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An infant or baby is the very young
offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by a single organism or, in the case of sexual reproduction, two organisms. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way. This ca ...
of
human beings Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...
. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of other organisms. A newborn is, in colloquial use, an infant who is only hours, days, or up to one month old. In medical contexts, a newborn or neonate (from Latin, ''neonatus'', newborn) is an infant in the first 28 days after birth; the term applies to
premature Premature may refer to: * ''Premature'' (2014 film), an American comedy film * ''Premature'' (2019 film), an American romantic drama film * '' PREMature'', a 2015 British television drama miniseries See also * Premature aging, of an organism * ...
,
full term Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but can ...
, and postmature infants. Before birth, the offspring is called a
fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...
. The term ''infant'' is typically applied to very young children under one year of age; however, definitions may vary and may include children up to two years of age. When a human child learns to walk, they are called a
toddler A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child ...
instead.


Other uses

In
British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
, an ''
infant school An infant school is a term used primarily in England and Wales, for the education of children between the ages of four and seven years. It is usually a small school serving a particular area. It is sometimes a department in a larger primary school ...
'' is for children aged between four and seven. As a legal term, ''infancy'' is more like being a
minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...
, and continues until a person reaches 18 years of age.


Physical characteristics

A newborn's shoulders and hips are wide, the abdomen protrudes slightly, and the arms and legs are relatively long with respect to the rest of their body.


Head

A newborn's head is very large in proportion to the body, and the
cranium The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, the ...
is enormous relative to his or her face. While the adult human skull is about one seventh of the total body length, the newborn's is about . Normal head circumference for a full-term infant is 33–36 cm at birth. At birth, many regions of the newborn's skull have not yet been converted to bone, leaving "soft spots" known as
fontanel A fontanelle (or fontanel) (colloquially, soft spot) is an anatomical feature of the infant human skull comprising soft membranous gaps ( sutures) between the cranial bones that make up the calvaria of a fetus or an infant. Fontanelles allow f ...
s. The two largest are the diamond-shaped anterior fontanel, located at the top front portion of the head, and the smaller triangular-shaped posterior fontanel, which lies at the back of the head. Later in the child's life, these bones will fuse together in a natural process. A protein called
noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...
is responsible for the delay in an infant's skull fusion. During
labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
and birth, the infant's skull changes shape to fit through the
birth canal In mammals, the vagina is the elastic, muscular part of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vestibule to the cervix. The outer vaginal opening is normally partly covered by a thin layer of mucosal tissue called the hymen. ...
, sometimes causing the child to be born with a misshapen or elongated head. It will usually return to normal on its own within a few days or weeks. Special exercises sometimes advised by
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
s may assist the process.


Hair

Some newborns have a fine, downy body hair called
lanugo Lanugo is very thin, soft, usually unpigmented, downy hair that is sometimes found on the body of a fetus or newborn. It is the first hair to be produced by the fetal hair follicles, and it usually appears around sixteen weeks of gestation and is ...
. It may be particularly noticeable on the back, shoulders, forehead, ears and face of premature infants. Lanugo disappears within a few weeks. Infants may be born with full heads of hair; others, particularly
caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...
infants, may have very fine hair or may even be bald. Amongst fair-skinned parents, this fine hair may be blonde, even if the parents are not. An infant's hair color and texture can change: red can give way to blond, curly can go straight, and thick, dark hair could reappear a lot sparser and lighter. The
scalp The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the human face at the front, and by the neck at the sides and back. Structure The scalp is usually described as having five layers, which can conveniently be remembered as a mnemonic: * S: The ski ...
may also be temporarily
bruise A bruise, also known as a contusion, is a type of hematoma of tissue, the most common cause being capillaries damaged by trauma, causing localized bleeding that extravasates into the surrounding interstitial tissues. Most bruises occur close ...
d or swollen, especially in hairless newborns, and the area around the eyes may be puffy.


