Parent and Infant’s Needs and Care

The Apgar score is a score given at one, five and ten minutes after the birth of a child. A score of 7-9 is normal. The score is based on: (0, 1, or 2)  Heart rate  Breathing  Muscle Tone  Responsiveness  Color

INVOLVEMENT EARLY IN THE CHILDREN’S LIVES How many male preschool teachers are there? How many male teachers teach grade K-3? How many male religious teachers teach ages 3-6? How about a male cub scout leader? Different? When was the last time you had a male nurse care for you?

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A FATHER- ½ of all children will spend part of their childhood in a father absent home. 32% of all children are born to unmarried women.  Among African American it is 68%. Children raised in two-parent families rarely experience poverty. Data has linked growing up without a father to:  Under achievement in school  Mental illness  Drug abuse  Youth suicide  Delinquency  Crime  Teen Pregnancy More than just this.

To start making the shirt, cut the top of the card stock into an "M" shape. Fold over the M-shaped area Draw a line down the center. Draw 3 buttons or glue on three paper circle on the paper to the right of the line you just drew. Make a tie from construction paper Glue the top of the tie to the card. The rest of the tie should be free to move. Make a pocket with a handkerchief sticking out of it. Glue a small paper rectangle (the same color as the shirt) onto the shirt. Only put glue on three sides of the pocket -- do not put glue on the top so the handkerchief can slip in and out of the pocket. Cut out a small piece of paper that will fit into the pocket -- this will be the handkerchief.

1. On the tie, write the letters F-A-T-H-E-R going down. For each letter of the word, write a description of what a father should be like to a child and to a family. 2. On the handkerchief tucked in the pocket, write the best advice you have been given or can give about being a father. 3. On the back of the shirt, answer the questions on Postpartum depression from the information in the article. FATHERFATHER

NEWBORN NEEDS A. Social Needs Newborns crave personal HUMAN CONTACT by touching, seeing, hearing, and smelling. B. Cognitive Needs Newborns primarily learn by using their SENSES like Touch, Sight, Hearing, Smell and Taste.

C. Physical Needs 1. Newborns will be truly alert for about 3 min of every hour. As the baby grows, so does its period of WAKEFULNESS. By the end of the first month, most babies are alert for about 2-3 hours of every day. 2. Breast fed babies will feed anywhere from 8-14 times in a 24 hour period. Formula fed babies are usually fed about 6-8 times in a 24 hour period – about every 3-4 hours.  There are PRO’s and CON’s to Both of these types of feedings.  You will spend 3 hours of your day feeding your child. 3. And don’t forget about all of those diapers.  You will spend about 1 hr of your day changing diapers

4. When holding an infant, support its NECK AND HEAD Babies usually like to be held Securely and closely.  SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME (SBS) Is severely shaking a baby often due to impatience with child’s crying. What can it cause: mental retardation, blindness, broken bones, cerebral palsy, death, injury to neck and spine  Tossing the child up into the air or giving it a horsey ride on your knee is not a good idea because it can make their neck and head go back and forth which could cause a mild to severe SBS.

5. To help prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrom (SIDS) place the child on its back and away from anything fluffy like:  blankets, pillows, cushions, comforters, stuffed animals, soft mattress, a mattress that does not snugly fit the crib……  Removal of these will prevent the child from suffocating on the items.

D. Emotional Needs Nurturing / Bonding is simple day-to day interactions that formulate a closeness, the feeling of love, caring and concern, for another person. It has a cementing effect between parent and infant and must be nourished for it to endure.

1. Three basic elements of bonding:  Feeding, Touching, Playing All 3 should occur several times everyday of a child’s life 2. TOUCH is critical in the Bonding process and increasing the child’s MENTAL FUNCTIONING  Failure to thrive  “Marasmus” = Wasting Away

Factors that negatively affect bonding could be:  very expensive child,  very cross or colicky child,  wife is sick,  if child looks like someone the parents does not like,  Postpartum Depression Meeting Baby’s Needs assignments

POSTPARTUM PERIOD Biological Hormone drop Labor, dehydration, blood loss Psychological Question abilities as a mother Overwhelmed Social factors Financial & emotional burden

FYI FYI - From Birth -7 weeks old, the baby cries an average of 2 hours and 15 minutes per day. At 6 weeks the crying usually increases to about 3 hours a day.  COMMUNICATION  Hunger  Pain  Overstimulation  Boredom  Coli  Change of diaper  Uncomfortable  Attention Burp / bubbles, Stomach ache / Gas Illness Too hot or cold Tired Internal rhythm is off Fear Wanting to suck Wanting to beheld Why do they cry?

Infant Soothing techniques fall into 3 categories: - Touch Swaddling, Sucking, Hot (WARM) water bottle, Warm bath, Cuddling… - Motion Rocking, walking, stroller ride / rock, Car ride, Rhythmic patting, bassinet or crib jiggle, knee bend… - Sound Rhythmic chants, Ticking clock, singing, humming, chanting, recording of heartbeat or womb sounds, another voice, White Noise…. Their circadian (internal) rhythm is off balance.

What can a caregiver check when the baby cries?  Diaper, clothing, feeding, urge to suck, wanting to be held, over stimulated, out of internal rhythm, pain, bored What if nothing works? The baby just won’t stop crying and you feel your coping threshold being tested. What can you do?  OPTION 1: Call a friend and have them stay with the baby while you have break.  OPTION 2: RELAX!!!!! Put the baby in its bed, close the door and turn up the TV or the Radio. Check on the baby every minutes.