Chapter
5
Infancy: Newborn
to Age 1
Objectives
• Describe a newborn and his or her food,
sleep, and other basic needs.
• Analyze the physical development of babies
in the first 12 months of life.
• Analyze the cognitive development of babies
in the first 12 months of life.
continued
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Objectives
• Analyze the socio-emotional development of
babies in the first 12 months of life.
• Compare and contrast various
developmental theories relating to infants.
• Identify developmental milestones infants
achieve during the first 12 months of life.
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Neonates
• Infancy is the period from birth to the first
birthday
• Just after birth, babies are called neonates
• This term refers to the time period from birth
to age 1 month
• During a normal uncomplicated birth, a
mother is usually able to hold her baby soon
after birth
continued
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Neonates
• After birth, babies are tested to make sure
they are healthy
• The Apgar scale is administered at one and
then five minutes after birth
• The Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral
Assessment Scale is given shortly after birth
continued
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Neonates
• Babies are born with reflexes, such as the
rooting reflex
• Some senses are fully developed at birth,
while others take a bit longer
• Newborns can hear months before birth
• They can sense, touch, and smell
• Only their vision takes longer to develop
continued
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Neonates
• Although most babies leave the hospital a
day or two after birth, some are not healthy
enough to leave the hospital
• Issues such as low birthweight, prematurity,
and other birth or congenital complications
may require special care
continued
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Neonates
• Whether becoming a parent by birth or
adoption, bonding is important
• A new family member certainly requires the
adjustment of all family members
• In the postpartum period, mothers need
time for both physical and psychological
adjustment
continued
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Neonates
• Somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of
women experience postpartum depression,
an intense sadness and oftentimes emotional
withdrawal from others
• Postpartum psychosis is a rare, but very
serious mental condition for a very small
number of new mothers
continued
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Neonates
• New fathers often report feelings of being
overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility
• Over one-third of neonates in America live in
a single-parent home
• Family adjustments may be much harder for
single-parent families without adequate
support
continued
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Neonates
• Other children in the household have an
adjustment to make to a new family member
• Babies take time to care for and nurture
• Siblings can feel left out or cheated in what
should be “their time”
• Extended family members must also adjust to
the new family member
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Checkpoint
1. What is a neonate?
 a baby from birth to age 1 month
2. Describe a neonate’s physical characteristics.
 Neonates are covered in blood and a thin
white coating. Their heads are temporarily
misshapen and they may look bluish in color.
3. How is the health and wellness of a newborn
determined?
 the Apgar scale and the Brazelton Neonatal
Behavioral Assessment Scale
continued
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Checkpoint
4. Describe newborns’ reflexes and their abilities
to hear, feel, touch, see, and taste.
 Newborns have many reflexes to survive,
including the rooting reflex, or natural
inclination to turn their head toward the food
source when their cheek is rubbed. They
develop the ability to hear months before birth
and have the ability to feel, touch, and taste as
neonates. Sight takes a bit longer to develop,
but improves during the first year.
continued
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Checkpoint
5. What are some of the family adjustments that
occur when a newborn comes home?
 (Answers will vary, but should reflect an
understanding of text pages 102–105.)
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Infants
• In the first 12 months of life, babies undergo
tremendous changes
• They are utterly dependent on caregivers
• The physical qualities and changes that occur
are sequential and predictable
• One principle of physical growth and change
is the proximodistal development pattern
continued
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Infants
• In the first 4 months, birthweight often doubles
• Growth in height is about 1 inch per month
• The increase in body weight often makes an
infant appear chubby, soft, and cuddly
• A baby’s head is disproportionately large
• Cephalocaudal development occurs from
the top of the head down to the extremities
continued
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Infants
• Many babies do not begin getting teeth until
at least 6 months of age
• Once this occurs, teeth eruption continues at
a rapid pace
• Newborns can hear, taste, and feel like adults
• They can see from birth, too, just not at an
adult level
continued
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Infants
• The growth and development of the brain and
nervous system continues throughout infancy
• Newborns’ brains are perfect for learning
about the world around them
• A baby should never be shaken, as the
jostling of the brain can cause tragic injuries,
as in Shaken Baby Syndrome
continued
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Infants
• Babies who engage in physical activity, are
spoken to, and encouraged to verbalize for
themselves (cooing, babbling) are more apt
to develop strong brain pathways
• Babies who are neglected fail to thrive both
physically and cognitively
continued
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Infants
• During the first 12 months, infants develop
their gross- and fine-motor skills rapidly
• By 6 months, babies can balance their heads
while in an upright position
• Before long, babies are crawling, creeping,
and pulling themselves to a standing position
and “walking” as they lean against a support
continued
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Infants
• Fine-motor skills development moves in
sequential order
• Babies use the Palmar grasp to scrape up
an object with their fingers into the palm of
their hands
• Babies next use the pincer grasp
continued
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Infants
• Babies need well-balanced nutrition
• Their needs are quite different from the
nutritional needs of children or adults
