head higher and higher
After 4 months, they can keep their heads erect while being held or supported in a sitting position
What is the Moro Reflex? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
Baby extends legs, arms, and fingers, arches back, and draws back the head,
Appears on the 7th month of gestation and disappears at 3 months
What is the Darwinian (Grasping Reflex)? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
The baby makes a strong fist, can be raised to a standing position if both fists are closed around a stick
Appears on the 7th month of gestation and disappears during the 4th month
What is a Tonic Neck Reflex? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
The infant turns his/her head to one side, assumes the fencer position, extends arm and leg on preferred side, and flexes opposite limbs
Appears during the 7th month of gestation and disappears during the 5th month
What is the Babkin Reflex? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
The baby’s mouth opens, eyes close, neck flexes, and head tilts forward
Appears at Birth and disappears during the 3rd month
What is the Babinski Reflex? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
The toes fan out and the foot twists in
Appears at birth and disappears during the 9 months
What is the Rooting Reflex? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
The infant’s head turns, mouth opens, and sucking movements begin
Appears during the 1st month and disappears during the 4th month
What is the Walking Reflex? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
The baby makes steplike motions that look like well-coordinated walking
Appears during the 1st month until the 4th month
What is the Swimming Reflex? At what age does this reflex appear and disappear?
The baby makes well–coordinated swimming movements
Appears during the 1st month and disappears during the 4th month
What is Social Referencing?
When infants look to caregiver for clues as to whether a situation is secure or frightening
What is Visual Guidance?
The use of eyes to guide the movement of the hands or other parts of the body
What is Depth Percerption?
The ability to perceive objects and surfaces in three dimensions, depending on several kinds of cues that affect the image of an object on the retina of the eye.
What are Kinetic Cues?
These are produced by movement of the object or the observer or both
What is Haptic Perception?
The ability to acquire information by handling objects rather than simply looking at them, enables babies to respond to such cues as relative size and differences in texture and shading
What is the Ecological Theory of Perception?
Locomotor development depends on increasing sensitivity to physical attributes of the surrounding environment and is an outcome of both perception and action
Who are the proponents of the Ecological Theory of Perception?
Eleanor Gibson and James J. Gibson
What is the Dynamic Systems Theory?
Motor development is a continuous process of interaction between the baby and the environment
Its Principles consist of
1. Element of time
2. Interaction of multiple causes or subsystems
3. Integration of perception and cognition with action
4. Differing developmental pathways of individual children
Who was the proponent of the Dynamic Systems Theory?
Esther Thelen