Length

In
developed countries A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...
, the average total body length of a newborn is , although premature newborns may be much smaller. The way to measure a baby's length is to lay the baby down and stretch a measuring tape from the top of the head to the bottom of the heel.


Weight

In developed countries, the average
birth weight Birth weight is the body weight of a baby at its birth. The average birth weight in babies of European descent is , with the normative range between . On average, babies of South Asian and Chinese descent weigh about . As far as low birth weight ...
of a full-term newborn is approximately , and is typically in the range of . Over the first 5–7 days following birth, the body weight of a term neonate decreases by 3–7%, and is largely a result of the resorption and urination of the fluid that initially fills the lungs, in addition to a delay of often a few days before
breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
becomes effective. After the first week, healthy term neonates should gain 10–20 grams/day.


Skin

Immediately after birth, a newborn's skin is often grayish to dusky blue in color. As soon as the newborn begins to breathe, usually within a minute or two, the skin's color reaches its normal tone. Newborns are wet, covered in streaks of blood, and coated with a white substance known as
vernix caseosa Vernix caseosa, also known as vernix or birthing custard, is the waxy white substance found coating the skin of newborn human babies. It is produced by dedicated cells and is thought to have some protective roles during fetal development and for ...
, which is hypothesised to act as an
antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...
barrier. The newborn may also have
Mongolian spot A Mongolian spot, also known as slate grey nevus or congenital dermal melanocytosis, is a benign, flat, congenital birthmark with wavy borders and an irregular shape. In 1883, it was described and named after Mongolians by Erwin Bälz, a German a ...
s, various other
birthmark A birthmark is a congenital, benign irregularity on the skin which is present at birth or appears shortly after birth—usually in the first month. They can occur anywhere on the skin. Birthmarks are caused by overgrowth of blood vessels, melanocy ...
s, or peeling skin, particularly on the wrists, hands, ankles, and feet.


Umbilical cord

The
umbilical cord In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or ''funiculus umbilicalis'') is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiologic ...
of a newborn is bluish-white in color. After birth, the umbilical cord is normally cut, leaving a 1–2 inch stub. The umbilical stub will dry out, shrivel, darken, and spontaneously fall off within about 3 weeks. This will later become a belly-button after it heals. The umbilical cord contains three vessels: two arteries and one vein. The two arteries carry blood from the baby to the placenta while one vein carries blood back to the baby.


Genitals

A newborn's
genitals A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
are enlarged and reddened, with male infants having an unusually large
scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum cont ...
. The breasts may also be enlarged, even in male infants. This is caused by naturally occurring maternal hormones and is a temporary condition. Females (and even males) may actually discharge milk from their nipples (sometimes called
witch's milk Witch's milk or neonatal milk is milk secreted from the breasts of some newborn human infants of either sex. Neonatal milk secretion is considered a normal physiological occurrence and no treatment or testing is necessary. It is thought to be cau ...
), or a bloody or milky-like substance from the vagina. In either case, this is considered normal and will disappear with time.


