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...
Infant reflexes, or primitive reflexes, are involuntary muscle reactions that occur when a baby is stimulated in a specific way. These movements cause specific muscles to produce a predictable reaction. These reactions help the baby survive...
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports that approximately 40 million American adults are living with an anxiety disorder. An anxiety disorder causes disruptive symptoms that persist for at least six months and interfere with daily...
Many babies like to be swaddled for the first few months of life. Swaddling provides warmth and a sense of security for infants, helps keep them calm and prevents them from getting upset by their over-active startle reflex, explains BabyCenter....
Wrapping your baby in a receiving blanket, or swaddling, can help him feel warm, settled and secure during his first few weeks of life. Swaddling can also prevent your baby from being wakened repeatedly by his startle reflex. While swaddling may...
As your baby gets older, you might be surprised to see her in constant motion, even before she can roll over or crawl. Babies learn about the world around them by moving their body and interacting with their environment. Your baby's arm movements...
Tourette's syndrome is a neurological disorder that was first described by French neurologist Gilles de la Tourette in 1885. Tourette noticed in his practice a small group of mostly pediatric patients that had similar patterns of symptoms that...
At 25 weeks, a woman is over the half-way mark of her pregnancy, which lasts 40 weeks. The fetus has gone from a sperm and an egg to a cluster of dividing cells, and now resembles a human. As the pregnancy progresses from this week, the baby's...
Every new parent experiences anxiety about the ability to care for a newborn. Soon, you will realize that your baby is teaching you the basics through on-the-job-training and the rest comes from learning to trust your instincts. Unfortunately,...
Swaddling is the process of wrapping your baby up tightly in a receiving blanket. Some newborns seem to sleep better with swaddling, which closely mimics the close confines of the uterus. However, other newborns prefer a modification of the...
Aromatherapy is the practice of using aromatic essential oils from plants to achieve physical and psychological benefits. You can enjoy the aromas of essential oils by warming them in fragrance diffusers, or add them to gels or lotions and apply...
Hypoglycemia---blood sugar (blood glucose) less than 30 mg/dl (milligrams per deciliter) in the first 24 hours of life---occurs most frequently in newborn infants of diabetic mothers, babies who are small for gestational age (SGA) and premature...
Every newborn baby has varying temperaments and developmental patterns. The newborn stage only lasts three months, and as she grows, these personality traits will become more pronounced. While normal developmental patterns vary from one baby to...
Anxiety is often a result of fear or stress about the future or control over one's life. There are many emotional and physical symptoms of anxiety. It may cause a patient to spend too much time involved in mentally rehashing problems and issues....
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an embryo becomes a fetus in its ninth week of development. Between its ninth and 20th weeks, it has long, thin limbs and a well-defined face. Its genitals are defined, and the first buds...
Pregnancy is a time of rapid growth and change for Mom and the baby. Pregnancy is divided into trimesters, and a full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks. It's normal to wonder about the growth of your fetus and his formation, and what bodily changes are...
When a woman becomes pregnant, her body changes in many ways as she awaits the birth of her baby. Within the uterus, the fetus goes through several stages of development. Over a period of approximately 40 weeks, your baby will develop from a...
Women who are addicted to heroin are often given methadone, a synthetic narcotic, to take instead of heroin. Methadone withdrawal is probably the most common withdrawal seen in newborns, according to Marvin Wang, M.D. Mothers who take methadone...
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...
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...
Kernicterus is brain damage caused by high levels of bilirubin in the brains of newborn infants. Kernicterus is caused by high levels of bilirubin in a baby's blood, a condition known as jaundice, or hyperbilirubinemia, according to the Merck...
Children have been swaddled since before the 18th century, according to the "Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics." Swaddling involves tightly wrapping a baby in a blanket, states the Baby Center website. Hospital personnel...
A newborn baby is a fascinating little creature who melts the hearts of everyone who holds him. For first-time parents, knowing what to expect from their newborn baby can be overwhelming. Your little bundle may be tiny, but his needs are often...
The first year of a child's life is spent communicating entirely through nonverbal means. Infants use every part of their bodies to convey their wants and needs as their parents and caregivers respond to meet them. Dr. Bruce Perry states that this...
From conception to birth, a baby undergoes dramatic changes in its mother's uterus. Fertilization occurs at the two week mark, and the baby is only a small cluster of cells. By the 40 week mark, however, that cluster has become a full-grown...
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...
After an egg is fertilized, it implants itself in the mother's uterus and begins the process of developing from a single cell to a full-term fetus over the course of approximately 38 weeks. Fetal development follows a consistent set of stage-like...
Pregnancy consists of three stages called trimesters. Most healthy pregnancies progress at approximately the same rate, but many variables can affect fetal development during each trimester. For this reason, the American Pregnancy Association...
Your child's rapid and irregular physical development through childhood may surprise you. Great changes take place during his first three years, as 75 percent of his brain growth happens in that short time, according to Growing Child. His motor...
