infant

An infant or baby is the term used to refer to the very young offspring of humans.

Etymology and related terminology

Infant

The term infant derives from the Latin word infans, meaning "unable to speak."

It is mostly defined as having reached age of 1 month until becoming 12 months old. However, definitions vary between birth and 3 years of age.

Approximate outline of development periods in child development. Infancy marked in green at left.

"Infant" is also a legal term referring to any child under the age of legal adulthood.^[1]

Newborn

In medical terms, a newborn is any child from birth to the first 28 days of life.

A baby of 10 weeks.

Neonates

A human infant less than a month old is a neonate.^[2] The term "newborn" includes premature infants, postmature infants and full term newborns.

Toddlers

Toddlers are generally vaguely defined as a child between 1 and 2 years, and generally signifies a child who can walk but who can not walk well.

Infant mortality

An infant in a neonatal intensive care unit

Infant mortality is the death of an infant in the first year of life. Major causes of infant mortality include dehydration, infection, congenital malformation and SIDS.^[3]

This epidemiological indicator is recognized as a very important measure of the level of health care in a country because it is directly linked with the health status of infants, children, and pregnant women as well as access to medical care, socioeconomic conditions, and public health practices.^{[4] [5]}

Care and feeding

Infants cry as a form of basic instinctive communication. A crying infant may be trying to express a variety of feelings including hunger, discomfort, overstimulation, boredom, wanting something, or loneliness.

Breastfeeding is the recommended method of feeding by all major infant health organizations.^[6] 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 nipples 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.

As infants grow, food supplements are added. Many parents choose commercial, ready-made baby foods 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 should not be provided until the child is 2 to 3 years old.^[7] Until they are toilet-trained, infants in industrialized countries wear diapers. 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 seats for infants in motor vehicles.

Common care issues

A baby breastfeeding

• Baby colic
• Bassinet/crib
• Bathing
• Cradle cap
• Day care
• Diaper rash
• Infant formula
• Immunization
• Pacifier
• Paternal bond
• Teething
• Umbilical cord

Attachment

An infant being immunized in Bangladesh

Attachment theory is primarily an evolutionary and 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.^{[citation needed]} 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 and/or affection although they often go together. Attachment and attachment behaviors tend to develop between the age of 6 months and 3 years. Infants become attached to adults who are sensitive and responsive in social interactions 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.^[8] There are a number of 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.

Bibliography

References

See also

External links

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Baby care and evolution

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Babies

Look up infant in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Herbal Recipes for Moms and Babies, includes herbal recipes for diaper rash, teething, mom's vulva and breasts, how to make woolen soakers and more
• Discovery Health's Infant & Toddler Center
• American Academy of Pediatrics
• The impact of buggy orientation on parent-infant interaction and infant stress
• The World Health Report 2005 – Make Every Mother and Child
• Infant eyesight - University of Illinois

v • d • e Human Development: Biological  • Psychological Pre- and perinatal Biological Prenatal development Psychological Pre- and perinatal psychology Infancy Biological Infant Psychological Infant and child psychology Childhood Biological Child development · Child development stages · Toddler Psychological Preadolescence Adolescence Biological Puberty Psychological Youth development Young adulthood Psychological Young adult (psychology) Middle adulthood Biological Middle age Maturity Biological Ageing · Senescence Psychological Old age Legal and general definitions Minor (law) · Infancy · Child · Childhood · Adolescence · Age of majority · Adult Theorists-theories John Bowlby-attachment · Urie Bronfenbrenner-ecological systems · Erik Erikson-psychosocial · Sigmund Freud-psychosexual · Lawrence Kohlberg-moral · Jean Piaget-cognitive · Lev Vygotsky-cultural-historical