Care and feeding

Infants
cry Crying is the dropping of tears (or welling of tears in the eyes) in response to an emotional state, or pain. Emotions that can lead to crying include sadness, anger, and even happiness. The act of crying has been defined as "a complex secreto ...
as a form of basic instinctive communication. A crying infant may be trying to express a variety of feelings including hunger, discomfort, overstimulation, boredom, wanting something, or loneliness.
Breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
is the recommended method of feeding by all major infant health organizations. If breastfeeding is not possible or desired, bottle feeding is done with expressed breast-milk or with
infant formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...
. Infants are born with a sucking reflex allowing them to extract the milk from the
nipple The nipple is a raised region of tissue on the surface of the breast from which, in females, milk leaves the breast through the lactiferous ducts to feed an infant. The milk can flow through the nipple passively or it can be ejected by smooth mu ...
s of the breasts or the nipple of the
baby bottle A baby bottle, nursing bottle, or feeding bottle is a bottle with an attached ''teat'' (also called a ''nipple'' in the US) on the top opening, on which can be suckled, and from thereby drunk directly. It is typically used by infants and young ...
, as well as an instinctive behavior known as ''rooting'' with which they seek out the nipple. Sometimes a
wet nurse A wet nurse is a woman who breastfeeds and cares for another's child. Wet nurses are employed if the mother dies, or if she is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cu ...
is hired to feed the infant, although this is rare, especially in developed countries. Adequate food consumption at an early age is vital for an infant's development. The foundations of optimum health, growth, and neurodevelopment across the lifespan are established in the
first 1000 days The first 1000 days is a concept in child development that public health interventions which support children during their first 1000 days of life are especially effective. Good nutrition at this time affects many health outcomes. There are vario ...
of life. From birth to six months, infants should consume only breast milk or an unmodified milk substitute. As an infant's diet matures, finger foods may be introduced as well as fruit, vegetables and small amounts of meat. As infants grow,
food supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
s can be added. Many parents choose commercial, ready-made
baby food Baby food is any soft easily consumed food other than breastmilk or infant formula that is made specifically for human babies between four and six months and two years old. The food comes in many varieties and flavors that are purchased ready-mad ...
s to supplement breast milk or formula for the child, while others adapt their usual meals for the dietary needs of their child. Whole cow's
milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...
can be used at one year, but lower-fat milk is not recommended until the child is 2 to 3 years old. Weaning is the process through which breast milk is eliminated from the infant's diet through the introduction of solid foods in exchange for milk. Until they are toilet-trained, infants in industrialized countries wear
diaper A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American and Canadian English) or a nappy ( Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate Defecation (or defaecation) follows dig ...
s. The transition from diapers to training pants is an important transition in the development of an infant/baby to that of a toddler. Children need more sleep than adults—up to 18 hours for newborn babies, with a declining rate as the child ages. Until babies learn to walk, they are carried in the arms, held in slings or baby carriers, or transported in baby carriages or strollers. Most industrialized countries have laws requiring
child safety seat A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most c ...
s for babies in motor vehicles.


Common care issues

*
Baby colic Baby colic, also known as infantile colic, is defined as episodes of crying for more than three hours a day, for more than three days a week, for three weeks in an otherwise healthy child. Often crying occurs in the evening. It typically does not ...
*
Bassinet A bassinet, bassinette, or cradle is a bed specifically for babies from birth to about four months. Bassinets are generally designed to work with fixed legs or caster wheels, while cradles are generally designed to provide a rocking or glidi ...
/ crib *
Cradle cap Cradle cap or cradle hat causes crusty or oily scaly patches on a baby's scalp. The condition is not painful or itchy, but it can cause thick white or yellow scales that are not easy to remove. Cradle cap most commonly begins sometime in the fir ...
*
Day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
*
Diaper rash Irritant diaper dermatitis (IDD, also called a diaper/nappy rash) is a generic term applied to skin rash in the diaper nappy area that are caused by various skin disorders and/or irritants. Generic irritant diaper/nappy dermatitis is characteriz ...
*
Infant massage Infant massage is a type of complementary and alternative medicine, complementary and alternative treatment that uses massage therapy for babies. Evidence is insufficient to support its use in either full term or preterm babies to achieve physical ...
*
Immunization Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ''non-sel ...
*
Pacifier A pacifier is a rubber, plastic, or silicone nipple substitute given to an infant to suckle upon between feedings to quiet its distress by satisfying the need to suck when it does not need to eat. Pacifiers normally have three parts: an elongate ...
*
Paternal bond A paternal bond is the human bond between a father and his child. Father-infant bonding Infants can become attached to their fathers. Mother-infant bonding has been a common focus in household research; however, more studies in the United Sta ...
*
Swaddling Swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloths so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. Swaddling fell out of favour in the 17th cent ...
*
Teething Teething is the process by which an infant's first teeth (the deciduous teeth, often called "baby teeth" or "milk teeth") appear by emerging through the gums, typically arriving in pairs. The mandibular central incisors are the first primary te ...


