Infant: Difference between revisions

[[File:Baby Face.JPG|thumb|Eight-month-old infant; as a common feature, eyes are usually large in relation to the face.|left]]A newborn's head is very large in proportion to the body, and the [[Human craniumSkull#Humans|cranium]] is enormous relative to his or her face. While the adult human skull is about one seventh of the total body length, the newborn's is about {{frac|1|4}}. Normal head circumference for a full-term infant is 33–36&nbsp;cm at birth.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Wallace, Donna K. |author2=Cartwright, Cathy C. |title=Nursing Care of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Patient |publisher=Springer |location=Berlin |year=2007 |isbn=978-3-540-29703-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G6o3uSlfRKcC&pg=PA40 |page =40}}</ref> At birth, many regions of the newborn's skull have not yet been converted to bone, leaving "soft spots" known as [[fontanel]]s. The two largest are the diamond-shaped anterior fontanel, located at the top front portion of the head, and the smaller triangular-shaped posterior fontanel, which lies at the back of the head. Later in the child's life, these bones will fuse together in a natural process. A protein called [[Noggin (protein)|noggin]] is responsible for the delay in an infant's skull fusion.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Warren SM, Brunet LJ, Harland RM, Economides AN, Longaker MT | title = The BMP antagonist noggin regulates cranial suture fusion | journal = Nature | volume = 422 | issue = 6932 | pages = 625–9 | date = 2003-04-10 | pmid = 12687003 | doi = 10.1038/nature01545 | bibcode = 2003Natur.422..625W | s2cid = 4331659 }}</ref>

[[File:初土俵入2.gif|thumb|ACrying cryingbaby<!--This infantis innot Japan in thea [[Naki Sumo Crying Baby Festival]] where you win or lose based on whether you cried or not.-->]]

Infants are [[Precociality and altriciality|altricial]] and are fully dependent on their mothers or an adult caretaker for an extended period of time.<ref>{{cite https://wwwjournal | pmc=8455097 | date=2020 | last1=Faust | first1=K.ncbi M.nlm | last2=Carouso-Peck | first2=S.nih | last3=Elson | first3=M.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8455097/#:~:text R. | last4=Human%20infants%20are%20altricial%2C%20born,an%20extended%20period%20of%20timeGoldstein | first4=M. H. | title=The Origins of Social Knowledge in Altricial Species | journal=Annual Review of Developmental Psychology | volume=2 | pages=225–246 | doi=10.1146/annurev-devpsych-051820-121446 | pmid=34553142 }}</ref> [[Breastfeeding]] is the recommended method of feeding by all major infant health organizations.<ref name="AAP_Policy">{{cite journal |vauthors=Gartner LM, Morton J, Lawrence RA, Naylor AJ, O'Hare D, Schanler RJ, Eidelman AI | title = Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk | journal = Pediatrics | volume = 115 | issue = 2 | pages = 496–506 | date = February 2005 | pmid = 15687461 | doi = 10.1542/peds.2004-2491 | s2cid = 263051578 | doi-access = free }}</ref> If breastfeeding is not possible or desired, bottle feeding is done with expressed breast-milk or with [[infant formula]]. Infants are born with a sucking reflex allowing them to extract the milk from the [[nipple]]s of the breasts or the nipple of the [[baby bottle]], as well as an instinctive behavior known as ''rooting'' with which they seek out the nipple. Sometimes a [[wet nurse]] is hired to feed the infant, although this is rare, especially in developed countries.

Adequate food consumption at an early age is vital for an infant's development. The foundations of optimum health, growth, and neurodevelopment across the lifespan are established in the [[first 10001,000 days]] of life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicef-irc.org/article/958-the-first-1000-days-of-life-the-brains-window-of-opportunity.html|title=The first 1,000 days of life: The brain's window of opportunity|last=Innocenti|first=UNICEF Office of Research-|website=UNICEF-IRC|language=en|access-date=2019-03-28|archive-date=2019-03-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328061358/https://www.unicef-irc.org/article/958-the-first-1000-days-of-life-the-brains-window-of-opportunity.html|url-status=live}}</ref> From birth to six months, infants should consume only breast milk or an unmodified milk substitute. As an infant's diet matures, finger foods may be introduced as well as fruit, vegetables and small amounts of meat.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wells|first=Dilys|title=Infant Feeding|journal=Nutrition & Food Science|date=January 1995|pages=42–44|doi=10.1108/00346659510078312|volume=95|issue=2}}</ref>

