HUMAN DEV

• The newborn (neonatal) period, from birth to 4 weeks of life, is a time of transition from the uterus, where a fetus is supported entirely by the mother, to an independent existence
• Phototherapy reduces hyperbilirubinemia by converting bilirubin to water-soluble isomers, bypassing liver metabolism
• Many newborns have a pinkish cast; their skin is so thin that it barely covers the capillaries through which blood flows
• Phototherapy


  Reduces hyperbilirubinemia by converting bilirubin to water-soluble isomers, bypassing liver metabolism
• Boys tend to be slightly longer and heavier than girls, and a firstborn child is likely to weigh less at birth than later borns
• Healthy babies should consume nothing but breast milk or iron-fortified formula for the first 6 months
• The Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)

  Measures neonates responses to the environment, assesses motor organization, reflexes, state changes, attention, and interactive capacities
• Newborn characteristics

  • Lanugo
  • Vernix caseosa
  • "Witch's milk"
  • Anoxia
  • Hypoxia
  • Meconium
  • Jaundice