• Because newborns are learning to swallow,
their nutrition must come in liquid form
• Breast-feeding or selection of a nutritious
formula can meet the infant’s needs
continued
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Infants
• Between 6 and 12 months, caregivers often
start feeding infants solids
• Food intolerances are reactions to foods
that are unpleasant
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continued
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Infants
• Newborn babies sleep most of the day/night
• Babies’ sleep needs change over the first few
months of life
• Throughout infancy, babies continue to need
both a morning and afternoon nap
• Sleep is critically important to an infant’s
growth and development
continued
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Infants
• Piaget called the first stage of cognitive
development the sensorimotor stage
• This stage continues throughout infancy until
about age 2
• During the first few months of life, infants
begin to understand object permanence
continued
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Infants
• Skinner theorized that one way infants learn
is through operant conditioning
• Using operant conditioning, a baby responds
to a stimulus
• Depending on the result, the baby will learn to
repeat or stop the response
continued
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Infants
• Vygotsky believed that children develop their
minds through interactions with caregivers,
siblings, and others in close relationships
• Babies begin to demonstrate familiarity or
memory of certain objects or people
• Their memories, however, are not long lasting
continued
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Infants
• As infants interact with others, they begin to
associate symbols with their thoughts
• These symbols are found in language, which
is learned from interaction with others
• Babies understand language much before
they can form words
• This is termed receptive language
continued
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Infants
• Physical and cognitive development are
highly related to socio-emotional growth
• In the trust versus mistrust stage, infants
must learn to develop trust relationships with
their caregivers
• Trust can be learned at a later stage, but is
optimally learned during infancy
continued
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Infants
• During infancy, the child bonds with the
caregiver, which is called attachment
• Stranger anxiety is considered an important
developmental milestone
• Infants typically experience separation
anxiety when their caregiver leaves them
continued
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Infants
• Unoccupied play happens when a baby
observes and focuses on an object or activity
• Solitary play happens when an infant plays
alone
• Both types of play are milestones in socioemotional development
continued
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Infants
• During infancy, emotions are imitated as
babies learn how to express their emotions
through observing others’ reactions to events
• Even at an early age, babies can show some
control over their emotions
• Temperament, unique individual differences
in the way people interact with the world, is
persistent throughout life
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Checkpoint
1. Name two general principles that describe the
way infants develop.
 proximodistal development and cephalocaudal
development
2. How does vision change during infancy?
 During the first two months, babies do not see
colors clearly, but can see high contrasts. They
focus on the perimeters of a human face and
then on the center of the face. By eight weeks,
babies begin to discriminate colors. By the end
of their first year, eye development is
complete.
continued
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Checkpoint
3. How can parents and caregivers encourage
brain development during the first year?
 Social interaction and stimulation are essential
to infant brain development. Caregivers should
talk, sing, and respond to vocalizations of
baby.
4. What is the ideal food for infants? Why?
 Because newborns are learning to suck and
swallow, breast milk is ideal for first 6 months.
Between 6–12 months, mashed, strained, or
pureed nutritious solid foods are good choices.
continued
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Checkpoint
5. Describe gross- and fine-motor skill
development in the first year of life.
 (Answers will vary, but may include:) grossmotor skills: lifting head slightly, holding head
steady, balancing head while in upright
position, rolling over, crawling, creeping, sitting
without support, standing while supported,
pulling self up to stand, walking using support,
standing alone easily; fine-motor skills:
reaching for people or objects, rotating wrists,
Palmer grasp, pincer grasp
continued
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Checkpoint
6. Name and describe Piaget’s cognitive stage
of development in infancy.
 the sensorimotor stage—when infants move
from using reflexes to interacting with the world
around them using motor skills
7. Name and describe Erikson’s stage for socioemotional development during infancy.
 trust versus mistrust—infants must learn to
develop trust relationships with their caregivers
continued
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Checkpoint
8. Describe the infant’s relationship with
caregivers and family members during the
first year of life.
 The infant develops attachment, an emotional
bond with caregivers and family members, and
experiences separation anxiety, or distress
when the caregiver or parent leaves him or her
in the care of a stranger.
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Special Needs
• Some babies are born with genetic disorders
that require special care
• Others have special needs that develop or
are recognized during infancy
• When development significantly lags behind
the norms, caregivers should consult a doctor
• Interventions, including medical care, special
therapy, and resources, can be helpful
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Checkpoint
1. What is the difference between a
developmental delay and a developmental
acceleration?
 A developmental delay means that a child’s
development lags behind the norms for other
children the same age. A developmental
acceleration means that a child’s
development exceeds the norms for other
children the same age.
continued
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Checkpoint
2. List six typical developmental milestones of
infancy.
 (List six. See text page 117.)
3. List three interventions that can help infants
with special needs reach their full potential.
 medical care, special therapy, and resources
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