Prenatal Development & The Newborn Baby

The Process… A zygote is a fertilized egg (conception – 2 weeks). Developing cells are known as an embryo (2 weeks – 8 weeks). The cells develop, and start to look like an actual human. This is a fetus (9 weeks – birth).

Teratogens Harmful agents that can reach the embryo or fetus AIDS virus Cigarette smoke Alcohol Drugs (illegal & OTC) X-rays Diabetes

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Physical impairment Cognitive impairment 1 in 750 infants Alcohol especially damaging during the embryonic stage because it’s a critical period for development Critical period – window of opportunity

The Baby Is Born!!! Newborns spend about 70% of their time sleeping To study infants, psychologists show them pictures and record their eye movement, changes in heart rate, sucking rate, brain waves, body movements, and perspiration rates

Infants Senses Can see objects soon after birth from about 8-10 inches away The baby can hear before it’s born It turns its head at the sound of its mother’s voice The most important sense to a newborn is smell A week-old baby can smell the difference between its mother and another woman

Sense of Touch Sense of touch so important Helps develop brain connections Baby massage Contact Comfort/ Harry Harlow

Visual Sense Prefer a new picture or pattern vs. an old one Clear contrasts Pictures that resemble faces vs. ones that don’t look like faces Depth perception: visual cliff

Reflexes Grasping Rooting Sucking Stepping Swallowing Moro Babies will wrap their fists around anything put in their hands Rooting If you touch a baby’s cheek, it will turn its head Sucking Putting anything in a baby’s mouth, it will automatically start sucking Stepping Babies make stepping motions when they are held upright with their feet touching a surface Swallowing Allows liquids to go down Moro Startling reflex… when startled, the baby throws it arms and legs into the air, opens its fingers wide searching for its mother’s hand

Temperament (Thomas & Chess) Easy Cheerful, relaxed, predictable Slow-to-warm-up Cautious, but when comfortable, easy Shy Apprehensive of new environments/people Difficult Irritable, intense, unpredictable

HOMEWORK!!! Your temperament is your biological predisposition. It usually doesn’t change over time. Take a few minutes now to write out what you think your temperament is right now Go home tonight and ask your parents, grandparents, siblings, etc. what your temperament was like as an infant

Maturation Natural growth or change that unfolds in a relatively fixed sequence independent of the environment Brain develops neural networks Don’t have memories of life earlier than 3-4

Motor Development Hold head up Roll over Sit unsupported Creep on all fours Crawl Walk Last two can be out of order