Midterm 2 - PSYCH 319 Applied Developmental Psychology

Birth

It occurs when oxytocin is released and triggers uterine contractions, thus pushing the baby out of the womb.

Stages of labour

• Uterine muscles open the cervix

• Contractions push the head first, baby goes through the birth canal

• Contractions push out the placenta, fetal membranes, and the leftover of the umbilical cord

Cesarean section

When the baby is born by cutting the woman’s abdomen and surgically removing them from the womb. In Canada, c-sections make up 28-35% of all births.

C-sections around the world:

• Differs across the world

• Many countries range from 28-55% in c-section rates

• It is influenced by cultural values of c-sections (i.e., babies will look more attractive with c-sections)

Impacts of c-section births

• Increased medical risks, longer healing time, risks in later pregnancies, difficulty breastfeeding

• Higher rates of childhood asthma, obesity, autism, ADHD, learning disabilities

Impacts of vaginal birth

• Incontinence - inability to hold in bodily fluids (i.e., every time I sneeze, I pee a little)

Limitations of studying vaginal vs c-section births

• It is unethical to assign women to have vaginal births vs c-sections

• Might be a third variable between why children tend to have different developmental outcomes 

• We use animal studies to look at the differences between vaginal vs c-section births

• Lack of generalizability

• We could turn the focus to study environments where there is a lack of information (i.e., home births vs hospital births)

Term Breech trial

• A study conducted randomized trials of planned c-sections vs vaginal delivery in infants in the breech position

• Measured outcomes 2 years post-birth

• No difference in child mortality or neurodiversity 

• Similar findings in twin birth studies: no risk of outcomes!

Breech position

When other parts of the body are positioned at the vagina during birth. Many concerns about the head getting stuck as it goes through the vagina.

Preterm births

Delivery before 37 weeks. It is characterized by low birth weight and poor health outcomes.

Mechanisms of preterm birth:

• Medically scheduled birth. Doctors may plan to have babies born preterm (i.e., twins)

• Many are spontaneous; we do not know what happens 

• Health of the parent and child

• Mother’s age (very old and very young parents)

• Sociodemographics - Black women are more likely to give birth prematurely, explained by discrimination and stress associated with racism

Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)

• Preterm babies struggle with basic life functions (i.e., breathing, eating, birth weight, chemical support)

• Primary goal is to maintain and enhance the wellbeing of babies

• Use artificial, medical equipment to care for preterm babies

Historically, the NICU operated ____ of the parents. To keep the babies safe from outside germs.

independent

Today, parents are allowed to handle their babies in the NICU because…

• In the 1990s, studies showed that it is not a risk for parents to handle their babies

• It did not increase the risk of infection

• It helped the baby and the parents

• Babies built more resilience and got better sooner

Immediate issues for preterm babies:

• Difficulty breathing

• Lung difficulties

• Brain complications

• Stomach challenges

• Infections

Long-term issues for preterm babies

• Higher rehospitalization

• Breathing problems

• Eyesight issues

• Hearing loss

• Neurosensory disabilities

Developmental challenges for pre-term babies

• Motor delays

• Lower IQ

• Social difficulties

• Neurodiversity (autism, ADHD, learning disabilities)

Impacts on the parents and preterm births:

• Separation from your child

• Feelings of overwhelm/not being important

• Parents unsure, worried, afraid, feelings of loss and guilt

• Preterm babies seen as less attractive, different quality of cries, less active

• Delay in reaching developmental milestones

We need to include the ______ when preterm babies are born [i.e., born 2 weeks early + 6 week milestone (include the pre term age + milestone development age)]

corrected age

Prematurity ____ increase the risk for insecure attachment

DOES NOT

Prematurity stereotype

Negative, societal views around preterm babies.

Study looks at how we view full-term vs pre-term babies:

• We tend to rate full-term babies more positively than preterms

• Parents watched and interacted with the babies, then fill out a self-report

• Parents tend to give toys that are less mature to preterms

• This expectation can create a self-fulfilling prophecy for parents and the child

Interventions to help pre-term babies:

• Kangaroo care

• Infant massage

• Music

• Parent education

• Infant mental health support

Kangaroo care

Parent-infant skin-to-skin contact 

History of kangaroo care

• It was developed in Boyaca, Colombia 

• The hospitals that were caring for newborn infants were overcrowded, and doctor’s need to find a solution to support them

• Inspired by how kangaroos carry their babies in the pouch for months, which helps with the child’s development

• Shown to improve survival rates compared to only using medical, standard care

How does kangaroo care work?

• It is a compliment to traditional NICU care 

• Baby is strapped to the parent’s body for 24 hours, multiple days a week