Benefits of touch

Experiments have been done with infants up to four months of age using both positive touch (stroking or
cuddling A hug is a form of endearment, universal in most human communities, in which two or more people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. If more than two people are involved, it may be referred ...
) and negative touch (poking, pinching, or tickling). The infants who received the positive touch cried less often and vocalized and smiled more than the infants who were touched negatively. Infants who were the recipients of negative touch have also been linked with emotional and behavioral problems later in life. A lower amount of physical violence in adults has been discovered in cultures with greater levels of positive physical touching.


Language development

Caregivers of an infant are advised to pick up on the infant's facial expressions and mirror them. Reproducing and empathizing with their facial expressions enables infants to experience effectiveness and to recognize their own actions more easily (see
mirror neuron A mirror neuron is a neuron that fires both when an animal acts and when the animal observes the same action performed by another. Thus, the neuron "mirrors" the behavior of the other, as though the observer were itself acting. Such neurons hav ...
s). Exaggeratedly reproduced facial expressions and gestures are recommended, as they are clearer forms of expression. The baby's babbling should also be picked up and repeated. By imitating each other's sounds the first simple dialogues are initiated. Kostenloser Volltext Accentuated pronunciation and melodic intonation make it easier to recognize individual words in a sentence. However, it is not advisable to use simplified "
baby talk Baby talk is a type of speech associated with an older person speaking to a child or infant. It is also called caretaker speech, infant-directed speech (IDS), child-directed speech (CDS), child-directed language (CDL), caregiver register, parent ...
" (e.g. "Did you 'ouch'?" instead of, "Did you hurt yourself?"). Even if parents cannot yet understand infants' babbling, a timely response by parents to babbling leads to faster language acquisition. This was confirmed by researchers who first studied mothers' behavior towards 8-month-old infants and later tested the infants' vocabulary when they were 15 months old. A first important development of infants is the discovery that they can influence their parents through babbling (development of intentional communication). Parents can encourage this by engaging with their infants in babbling. This in turn promotes further language development, as infants then turn to their parents more often. Previous studies have shown that the infant's speech is encouraged when parents, for example, smile in the infant's direction or touch the infant every time the infant looks at them and babbles. It also helps if parents respond to what they think their baby is saying (for example, giving a ball or commenting when the baby looks at the ball and babbles). Responding to sounds produced when the baby looks at an object (object-directed vocalizations) thus provide an opportunity to learn the name of the object. In this way, babies also learn that sounds are associated with objects. However, language development is only achieved if parents react positively (e.g. smile) in response to the infant's babbling. A high response rate without a connection to the infant's utterances does not lead to language promotion. It is detrimental to language development if a mother instead tries to divert the infant's attention to something else.


Sleep

A 2018 review analysed 146 studies on infant sleep behavior and listed several factors that show an effect on sleep duration and the number of night wakings. For example, stimulating daytime activities, reading aloud before sleeping, early bedtime, a sleep routine, and avoiding television and media exposure before bedtime are associated with longer sleep duration and fewer nighttime awakenings. Furthermore, strong parental involvement at falling asleep is associated with shorter sleep duration, slower falling asleep and more frequent night-time awakenings in the studies analysed. Strong parental involvement is understood to include parental presence, cradling, or breastfeeding at bedtime, as well as carrying the infant to sleep and then putting the infant down. Strong parental involvement has a negative effect on infant sleep because the infant cannot develop the ability to self-soothe. On the other hand, low parental involvement at bedtime gives the infant room to learn self-soothing and self-regulation. In 2020, a Finnish study established (according to the research leader) for the first time a reference value for infant sleep quality based on a large
data set A data set (or dataset) is a collection of data. In the case of tabular data, a data set corresponds to one or more database tables, where every column of a table represents a particular variable, and each row corresponds to a given record of the ...
(about 5,700 babies). Almost 40% of the participating parents with eight-month-old babies said they were worried about their sleep. In fact, sleep problems were common; however, children fall asleep faster, wake up less often during the night and stay awake less late at night the older they get. At the same time, total sleep time decreases. The study was also able to determine reference values for normal sleep (see table). Children who sleep significantly less than average would usually benefit from supportive measures, for which a number of methods would be available (a discussion with the pediatrician or see, for example, the article on sleep training). : = normal sleep : =
Sleep hygiene Sleep hygiene is a behavioral and environmental practice developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people with insomnia and other conditions, such as depression, ...
should be improved
: = it is recommended to seek help (
pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
, sleep counselling).