As infants grow, [[food supplement]]s can be added. Many parents choose commercial, ready-made [[baby food]]s to supplement breast milk or formula for the child, while others adapt their usual meals for the dietary needs of their child. Whole cow's [[milk]] can be used at one year, but lower-fat milk is not recommended until the child is 2two to 3three years old. Weaning is the process through which breast milk is eliminated from the infant's diet through the introduction of solid foods in exchange for milk.<ref>{{cite book |last=Marriott and Foote |first=L.D. and K.D. |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofhu0001unse_f8u2 |title=Weaning of infants. (Review) |publisher=Academic OneFile. |year=2003 |isbn=978-1-4129-0475-9 |series=88.6 |author-link=Archives of Disease in Childhood |url-access=registration}}</ref> Until they are toilet-trained, infants in industrialized countries wear [[diaper]]s. The transition from diapers to training pants is an important transition in the development of an infant/baby to that of a toddler. Children need more sleep than adults—up to 18 hours for newborn babies, with a declining rate as the child ages. Until babies learn to walk, they are carried in the arms, held in slings or baby carriers, or transported in baby carriages or strollers. Most industrialized countries have laws requiring [[child safety seat]]s for babies in motor vehicles.

|pmid=33430544}}</ref> However, it is not advisable to use simplified "[[baby talk]]" (e.g. "Did you 'ouch'?" instead of, "Did you hurt yourself?").<ref>{{cite web|work=Gehirn&GeistSerie Kindesentwicklung No. 1, |date=February 2014, [|url=https://www.spektrum.de/inhaltsverzeichnis/babys-verstehen-und-foerdern-gehirn-und-geist-serie-kindesentwicklung-nr-1/913150 "|title=Püppi, muttu AA machen?"] {{Webarchive|urlarchiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202180540/https://www.spektrum.de/inhaltsverzeichnis/babys-verstehen-und-foerdern-gehirn-und-geist-serie-kindesentwicklung-nr-1/913150 |datearchivedate=2020-02-02 |page=63}}, p.&nbsp;63.</ref>

Even if parents cannot yet understand infants' [[babbling]], a timely response by parents to babbling leads to faster language acquisition.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|title=Parents, listen next time your baby babbles|url=https://now.uiowa.edu/2014/08/parents-listen-next-time-your-baby-babbles|date=2014-08-27|access-date=2020-12-31|archive-date=2020-11-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127115705/https://now.uiowa.edu/2014/08/parents-listen-next-time-your-baby-babbles|url-status=live}}</ref> This was confirmed by researchers who first studied mothers' behavior towards 8-month-old infants and later tested the infants' vocabulary when they were 15 months old.<ref name=":1">{{citation|firstfirst1=Julie |lastlast1=Gros-Louis |first2=Meredith J. |last2=West |first3=Andrew P. |last3=King |periodical=Infancy|title=Maternal Responsiveness and the Development of Directed Vocalizing in Social Interactions|volume=19|issue=4|at=pp.&nbsp;385–408|date=July 2014 |doi=10.1111/infa.12054

A 2018 review analysed 146 studies on infant sleep behavior and listed several factors that show an effect on sleep duration and the number of night wakings. For example, stimulating daytime activities, reading aloud before sleeping, early bedtime, a sleep routine, and avoiding television and media exposure before bedtime are associated with longer sleep duration and fewer nighttime awakenings.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal|first1=Cláudia Castro|last1=Dias|first2=Bárbara|last2=Figueiredo|journal=Early Child Development and Care|title=Sleep-wake behaviour during the first 12 months of life and associated factors: a systematic review|at=pp.&nbsp;1–33|issn=0300-4430|date=2019-03-06|volume=190|issue=15|doi=10.1080/03004430.2019.1582034|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03004430.2019.1582034|access-date=2020-11-01|hdl=1822/59691|s2cid=151246725|hdl-access=free|archive-date=2022-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621075905/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03004430.2019.1582034|url-status=live}}</ref> However, research has indicated that frequent wakings are protective of SIDS.<ref>{{rpCitation |24last1=Ramirez |first1=Jan-Marino |title=Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, Sleep, and the Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Respiratory Network |date=2018 |url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK513387/ |work=SIDS Sudden Infant and Early Childhood Death: The Past, the Present and the Future |editor-last=Duncan |editor-first=Jhodie R. |access-date=2023-11-23 |place=Adelaide (AU) |publisher=University of Adelaide Press |isbn=978-1-925261-67-7 |pmid=30035952 |last2=Ramirez |first2=Sanja C. |last3=Anderson |first3=Tatiana M. |editor2-last=Byard |editor2-first=Roger W.}}</ref>

