Newborn Development and Assessment: Exam Notes

Stages of Benjamin Burger, Kjellberg and Stillbirth

• Stillbirth: Refers to a baby born not breathing or with issues before having the chance to live. This term is assumed to be widely known and may not be on vocabulary lists.

Cesarean Section (C-Section)

• Definition: A type of birth involving a surgical procedure.
• Procedure: A small incision is made into the uterus to remove the baby (fetus).
• Historical Context: One of the oldest surgical procedures.

Vulnerable Newborns

Premature (Preemie)

• Definition: Birth occurring before $35$ weeks of gestation.
• Implications: Can affect the baby's weight and development.

Low Birth Weight

• Definition: Baby weighing less than $2500 ext{ grams}$ ($5.5 ext{ pounds}$) at birth.
• Timing: This condition can occur even if the birth is still before $35$ weeks.

Small for Gestational Age (SGA) / Small for Date

• Definition: A baby described as small for their gestational age, meaning they made it to full term (the entire nine months) but are still very small.
• Terminology Note: The term "Small for Gestational Age" (SGA) has replaced "Small for Date" relatively recently (about a year ago). It means the same thing.

Risk Factors for Vulnerable Newborns

• Health Conditions: Various health conditions can pose risks.
• Socioeconomic Factors: Low-income families often face poor health outcomes due to limited access to medical care and resources.

Kangaroo Care

• Definition: Involves skin-to-skin contact between the parent (usually the mother) and the newborn, similar to how a kangaroo keeps its joey in a pouch.
• Benefits:
  • Lower levels of stress hormones in the baby.
  • Accelerated brain development.
• Comparison: These benefits are observed compared to babies cared for solely in incubators.
• Mechanism: Skin-to-skin contact provides security, familiarity (face, smell, sound), and helps keep environmental stressors away, contributing to healthy development.

Scoring the Newborn: The Apgar Test

• Purpose: An assessment used to quickly evaluate a newborn's physical condition after birth.
• Historical Context: Originally known as the Apgar scale/test, it was a numeric score.
• Evaluated Areas (for this test):
  • Breathing
  • Activity
  • Responsiveness (Reflexes)
  • Heart Rate
• Scoring (Historical/Conceptual): Each area was scored $0$, $1$, or $2$. The sum of these scores for the four categories discussed would be out of a maximum of $8$. (Note: The traditional Apgar uses $5$ categories, totaling $10$.
• Interpretation:
  • Most healthy babies historically scored $7$ or higher.
  • Scores of $5$ or lower indicated potential trouble for the baby.
• Current Assessment for Test Questions: The focus is on understanding the areas evaluated (breathing, activity, responsiveness, heart rate) rather than specific numerical scores or charts.

Newborn Senses, Movement, and Reflexes

Self-Assessment of Newborn Senses

• Hearing: Observe if the baby moves his/her head to follow a sound moved from one side to the other. Movement indicates good audio reception.
• Eyesight: Observe if the baby can move his/her eyes to follow an object without moving their head. Eye movement independent of head movement indicates good vision.
  • Caution: Do not startle the baby, as this can lead to psychosomatic disorders.

Reflexes

• Definition: Automatic, involuntary motor responses to stimuli.
• Nature: These are natural, innate, and automatic responses not under the baby's conscious control (involuntary).
• Function: Help the newborn adjust to the new world outside the womb.
• Key Reflexes for the Exam: Rooting and Moro reflexes.

Other Important Concepts

• Anoxia: A condition where there isn't enough oxygen carried to the circulatory system and, consequently, to the brain. This is a significant risk factor for newborns.

Exam Information: Review of Key Terms

Words That Will Be on the Test

• Mitosis
• Meiosis
• Down Syndrome: Caused by a mutation in chromosome pair number $21$, specifically an extra chromosome.
• Placenta: It's important to also associate the Umbilical Cord with the placenta, even if "umbilical cord" isn't explicitly listed as a test word.
• Reflexes: Rooting and Moro reflexes (from the five developmental reflexes).

Words That Will Not Be on the Test

• Alleles
• Ovum and Sperm
• Sex, Gender, Gender Identity, Gender Expression
• Monozygotic and Dizygotic
• Blastocyst
• Stress (as a standalone concept, but its association with fetal development is important)
• Kangaroo Care (as a specific test item, but the concept was taught)
• Adoption
• Genetic Map (or genetic math)
• Specific numerical scores or charts for Apgar (focus is on evaluation areas)