Maternal sensitivity

Maternal sensitivity plays a particular role in the relationship with the infant and for favorable emotional development. This means being attentive to the infant's behavioral expressions, not misinterpreting the infant's expressions because of one's own moods, reacting immediately to the situation and finding a response that is appropriate to the context and the expressed needs. A secure attachment is promoted through empathetic and adequate as well as prompt responses.Kathrin Keller-Schuhmacher (2010) ''Bindung – von der Theorie zur Praxis: worauf kommt es an?'' Referat anlässlich der Fachtagung der AWO vom 8. November 2010 in Freiburg i.Br.
(PDF; 111 kB).
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Helmut Johnson (2006) ''Bindungsstörungen Material zur Systemischen Arbeit in Erziehung und Betreuung''
(PDF; 72 kB).
/ref> In accordance with their basic needs, infants show an inborn behavior of seeking closeness to the mother – or to another primary caregiver – and thus in turn foster an attachment. When separated from the mother, infants protest by crying and by body movements.


Other

Wearing has a calming effect on infants. A 2013 study showed that infants placed in a cradle cried and kicked more often and had an
increased heart rate Tachycardia, also called tachyarrhythmia, is a heart rate that exceeds the normal resting rate. In general, a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute is accepted as tachycardia in adults. Heart rates above the resting rate may be normal (su ...
(so the infants were stressed), while those picked up and carried by the mother while walking around calmed down significantly. The effect of being held motionless in the arm was intermediate between that of being carried around and that of being put down. That carrying (e.g., in a
baby sling A baby sling or baby carrier is generally made of soft fabrics that wrap around the chest. They provide comfort and support for the baby and allow the parent or carer to keep their hands free as they go about their everyday tasks. There are a ...
) makes infants more content and makes them cry less had already been shown in a randomized study in 1986. For infant feeding,
breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
is recommended by all major infant health organizations. Many
airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...
refuse boarding for all babies aged under 7 days (for domestic flights) or 14 days for international flights.
Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...
allows babies to board international flights at 7 days of age.
Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, operat ...
disallows all babies under the age of 14 days to board any flights.
Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
allows infants to travel when they are less than 7 days old when they present a physician travel approval letter. Skywest will not allow an infant less than 8 days old on board.


