Babies develop according to a hardwired developmental timeline. Anything which disrupts this timeline can affect an infant’s development.
This disruption could be physical, as in the case of physical trauma, such as being born premature. It might be biochemical, as in the case of the infant whose mother has inadvertently taken medication, alcohol or other chemicals, during her pregnancy. There is even some indication that the disruption could be emotional. Mother and child share the same biochemical milieu. When mom becomes severely anxious or emotionally stressed, her unborn baby may experience some of this biochemically, if not in other ways as well. There is growing evidence that mother’s diet and her environment can play a role in determining the baby’s health, both at birth and perhaps later as well.
The baby’s labour and birth offer some of his first learning experiences. Some weeks before the birth, babies usually orientate themselves into a “head down” position. In an ideal situation, the baby gets to initiate the labour process.
Working his way through the birth canal offers the baby his first experience of squeezing his way through his first “obstacle course”. The high levels of stress experienced by the baby in fact serve to prepare him to take his first breath and to continue to breathe optimally. When he finally emerges from the birth canal, he experiences a number of important transitions. He is exposed to air, temperature change, his body is no longer surrounded by water, nor is it held firmly in a foetal position. Instead, he suddenly begins to experience the pull of gravity more strongly. The sounds which reach his ears are no longer muted. His skin is exposed to different touch stimuli.
The baby’s ability to latch onto the breast and to synchronise the actions of sucking, swallowing and breathing is a complex action for newborn babies.
The baby’s ability to adjust and to make this transition, is one of his first experiences of sensory regulation. The ease with which he makes this transition, and his ability to calm and to regulate his breathing and his state of arousal, at birth, may affect his ability to self-regulate later. These early experiences often set the tone for later self regulation and organisation. The infant who remains in a neonatal intensive care facility is likely to experience difficulty with self-regulation. Similarly, the infant who is over-stimulated, is more likely to have difficulty in learning to self calm and to self regulate.
Shortly after birth, baby will have his first feed. The sucking reflex is hardwired and has usually also been practiced in utero. The baby’s ability to latch onto the breast and to synchronise the actions of sucking, swallowing and breathing is a complex action for newborn babies. Babies who do not easily master this oral-motor sequence, and who experience ongoing feeding difficulties, maybe at greater risk for motor planning difficulties. These babies may be more likely to develop colic or other digestive difficulties.
In the first six weeks of life, babies learn to self-regulate and to self calm. Some babies have difficulty in mastering this ability, and may be high-demand, fussy babies. They often have sleep difficulties. These babies are often irritable simply on account of poor sleep patterns. Their parents are often also sleep deprived! It is tricky to be an attentive parent when you are sleep-deprived!
These difficulties may continue and may lead to other developmental issues.
Being able to read your baby’s cues and meeting their particular needs can be hugely helpful and can help to build a better foundation for their later development. I can assist you in identifying sensory difficulties which your baby may have, and in better understanding how to deal with them.