[[Maternal sensitivity]] plays a particular role in the relationship with the infant and for favorable emotional development. This means being attentive to the infant's behavioral expressions, not misinterpreting the infant's expressions because of one's own moods, reacting immediately to the situation and finding a response that is appropriate to the context and the expressed needs. A secure [[Attachment theory|attachment]] is promoted through empathetic and adequate as well as prompt responses.<ref name="KS2010">{{cite web |first=Kathrin |last=Keller-Schuhmacher (|year=2010). [https://web.archive.org/web/20160623122611/|url=http://www.f-netz.ch/files/downloads/bdd914a66d88396709589536fbf79ede/bindung-text-mit-folien-referat-freiburg-10_11_08.pdf "|title=Bindung – von der Theorie zur Praxis: worauf kommt es an?"] |at=Presentation at the AWO Symposium of 8 November 2010, Freiburg im Breisgau |access-date=31 December 2020 |archive-date=23 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623122611/http://www.f-netz.ch/files/downloads/bdd914a66d88396709589536fbf79ede/bindung-text-mit-folien-referat-freiburg-10_11_08.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Johnson2006">{{cite web |first=Helmut |last=Johnson (|year=2006). [https://web.archive.org/web/20111120050434/|url=http://www.institut-johnson.de/pdf/bindungsstoerungen.pdf ''|title=Bindungsstörungen Material zur Systemischen Arbeit in Erziehung und Betreuung''] |access-date=2020-12-31 |archive-date=2011-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120050434/http://www.institut-johnson.de/pdf/bindungsstoerungen.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Kasten" /> In accordance with their basic needs, infants show an inborn behavior of seeking closeness to the mother – or to another primary caregiver – and thus in turn foster an attachment. When separated from the mother, infants protest by crying and by body movements.

[[Babywearing|Wearing]] has a calming effect on infants. A 2013 study showed that infants placed in a [[Cradle (bed)|cradle]] cried and kicked more often and had an [[increased heart rate]] (so the infants were stressed), while those picked up and carried by the mother while walking around calmed down significantly. The effect of being held motionless in the arm was intermediate between that of being carried around and that of being put down.<ref name="pmid23602481">{{cite journal | vauthors = Esposito G, Yoshida S, Ohnishi R, Tsuneoka Y, Rostagno Mdel C, Yokota S, Okabe S, Kamiya K, Hoshino M, Shimizu M, Venuti P, Kikusui T, Kato T, Kuroda KO | title = Infant calming responses during maternal carrying in humans and mice | journal = Current Biology | volume = 23 | issue = 9 | pages = 739–45 | date = May 2013 | pmid = 23602481 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2013.03.041| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2013CBio...23..739E }}</ref> That carrying (e.g., in a [[baby sling]]) makes infants more content and makes them cry less had already been shown in a randomized study in 1986.<ref>{{citation|surname1=Urs Hunziker, Ronald Barr|periodical=Pediatrics|title=Increased Carrying Reduces Infant Crying: A Randomized Controlled Trial|volume=77|issue=5|at=pp.&nbsp;641–648|issn=0031-4005|pmid=3517799|date=1986-05-01|url=https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/77/5/641|access-date=2020-02-02|archive-date=2020-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202182047/https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/77/5/641|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Being a twin means you always have a pillow or blanket handy.jpg|thumb|222x222px|Eight-month-old [[Fraternal twin|sororaltwin twinsisters]] sisters]]

Attachment theory is primarily an [[Adaptation|evolutionary]] and [[Ethology|ethological]] theory whereby the infant or child ''seeks proximity'' to a ''specified attachment figure'' in situations of alarm or distress for the purpose of survival.<ref name="Tronick et al.">{{cite journal|doi=10.1037/0012-1649.28.4.568|title=The Efe forager infant and toddler's pattern of social relationships: Multiple and simultaneous|year=1992|last1=Tronick|first1=Edward Z.|last2=Morelli|first2=Gilda A.|last3=Ivey|first3=Paula K.|journal=Developmental Psychology|volume=28|issue=4|pages=568–577}} "|quote=Until recently, scientific accounts ... of the infant's early social experiences converged on the view that the infant progresses from a primary relationship with one individual... to relationships with a growing number of people... This is an epigenetic, hierarchical view of social development. We have labeled this dominant view the continuous care and contact model (CCC...). The CCC model developed from the writings of Spitz..., Bowlby..., and Provence and Lipton... on institutionalized children and is represented in the psychological views of Bowlby...[and others]. Common to the different conceptual frameworks is the belief that parenting practices and the infant's capacity for social engagement are biologically based and conform to a prototypical form. Supporters of the CCC model generally recognize that the infant and caregiver are able to adjust to a range of conditions, but they consider the adjustments observed to reflect biological variation. However, more extreme views (e.g., maternal bonding) consider certain variants as non adaptive and as compromising the child's psychological development. Bowlby's concept of monotropism is an exemplar of the CCC perspective...".}}</ref> The forming of attachments is considered to be the foundation of the infant/child's capacity to form and conduct relationships throughout life. Attachment is not the same as love or affection although they often go together. Attachment and attachment [[behavior]]s tend to develop between the age of 6 months and 3 years. Infants become [[Attachment in children|attached]] to adults who are sensitive and responsive in [[social interaction]]s with the infant, and who remain as consistent caregivers for some time. Parental responses lead to the development of patterns of attachment, which in turn lead to 'internal working models' which will guide the individual's feelings, thoughts, and expectations in later relationships.<ref name="Bretherton">Bretherton, I. and Munholland, K., A. Internal Working Models in Attachment Relationships: A Construct Revisited. ''Handbook of Attachment:Theory, Research and Clinical Applications'' 1999 eds Cassidy, J. and Shaver, P., R. Guilford press {{ISBN|1-57230-087-6}}{{page needed|date=July 2015}}</ref> There are a number of [[Attachment in children|attachment 'styles']] namely 'secure', 'anxious-ambivalent', 'anxious-avoidant', (all 'organized') and 'disorganized', some of which are more problematic than others. A lack of attachment or a seriously disrupted capacity for attachment could potentially amount to serious disorders.<ref>{{cite book|title=Child Maltreatment: Theory and Research on the Causes and Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect|isbn = 9780521379694978-0-521-37969-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=74gyVSJhg5oC&q=baby+attachment+theory&pg=PA432|access-date=21 December 2018|last1 = Cicchetti|first1 = Dante|last2 = Carlson|first2 = Vicki|date = 30 June 1989| publisher=Cambridge University Press }}</ref>

