Text, illustrations, and exercises are utilized in these four learning modules to instruct parents and nursing students in topics related to child care and development. The first module, "Growth and Development: Let's Test Your Baby's Reflexes" by Bonnie Wojcik, describes the behavioral signs that are indicative of eight normal primitive…

Reviews research concerning fathers' birth attendance, early contact, and extended contact with newborn infants. Discusses relationships between fathers' early history with infants and subsequent patterns of involvement. Considers methodological challenges of studying these relationships and finds that no conclusive statements can be made about…

Presented are a literature review and new data on correlates of newborn auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABRs). Concludes that disorders of the central components of the ABR may be more of prenatal than of postnatal origin. The I-V interval had low but reliable correlations with four of 11 Brazelton scale variables. (RH)

Visual fixations were recorded in newborn, 4-, and 8-week-old human infants as they scanned displays that varied in contour length, size, number, and a new metric, CVAL (based on Contour Variability, Amount and Location). One of the findings was that both contour length and CVAL separately accounted for approximatel1 95 of looking-duration…

Irritability levels and activity reactivity to aversive tactile stimuli were compared for 144 full-term neonates and 191 preterm infants. Irritability ratings increased across the five trials both during and post stimulation for full-term females and males and for preterm females, but not for preterm males. Activity ratings decreased across trials…

Findings of four recent survey studies of physicians' attitudes toward discretionary medical treatment of infants with Down's syndrome are evaluated in terms of three major themes. It is apparent that most physicians in the specialities sampled prefer that life-sustaining treatment be withheld in certain instances. (Author)

Deficiencies observed in health education and infant bonding in the postpartum service at the University of California-Irvine Medical Center prompted the creation of a nurse clinician position to coordinate health education for the largely indigent patient population, to expand in-service training, facilitate delivery of services, and to serve as…

Argues that using the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale outside the standard hospital setting introduces variations in the physical and social context that influence scores on some of the behavioral items. (Author/BH)

This article reviews early intervention resources for supporting infants and toddlers in intensive care units (ICUs) and their families. The resources cost $50 or less and include a video, three books, two Web sites, and a publication listing assessment tools, guidelines for family-centered practice, participatory exercises, and a bibliography.…

This article addresses the need for very early identification of hearing loss; summarizes federal and state government involvement in early identification of hearing loss; compares common screening methods; explains the use of Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE) with newborns; reviews existing TEOAE screening programs; and urges…

This article discusses ethical questions in providing prenatal services, including testing and genetic engineering, and medical interventions with neonates and other very young children who have severe disabilities. It explores ways to enhance ethical decision making, including recruitment for multidisciplinary teams or other committees of adults…

This review provides an overview and definition of the concept of neurobehavior in human development. Two neurobehavioral assessments used by the authors in current fetal and infant research are discussed: the NICU Network Neurobehavioral Assessment Scale and the Fetal Neurobehavior Coding System. This review will present how the two assessments…

The term "pilot study" has been used over the years to describe the evaluation of the many elements involved in deciding whether a proposed condition should be added to a newborn screening (NBS) panel, and until recently, was unilaterally used to describe the evaluation of the assay to be used before the condition was officially adopted by a state…

This new Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2008: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," is the latest annually produced book containing data on 18 different indicators of child and family well-being for the United States, Iowa and its 99 counties. The 18 indicators provide a wealth of health, education, welfare and…

Research on the effectiveness of the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) in enhancing the mother-newborn relationship has had inconsistent results. A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of an NBAS intervention with a high-risk mother group. The study focused on low-income, drug-using mothers, measuring the effectiveness of the…