Infants are born with a number of vital reflexes that help them to survive. One of these is the swallowing reflex, which plays an important role in breastfeeding. Because sucking and swallowing are the main components of breastfeeding, this reflex...
The infant period is generally defined as birth to 1 year of age. During this time, discernible physiologic changes occur in all organ systems. In addition, your infant develops the ability to respond to external stimulation. At birth, he has...
According to the Mayo Clinic, more than half of all babies experience acid reflux as known as gastroesophageal reflux or GERD. The website Kid's Health says that GERD occurs when acid from the stomach backs up into the esophagus. This generally...
You're baby enters the world preprogrammed with several reflexes -- one of which is coughing. While hearing a newborn cough can be distressing, you can also take comfort in the idea that strong reflexes indicate healthy brain and neurological...
Made of circular muscles that contract and relax, the esophagus is a narrow tube that allows the passage of food to travel from the mouth down the throat. However, food can get stuck if it is not chewed properly or large chunks are swallowed...
Every baby is born with primitive reflexes. The symmetrical tonic neck reflex (STNF) is visible between 6 and 9 months of age. The STNF helps the baby rise up to his hands and knees and prepares him for crawling. Progressing through different...
Yawning is a reflex that is natural in infants and persists into adulthood. The University of Maryland Medical Center describes yawning as an involuntary opening of the mouth usually accompanied by breathing in a large breath. If your infant is...
Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe permanent motor damage. Cerebral palsy does not always indicate intellectual impairment, although two-thirds of people with CP have some mental disability, according to the National Institute of...
Cerebral palsy is the name for a condition in which brain damage affects areas that control muscle movement. Cerebral palsy affects fewer than 1 percent of babies born overall but affects up to 15 percent of premature infants. Cerebral palsy does...
Range of motion, or ROM, refers to the degree of movement in a person's joints. Passive ROM is often used to assess muscle tone and maintain joint mobility in infants and people with mobility disorders. In passive ROM, the subject does not use his...
In the first two years of life, infants undergo a series of rapid cognitive developments. Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, developed a theory of development to describe this process. His theory includes four stages: the sensorimotor,...
Newborns come home from the hospital and immediately begin confusing parents with some of their behaviors. When an infant stiffens her arms, it does not have to mean anything medically serious, although if the baby displays other troublesome...
Cerebral palsy (CP) is a condition that occurs due to damage to the brain. The areas of the brain involved are the ones that are responsible for controlling movement and posture. There are different types of CP and in most cases the cause is...
Children grow quickly during the first year, often tripling their birth weight and doubling their height, according to Keep Kids Healthy. Your infant's development depends on loving interaction and communication. Talk to your infant during...
If an infant is born prior to 37 weeks of gestation, she is referred to as a premature baby. According to the National Institutes of Health, preterm infants have an excellent chance of survival beyond 28 weeks of gestation. They are likely,...
The relationship between nutrition and infant development is symbiotic--good nutrition leads to healthy infant development and the rate at which an infant develops determines what they eat, how they are fed and their nutritional requirements....
The startle reflex, also known as the Moro reflex, is characterized by an infant appearing startled and throwing her arms and legs outward as if she is falling. It is a normal reflex that disappears between 3 and 6 months of age, according to the...
Asperger's syndrome, considered by some researchers to be a mild form of autism, according to MayoClinic.com, consists of problems with socializing and communication with other people. The "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders"...
Infant muscle development begins with reflexes and expands to include increasing control of large and small muscles. As your baby uses his muscles during play, he grows stronger and learns to control movement. To promote healthy muscle...
You may remember fondly the days your abdomen moved in response to his hiccups. However, when your baby is born, it may be distressing to see him have hiccups, seemingly at random. Hiccups in infants are completely normal, states Healthy Children,...
The changes you notice in your baby come from an interplay between your child's physical development and his interaction with the environment. Although at least some of your baby's development is directed by his genes, babies need proper...
Infants have rapidly developing senses and motor reflexes, which can be enhanced through play. Games that incorporate language and repetition can help stimulate sound and word recognition, as well as provide another means of communication. Playing...
Child development refers to a child's ability to perform tasks of greater complexity as he gets older. The sequence at which a child develops is orderly and predictable, but different children develop at different rates. Child development involves...
The human body protects itself with involuntary reflexes, like blinking your eyes to avoid incoming debris or lifting your hand to your face to deflect a snowball. Reflexes are your body's way of interacting with the world when there isn't time to...
Newborn babies are often a mystery to their parents. Adding to the mystery is the fact that crying is the only way newborns can communicate. After a few weeks, parents get to know their babies and can often tell when their babies are hungry or...
Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders affecting muscle and movement; it is caused by damage to the brain during pregnancy, at birth or in early childhood. The effects of cerebral palsy vary, depending on the degree of damage and on the area of...
Hiccups, a common infant behavior or reflex that begins in the womb, occur when the diaphragm contracts. What exactly causes infant hiccups remains uncertain, although several theories exist as well as several anecdotal cures. Fortunately, hiccups...
Feeding your newborn offers a quiet time to bond with him and to offer him the nourishment he needs to grow. Parents can choose between breastfeeding and bottle feeding or a combination of the two. However parents choose to feed their newborn, the...
The infant stage of life is one of the most fragile and one of the most important. During the first 12 months of life, your baby will go from being completely dependent on you for everything to being able to move around on her own. She will...