Infant mortality is the death of an infant in the first year of life, often expressed as the number of deaths per 10001,000 live births (infant mortality rate). Major causes of infant mortality include [[dehydration]], [[infection]], [[Congenital disorder|congenital malformation]] and [[Sudden infant death syndrome|SIDS]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Garrett | first = Eilidh | title = Infant Mortality: A Continuing Social Problem | publisher = Ashgate Pub Co | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-7546-4593-1 }}{{page needed|date=July 2015}}</ref>

There is a positive relationship between national wealth and good health. The rich and industrialized countries of the world, prominently [[Canada]], the United Kingdom, the United States, and [[Japan]], spend a large proportion of their wealthy budget on the health care system. As, a result, their health care systems are very sophisticated, with many physicians, nurses, and other health care experts servicing the population. Thus, infant mortality is low. On the other hand, a country such as Mexico, which spends disproportionately less of its budget on healthcare, suffers from high mortality rates. This is because the general population is likely to be less healthy.<ref>{{cite book|last=Brym|first=Robert|title=Sociology: Your Compass for a New World|year=2007|publisher=Wadsworth/Cengage Learning|page=546|isbn=978-0-495-09912-3}}</ref> In the U.S., infant mortality rates are especially high in minority groups. For instance, non-Hispanic black women have an infant mortality rate of 13.63 per 10001,000 live births whereas in non-Hispanic white women it was much lower at a rate of 5.76 per 10001,000 live births.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Kuehn | first1 = B. M. | title = Infant Mortality | journal = JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association | volume = 300 | issue = 20 | pages = 2359 | year = 2008 | doi = 10.1001/jama.2008.642 }}</ref> The average infant mortality rate in the U.S. is 6.8 per 10001,000 live births.<ref>[http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=47&cat=2 Infant Mortality Rate (Deaths per 1,000 Live Births), Linked Files, 2006–2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120612103431/http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparemaptable.jsp?ind=47&cat=2 |date=2012-06-12 }}. statehealthfacts.org</ref>

Babyhood is a critical period in [[personality development]] when the foundations of adult personality are laid.<ref>''{{citation|title=Human Growth Development and Learning'' |edition=2004 Ed. p. |page=50. {{ISBN|isbn=971-23-3911-4}} |year=2004 "|quote=... is mainly through prespeech forms of crying, babbling, gesturing, and emotional expressions. In babyhood, understanding comes from a combination of sensory exploration, motor manipulation, and, toward the end of babyhood, from questions to answers. Babyhood is regarded as a critical period in personality development because it is the time when the foundations of adult personality are laid."}}</ref> In contrast [[toddler]] is used to denote a baby that has achieved relative independence, in moving about, and feeding.<ref>{{citation|title=Developmental Psychology. p. |page=121 {{ISBN|isbn=971-23-2463-X}} |year=1998 "|quote=However, Hurlock (1982) cites that infancy, compared to babyhood, is characterized by extreme helplessness. The word baby may likewise suggest a helpless individual; hence, the word toddler has been increasingly used to denote a baby that has achieved enough control of his body to permit relative independence, such as' moving about, feeding himself, etc. Characteristics of Babyhood The most important characteristics of babyhood are listed below: 1. It is the true foundation age .."}}</ref>