Behaviour


Emotional development

Attachment theory is primarily an
evolutionary Evolution is change in the heredity, heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the Gene expression, expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to ...
and
ethological Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objective ...
theory whereby the infant or child ''seeks proximity'' to a ''specified attachment figure'' in situations of alarm or distress for the purpose of survival. "Until recently, scientific accounts ... of the infant's early social experiences converged on the view that the infant progresses from a primary relationship with one individual... to relationships with a growing number of people... This is an epigenetic, hierarchical view of social development. We have labeled this dominant view the continuous care and contact model (CCC...). The CCC model developed from the writings of Spitz..., Bowlby..., and Provence and Lipton... on institutionalized children and is represented in the psychological views of Bowlby... nd others Common to the different conceptual frameworks is the belief that parenting practices and the infant's capacity for social engagement are biologically based and conform to a prototypical form. Supporters of the CCC model generally recognize that the infant and caregiver are able to adjust to a range of conditions, but they consider the adjustments observed to reflect biological variation. However, more extreme views (e.g., maternal bonding) consider certain variants as non adaptive and as compromising the child's psychological development. Bowlby's concept of monotropism is an exemplar of the CCC perspective...". The forming of attachments is considered to be the foundation of the infant/child's capacity to form and conduct relationships throughout life. Attachment is not the same as love or affection although they often go together. Attachment and attachment
behavior Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as wel ...
s tend to develop between the age of 6 months and 3 years. Infants become attached to adults who are sensitive and responsive in
social interaction A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
s with the infant, and who remain as consistent caregivers for some time. Parental responses lead to the development of patterns of attachment, which in turn lead to 'internal working models' which will guide the individual's feelings, thoughts, and expectations in later relationships.Bretherton, I. and Munholland, K., A. Internal Working Models in Attachment Relationships: A Construct Revisited. ''Handbook of Attachment:Theory, Research and Clinical Applications'' 1999 eds Cassidy, J. and Shaver, P., R. Guilford press There are a number of attachment 'styles' namely 'secure', 'anxious-ambivalent', 'anxious-avoidant', (all 'organized') and 'disorganized', some of which are more problematic than others. A lack of attachment or a seriously disrupted capacity for attachment could potentially amount to serious disorders. Infants develop distinct relationships to their mothers, fathers, siblings, and non-familial caregivers. Beside the dyadic attachment relationships also a good quality of the triadic relationships (mother – father – infant) is important for infant mental health development.


Response to sounds

Infants respond to the sound of snake hissing, angry voices of adults, the crackling sound of a fire, thunder, and the cries of other infants. They have a drop in heart rate, their eyes blinking, increased turning toward the speakers or parent, all of these indicating that they were paying more attention. This is believed to be an evolutionary response to danger. Babies' ability to accurately locate sounds is refined during their first year.


Health issues


Diseases

The infant is undergoing many adaptations to extrauterine life, and its physiological systems, such as the
immune system The immune system is a network of biological processes that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinte ...
, are far from fully developed. Potential diseases of concern during the neonatal period include: *
Neonatal jaundice Neonatal jaundice is a yellowish discoloration of the white part of the eyes and skin in a newborn baby due to high bilirubin levels. Other symptoms may include excess sleepiness or poor feeding. Complications may include seizures, cerebral pals ...
*
Infant respiratory distress syndrome Infantile respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also called respiratory distress syndrome of newborn, or increasingly surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants c ...
*
Neonatal lupus erythematosus Neonatal lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease in an infant born to a mother with anti-Ro/SSA and with or without anti-La/SSB antibodies. The disease most commonly presents with a rash resembling subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and c ...
*
Neonatal conjunctivitis Neonatal conjunctivitis is a form of conjunctivitis (inflammation of the outer eye) which affects newborn babies following birth. It is typically due to neonatal bacterial infection, although can also be non-infectious (e.g. chemical exposure). I ...
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Neonatal tetanus Neonatal tetanus (''trismus nascentium'') is a form of generalised tetanus that occurs in newborns. Infants who have not acquired passive immunity from an immunized mother are at risk. It usually occurs through infection of the unhealed umbilical ...
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Neonatal sepsis Neonatal sepsis is a type of neonatal infection and specifically refers to the presence in a newborn baby of a bacterial blood stream infection (BSI) (such as meningitis, pneumonia, pyelonephritis, or gastroenteritis) in the setting of fever. ...
* Neonatal bowel obstruction *
Benign neonatal seizures Benign neonatal seizures include two disorders: benign idiopathic neonatal seizures and benign familial neonatal seizures. They are not classified as epilepsy. Anticonvulsants are not needed. And those affected do not develop epilepsy when they grow ...
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Neonatal diabetes mellitus Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) is a disease that affects an infant and their body's ability to produce or use insulin. NDM is a monogenic (controlled by a single gene) form of diabetes that occurs in the first 6 months of life. Infants do not pr ...
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Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia Neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAITP, NAIT, NATP or NAT) is a disease that affects babies in which the platelet count is decreased because the mother's immune system attacks her fetus' or newborn's platelets. A low platelet count increases ...
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Neonatal herpes simplex Neonatal herpes simplex is a rare but serious condition, usually caused by vertical transmission of the herpes simplex virus from mother to newborn. Around 1 in every 3,500 babies in the United States contract the infection. Signs and Symptoms Ne ...
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Neonatal hemochromatosis Neonatal Hemochromatosis is a rare and severe liver disease of unknown origin, though research suggests that it may be alloimmune condition. Its characteristics are similar to hereditary hemochromatosis, where iron deposition causes damage to the ...
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Neonatal meningitis Neonatal meningitis is a serious medical condition in infants that is rapidly fatal if untreated. Meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges, the protective membranes of the central nervous system, is more common in the neonatal period (infants ...
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Neonatal hepatitis Neonatal hepatitis refers to many forms of liver dysfunction that affects fetuses and neonates. It is most often caused by viruses or metabolic diseases, and many cases are of an unknown cause. Signs and symptoms The infant with neonatal hepatiti ...
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Neonatal hypoglycemia Neonatal hypoglycemia occurs when the neonate's blood glucose level is less than the newborn's body requirements for factors such as cellular energy and metabolism. There is inconsistency internationally for diagnostic thresholds. In the US, hypog ...


