Preterm birth is defined as ‘any neonate whose birth occurs before the thirty seventh week of gestation’1 and represents approximately eight percent of all pregnancies1-4. It is eminent that these preterm infants are at risk of physical and neurological delay, with prolonged hospitalisation and an increased risk of long-term morbidity evident in prior literature3, 5-13. Innovative healthcare over the past thirty years has reduced mortality significantly14, with the survival rate of preterm infants having increased from twenty five percent in 1980 to seventy three percent in 200715. Despite, this drop in mortality long-term morbidity continues to remain within these surviving infants sparking a cause for concern15, 16.
Exposure to an adverse in-utero environment severely impacts child neurodevelopment. At school age, poor neurodevelopment is reflected by reduced general intelligence, poor attention and poor cognitive performance. Poor neurodevelopment across adolescence is a major concern affecting a child’s ability to thrive and reach academic and economic success. Whilst the financial burden due to adverse outcomes of preterm birth differs among families, the economic burden on society remains great. In 2012, the Australian education system spent $220 million dollars to support special learning programs, which included support teachers, improved classroom resources, learning assistance and intervention programs [REFERENCE]. By gaining awareness of the determinants of an adverse fetal environment, suitable intervention programs can be established to aid in reducing the health and economic burden currently seen within society.
1.1 Birthweight and Gestational Age
One concept that holds great significance when examining outcomes...
... middle of paper ...
...ole? Developmental medicine and child neurology. 2014.
58. Treyvaud K, Doyle LW, Lee KJ, Roberts G, Lim J, Inder TE, et al. Social-emotional difficulties in very preterm and term 2 year olds predict specific social-emotional problems at the age of 5 years. Journal of pediatric psychology. 2012;37(7):779-785.
59. Luciana M, Lindeke L, Georgieff M, Mills M, Nelson CA. Neurobehavioral evidence for working-memory deficits in school-aged children with histories of prematurity. Developmental medicine and child neurology. 1999;41(8):521-533.
60. Curtis WJ, Lindeke LL, Georgieff MK, Nelson CA. Neurobehavioural functioning in neonatal intensive care unit graduates in late childhood and early adolescence. Brain : a journal of neurology. 2002;125(Pt 7):1646-1659.
61. Gardosi J FA. GROW Centile Caculator- GROW-CCC software v5.1. Gestation Network wwwgestationnet Published 2006.
Mphahlele, R. R. (2007). Caring for premature babies - a clinical guide for nurses. Professional Nursing Today, 11(1), 40-46.
Neonatal nursing is a field of nursing designed especially for both newborns and infants up to 28 days old. The term neonatal comes from neo, "new", and natal, "pertaining to birth or origin”. Neonatal nurses are a vital part of the neonatal care team. These are trained professionals who concentrate on ensuring that the newborn infants under their care are able to survive whatever potential life threatening event they encounter. They treat infants that are born with a variety of life threatening issues that include instances of prematurity, congenital birth defects, surgery related problems, cardiac malformations, severe burns, or acute infection. Neonatal care in hospitals was always done by the nursing staff but it did not officially become a specialized medical field until well into 1960s. This was due to the numerous advancements in both medical care training and related technology that allowed for the improved treatment and survival rate of premature babies. According to the March of Dimes, one of every thirteen babies born in the United States annually suffers from low birth weight. This is a leading cause in 65% of infant deaths. Therefore, nurses play a very important role in providing round the clock care for these infants, those born with birth defects or other life threatening illness. In addition, these nurses also tend to healthy babies while their mothers recover from the birthing process. Prior to the advent of this specialized nursing field at risk newborn infants were mostly cared for by obstetricians and midwives who had limited resources to help them survive (Meeks 3).
The second edition of the Developmental Neuropsycholgical Assessment, or NEPSY-II, was developed specifically as a single measure assessment for children 3-years to 16-years 11-months of age. The test can be used in a general or selective method to obtain a general overview of neurological abilities, or the full diagnostic assessment can be used to obtain a comprehensive evaluation. The results can be used to investigate school-based or behavioral problems, as well as clinical or medical questions regarding executive functioning. Because the assessment involves a battery of tests that are flexible and can be tailored for each individual, it is a highly sought after test of executive functioning abilities in children.
Gallagher, K., Marlow, N., Edgley, A., & Porock, D. (2012). The attitudes of neonatal nurses towards extremely preterm infants. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 68(8), 1768-1779. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2011.05865.x
Modercin-McCarthy M. A., McCue S., Walker J. Preterm infants and stress: A tool for the neonatal nurse. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs, 1997; 10, 62-71.
...however issues such as reliability, validity and bias occur when studying brain damaged patients therefore is not always a valid way of studying working memory (in Smith, 2007).
There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.
This has led to children having a poor start to life, which carries on through their learning and is the leading cause of behavioural or emotional problems (Commonwealth of Australia, 2015). Therefore, the Australian Government inaugurates an ECE and care reform agenda. The key components: • Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) • Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) • Early Years Workforce Strategy •
A neonatologist has many tasks and responsibilities before, during, and after the birth of an at-risk newborn. If there is reason to believe there are going to be complications with a birth that would cause negative side effects for the infant, a neonatologist will be brought in to help. In these high-risk situations, a team effort is required and the neonatologist takes the lead position. The neonatologist will be responsible for advising the parents on what to expect during and after labor. After the infant is born, the neonatologist has to find a method to properly care for the baby. Because most premature babies have a low birth-weight, their lungs need to be supported and they need to be kept warm. During this whole process, the neonatologist interacts with the parents to keep them updated on their baby’s condition (Weaver, 2009).
A child is considered an infant from the age of 2 to 12 months. From 12 months to 36 months this is considered the toddler years where the cognitive, emotional, and social development is great. The social emotional development occurs during early childhood where children experience different moods as well as expanding their social world by learning more about their emotions and other people. The social emotional development is a child's way of understanding the feelings of others, controlling their own feelings and behaviors and getting along with peers. The key to a successful emotional and social development are positive relationship with trusting and caring adults. The social and emotional development in infants and toddlers can have negative
Evans, G. W., & Schamberg, M. A. (2009). Childhood Poverty, Chronic Stress, And Adult Working Memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16), 6545-6549.
Infants and Children: Prenatal Through Middle Childhood. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Cooper, J., Masi, R., & Vick, J. (2009). The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'. Social-emotional Development in Early Childhood.
Huizink, A. C., Robles de Medina, P. G., Mulder, E. J., Visser, G. H., & Buitelaar, J. K. (2003). Stress during pregnancy is associated with developmental outcome in infancy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(6), 810-818.
Social cognition is very important to young child’s development. A child’s key development takes place during the first five years of a child’s life. (Child Encyclopedia) A child’s environmental factors play a huge role in their mental development. Social cognition has produced a knowledge that psychologists now have a better understanding about
As I plan to eventually work with young mothers who have children who are in the foster care system or who are fighting to get their children back, I want to have a clear understand of what it will take to establish a healthy pregnancy. It will be important to implement the prenatal development to these future mothers. Making sure that these mothers have an understanding of what is important in the first stages of prenatal care of their children. For example, going to Doctor’s appointments, taking vitamins, eating healthy, and staying active. This will help provide a safe and healthy pregnancy for any children they may have. I also believe that gaining knowledge over the stages of development will be beneficial to know for the mothers who are fighting to have their children back. Some of these mothers I could be working with might not know what to expect of their one-year-old child. For example, how their brain is developing, what they should be doing cognitively or socially. As a future family life educator, it will be important that I have a clear understanding of these concerns of the child and the development process for the mothers who have the urge to get care of their children