BIRTH AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE FIRST THREE YEARS DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

focuses on the scientific study of the systematic processes of change and stability in people.

DEVELOPMENTAL SCIENTISTS

 look at ways in which people change from conception through maturity as well as at characteristics that remain fairly stable.

LABOR

 an apt term for the process of giving birth.

PARTURITION

the act or process of giving birth, and it typically begins about 2 weeks before delivery.

STAGE 1: DILATION OF THE CERVIX

regular and increasingly frequent uterine contractions—15 to 20 minutes apart at first—cause the cervix to shorten and dilate, or widen, in preparation for delivery

STAGE 2: DESCENT AND EMERGENCE OF THE BABY

 It begins when the baby’s head begins to move through the cervix into the vaginal canal, and it ends when the baby emerges completely from the mother’s body.

STAGE 3: EXPULSION OF THE PLACENTA

During this stage, the placenta and the remainder of the umbilical cord are expelled from the mother.

ELECTRONIC FETAL MONITORING

used to track the fetus’s heartbeat during labor and delivery and to indicate how the fetal heart is responding to the stress of uterine contractions.

VAGINAL DELIVERY

the usual method of childbirth; normal delivery

CESAREAN DELIVERY

used to surgically remove the baby from the uterus through an incision in the mother’s abdomen.

NATURAL CHILDBIRTH

Method of childbirth that seeks to prevent pain by eliminating the mother’s fear through education about the physiology of reproduction and training in breathing and relaxation during delivery

PREPARED CHILDBIRTH

Method of childbirth that uses instruction, breathing exercises, and social support to induce controlled physical responses to uterine contractions and reduce fear and pain.

LAMAZE METHOD

acknowledges that labor is painful and teaches expectant mothers to work actively with their bodies through controlled breathing.

LEBOYER METHOD

a woman gives birth in a quiet room under low lights to reduce stress, and the newborn is gently massaged to ease crying.

MICHAEL ODENT

he developed the technique of  submersion of the laboring mother in a soothing pool of water.

BRADLEY METHOD

rejects all obstetrical procedures and other medical interventions.

PUDENDAL BLOCK

anaesthesia given during the second stage of labor.

ANALGESIC (painkiller)

reduces the perception of pain by depressing the activity of the central nervous system. However, analgesics may slow labor, cause maternal complications, and make the baby less alert after birth.

EPIDURAL

which can be injected into a space in the spinal cord between the vertebrae in the lumbar (lower) region.

DOULA

An experienced mentor who furnishes emotional support and information for a woman during labor.

NEONATAL PERIOD

the first 4 weeks of life, is a time of transition from the uterus, where a fetus is supported entirely by the mother, to an independent existence.

NEONATE

newborn baby, up to 4 weeks old.

FONTANELS

where the bones of the skull do not meet and covered by a tough membrane that allows for flexibility in shape, which eases the passage of the neonate through the vaginal canal.

LANUGO

a fuzzy prenatal hair, has not yet fallen off.

VERNIX CASEOSA (cheesy varnish)

 an oily protection against infection that dries within the first few days.

WITCH’S MILK

a secretion that sometimes leaks from the swollen breasts of newborn boys and girls around the 3rd day of life, was believed during the Middle Ages to have special healing powers.

BODY SYSTEMS

During pregnancy, the fetus and mother have separate circulatory systems and heartbeats.

ANOXIA

 lack of oxygen

HYPOXIA

a reduced oxygen supply

MECONIUM

 a stringy, greenish-black waste matter formed in the fetal intestinal tract. 

NEONATAL JAUNDICE (four days after birth)

their skin and eyeballs look yellow, caused by the immaturity of the liver

THE APGAR SCALE

 used to assess babies one minute after delivery and then again 5 minutes after birth.

APGAR ACRONYM

A - Appearance (color)

P - Pulse (heart rate)

G - Grimace (reflex irritability)

A - Activity (muscle tone)

R - Respiration (breathing)

CEREBRAL PALSY

muscular impairment due to brain damage prenatally or during birth.

THE BRAZELTON NEONATAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT SCALE  (NBAS)

Neurological and behavioral test to measure neonate’s responses to the environment.

NEONATAL SCREENING FOR MEDICAL CONDITIONS

Children who inherit the enzyme disorder phenylketonuria, or PKU,will develop permanent intellectual disability unless they are fed a special diet beginning in the first 3 to 6 weeks of life.

STATES OF AROUSAL

Babies also have an internal clock that regulates their daily cycles of eating, sleeping, elimination, and even their moods.

LOW BIRTH WEIGHT BABIES

are those neonates born weighing less than 2,500 grams (5 pounds) at birth.

PRETERM (PREMATURE) INFANTS

babies born before the 37th week of gestation .

SMALL FOR DATE (SMALL FOR GESTATIONAL STAGE) INFANTS

are born at or around their due dates, but are smaller than would be expected. 

KANGAROO CARE (KC)

Method of skin-to-skin contact in which a newborn is laid face down between the mother’s breasts for an hour or so at a time after birth.

NEONATAL SEPSIS

a life-threatening response to infection

HYPOTHERMIA

low body temperature

HYPOGLYCEMIA

 low blood sugar

POSTMATURE

A fetus not yet born as of 2 weeks after the due date or 42 weeks after the mother’s last menstrual period.

