DEP 2004 & 2004H Human Development Across the Lifespan
Erica Jordan, Ph.D., University of West Florida
Guiding Questions
 What abilities and characteristics does the healthy
newborn possess?
 What are helpful tips for caring for newborns?
 What key structures are involved in the physical
development of a healthy newborn?
 What is brain plasticity?
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
The Newborn’s Reflexes
 “Unlearned” responses triggered by specific stimulation
 Pave the way to get the nutrition newborn needs to
grow
 Protection from danger
 Foundation for larger, voluntary patterns of motor
activity
 Assess whether newborn’s nervous system is working
properly
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Assessing the Newborn
 Apgar score - quick
assessment of
newborn’s status at 1
min. and at 5 min.
 7 or 8 – 10: healthy
 4-6: needs special
attention and care
 3 or less: lifethreatening situation
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Neonatal Behavioral Assessment
Scale (NBAS)
 Used with newborns up to 2 months of age
 Evaluates functioning of four systems:
 Autonomic: ability to control body functions (breathing,
temperature regulation)
 Motor: ability to control body movements and activity
level
 State: ability to maintain a state (e.g., alert)
 Social: ability to interact with people
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Newborn’s States
(Classification may vary)
 Alert inactivity: baby is calm
with eyes open and attentive;
seem to be deliberately
inspecting environment—
Quiet alert period, important
for learning and interacting
with others!
 Waking activity: eye’s are
open but seem unfocused
while arms/legs move in
bursts of uncoordinated
motion
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
 Crying: baby cries
vigorously; accompanied by
agitated uncoordinated
movement
 Sleeping: baby alternates
from being still and
breathing regularly to
moving gently and
breathing irregularly; eyes
are closed
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Tips for Soothing Crying
 Recognize that this is their only form of
communication. They need something.
 Try to remain calm. Infants are sensitive to stress and
other negative emotions.
 Become familiar with the infant’s various types of cries.
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
 Try to calmly rock, pat, bounce, or nurse the infant.
 Recognize that premature infants, colicky infants,
and other infants might cry more often and more
intensely during the first few months.
Additionally, all babies go through times when
they cry more often. This is normal.
 Help the baby to expel gas by patting while on your
shoulder or knee or by laying the child flat and
“bicycling” the legs.
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
 Recognize that sometimes the infant may not be
able to be soothed sometimes.
 Don’t take it personally as if you did something
wrong or attribute malicious intent toward the child.
 Try to calm the child by meeting any of the child’s
needs. If crying does not cease, simply hold the
child.
 If crying continues to persist, consult a physician to
be sure that the child is not in pain or does not
require medical attention.
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
•
Take care of yourself by seeking support when needed.
Never take frustration out on a baby.
•
Kaleb Schwade:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/nort
hdale-day-care-worker-pleads-guilty-to-injuring-5month-old/1099708
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Sleeping
 Newborns sleep ______ hours/day
 Irregular or rapid-eye-movement (REM): irregular
sleep where infant’s eyes dart rapidly beneath
eyelids, body is quite active
 Regular (non-REM) sleep: heart rate, breathing,
and brain activity are steady
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Tips for Dealing with Infant Sleep
Patterns
 Recognize that infants need to feed every few hours
requiring them to wake up.
 Remaining in a deep sleep for long periods of time is
also very _____________ for young infants whose
bodies are very sensitive to physiological changes.
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
 Infants grow best during _____________________.
 Avoid letting young infants “cry it out,” especially if
they are under 6 months old.
 Develop a consistent sleep time routine.
 Use safe sleeping guidelines.
(www.attachmentparenting.org)
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
(SIDS)
 When a healthy baby dies suddenly for ________________
 __________________ particularly vulnerable
 Suggestion:
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Growth of the Body
 Most rapid in infancy so nutrition extremely
important
 Breast-feeding ensures they get the nourishment they
need. Some benefits of strong milk breast-feeding…
 Malnutrition - being small for one’s age because of
inadequate nutrition
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Emerging Nervous System
 Neuron - basic cellular unit of brain and nervous
system specialized In receiving and transmitting
information
 Cell body - center of neuron that keeps it alive
 Dendrite - end of neuron that receives information
 Axon - tubelike structure that emerges from cell
body and transmits information to other neurons
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Emerging Nervous System
 Terminal buttons - small knobs at the end of the axon that





release neurotransmitters
Neurotransmitters - chemicals released by terminal
buttons that allow neurons to communicate
Cerebral cortex - wrinkled surface of brain that regulates
many functions distinctly human
Hemispheres - right and left halves of cortex
Corpus collosum - thick bundle of neruons that connects
hemispheres
Frontal cortex - brain region that regulates personality and
goal-directed behavior
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Emerging Brain Structures
 Neural plate - group of cells present in prenatal
development that becomes brain and spinal cord
 Myelin - fatty sheath that wraps around neuron
and enables them to transmit information more
rapidly
 Synaptic pruning - gradual reduction in number of
synapses, beginning in infancy, continuing until
early adolescence
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.
Brain Plasticity
 Neuroplasticity – extent to which brain
organization is flexible
 Experience-expectant growth - process by which
the wiring of the brain is organized by experiences
that are common to most humans
 Experience-dependent growth - process by which
individual’s unique experiences affect brain
structures and organization
Adapted from Kail & Cavanaugh’s Human
Development: A Life-Span View, 5th Ed.