Mortality

Infant mortality is the death of an infant in the first year of life, often expressed as the number of deaths per 1000 live births (infant mortality rate). Major causes of infant mortality include
dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water, with an accompanying disruption of metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds free water intake, usually due to exercise, disease, or high environmental temperature. Mil ...
,
infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...
,
congenital malformation A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at childbirth, birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disability, disabilities that may be physical disability, physical, intellect ...
and
SIDS Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the sudden unexplained death of a child of less than one year of age. Diagnosis requires that the death remain unexplained even after a thorough autopsy and detailed death scene investigation. SIDS usual ...
. This
epidemiological Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...
indicator is recognized as a very important measure of the level of health care in a country because it is directly linked with the
health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
status of infants, children, and pregnant women as well as access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and
public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
practices. There is a positive relationship between national wealth and good health. The rich and industrialized countries of the world, prominently
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the United Kingdom, the United States, and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, spend a large proportion of their wealthy budget on the health care system. As, a result, their health care systems are very sophisticated, with many physicians, nurses, and other health care experts servicing the population. Thus, infant mortality is low. On the other hand, a country such as Mexico, which spends disproportionately less of its budget on healthcare, suffers from high mortality rates. This is because the general population is likely to be less healthy. In the U.S., infant mortality rates are especially high in minority groups. For instance, non-Hispanic black women have an infant mortality rate of 13.63 per 1000 live births whereas in non-Hispanic white women it was much lower at a rate of 5.76 per 1000 live births. The average infant mortality rate in the U.S. is 6.8 per 1000 live births.


Babyhood

Babyhood is a critical period in
personality development Personality development encompasses the dynamic construction and deconstruction of integrative characteristics that distinguish an individual in terms of interpersonal behavioral traits. Personality development is ever-changing and subject to cont ...
when the foundations of adult personality are laid. In contrast
toddler A toddler is a child approximately 12 to 36 months old, though definitions vary. The toddler years are a time of great cognitive, emotional and social development. The word is derived from "to toddle", which means to walk unsteadily, like a child ...
is used to denote a baby that has achieved relative independence, in moving about, and feeding.Developmental Psychology. p. 121 1998 "However, Hurlock (1982) cites that infancy, compared to babyhood, is characterized by extreme helplessness. The word baby may likewise suggest a helpless individual; hence, the word toddler has been increasingly used to denote a baby that has achieved enough control of his body to permit relative independence, such as' moving about, feeding himself, etc. Characteristics of Babyhood The most important characteristics of babyhood are listed below: 1. It is the true foundation age .."


References


External links


American Academy of Pediatrics

The World Health Report 2005 – Make Every Mother and Child

Infant eyesight
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...
* {{Authority control Infancy hr:Novorođenče