STILLBIRTH

the sudden death of a fetus at or after the 20th week of gestation, is a tragic union of opposites—birth and death.

INFANT MORTALITY RATE

Proportion of babies born alive who die within the 1st year.

SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS)

sometimes called crib death, is the sudden death of an infant under age 1 in which the cause of death remains unexplained after a thorough investigation that includes an autopsy.

CEPHALOCAUDAL PRINCIPLE

growth occurs from the top down.

PROXIMODISTAL PRINCIPLE

growth and motor development proceed from the center of the body outward.

BRAIN DEVELOPMENT DURING GESTATION

Fetal nervous system development begins at about 3 weeks. At 1 month, major regions of the brain appear: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. As the brain grows, the front part expands to form the cerebrum, the seat of conscious brain activity. The cerebellum grows most rapidly during the 1st year of life

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM

the brain and spinal cord (a bundle of nerves running through the backbone)—and of a growing peripheral network of nerves extending to every part of the body.

BRAIN STEM

the part of the brain responsible for such basic bodily functions as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and the sleep-wake cycle

CEREBELLUM

the part of the brain that maintains balance and motor coordination.

CEREBRUM

the largest part of the brain, is divided into right and left halves, or hemispheres.

CEREBRAL CORTEX

the outer surface of the cerebrum that govern vision, hearing, and other sensory information.

LATERALIZATION

Tendency of each of the brain’s hemispheres to have specialized functions.

LEFT HEMISPHERE

mainly concerned with language and logical thinking.

RIGHT HEMISPHERE

mainly concerned with visual and spatial functions such as map reading and drawing.

CORPUS CALLOSUM

tough band of tissue of two hemispheres, which allows them to share information and coordinate commands.

OCCIPITAL LOBE

The smallest of the four lobes and is primarily concerned with visual processing. 

PARIETAL LOBE

Is involved with integrating sensory information from the body. 

TEMPORAL LOBE

 helps us interpret smells and sounds and is involved in memory.

FRONTAL LOBE

the newest region of the brain, is involved with a variety of higher-order processes, such as goal setting, inhibition, reasoning, planning, and problem solving.

NEURONS

or nerve cells, send and receive information

GLIA

or glial cells, nourish and protect the neurons.

DENDRITES

narrow, branching, fiberlike extensions. receive incoming messages from them.

AXONS

send signals to other neurons 

SYNAPSES

 tiny gaps, which are bridged with the help of chemicals called neurotransmitters that are released by the neurons.

INTEGRATION

the neurons that control various groups of muscles coordinate their activities.

DIFFERENTIATION

 each neuron takes on a specific, specialized structure and function.

CELL DEATH

As early experience shapes the brain, the paths are selected, and unused paths are pruned away.

MYELINATION

Process of coating neural pathways with a fatty substance called myelin, which enables faster communication between cells.

REFLEX BEHAVIOR

Such an automatic, innate, involuntary response to stimulation 

PRIMITIVE REFLEXES

such as sucking, rooting for the nipple

MORO REFLEX

a response to being startled or beginning to fall

POSTURAL REFLEXES

reactions to changes in position or balance.

LOCOMOTOR REFLEXES

such as the walking and swimming reflexes, resemble voluntary movements that do not appear until months after the reflexes have disappeared.

PLASTICITY

Modifiability, or molding of the brain through experience.

TOUCH

the first sense to develop; for the first several months, it is the most mature sensory system.

SMELL AND TASTE

begin to develop in the womb.

HEARING

a key to language development

SIGHT

the least developed sense at birth, perhaps because there is so little to see in the womb.

BINOCULAR VISION

the use of both eyes to focus.

SYSTEMS OF ACTION

Increasingly complex combinations of motor skills, which permit a wider or more precise range of movement and more control of the environment.

PINCER GRASP

in which thumb and index finger meet at the tips to form a circle, making it possible to pick up tiny objects.

DENVER DEVELOPMENTAL SCREENING TEST

Screening test given to children 1 month to 6 years old to determine whether they are developing normally.

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

 Physical skills that involve the large muscles.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Physical skills that involve the small muscles and eye-hand coordination

VISUAL GUIDANCE

Use of the eyes to guide movements of the hands or other parts of the body.

DEPTH PERCEPTION

Ability to perceive objects and surfaces three-dimensionally.

HAPTIC PERCEPTION

involves the ability to acquire information about properties of objects, such as size, weight, and texture by handling objects rather than just looking at them. 

ELEANOR AND JAMES GIBSON’S ECOLOGICAL THEORY OF PERCEPTION

Depth perception has implications when it comes to the development of self-propelled motion, which for most children involves learning how to crawl.

VISUAL CLIFF

Apparatus designed to give an illusion of depth and used to assess depth perception in infants.

ECOLOGICAL THEORY OF PERCEPTION

Theory developed by Eleanor and James Gibson, which describes developing motor and perceptual abilities as interdependent parts of a functional system that guides behavior in varying contexts.

ESTER THELEN

proponent of Dynamic Systems Theory

DYNAMIC SYSTEMS THEORY (DST)

holds that motor development is a dynamic process of active coordination of multiple systems within the infant in relation to the environment.

HANDLING ROUTINES

used to strengthen babies’ muscles through bouncing and stepping exercises.