Week 3 - Phil Kleven

Pregnancy, birth, and newborns, what a coincidence! My wife and I have experienced all of these things recently, and are awaiting the birth of our son sometime in the next few days. This week’s reading material was divided into three areas - pregnancy and prenatal development, birth and the newborn child, and infancy. I’d like to share some of the things I learned from the reading, and apply them to my life over the past year and a half. 

Lisa Fiore begins chapter three, Pregnancy and Prenatal Development, by giving a bit of a science lesson on the physical process of reproduction. On page 55, we see a basic cell structure, as well as representations of chromosomes, DNA, and genes. I learned the difference between a Genotype (Genetic makeup of an individual), and a Phenotype (Observable characteristics). The section concludes with an explanation of two types of cell division, Meitosis and Meiosis, and mentions a few genetic disorders on pages 58-59. 

The chapter continues, moving to prenatal development on pages 64-65. Three main periods of development are mentioned. The germinal period, seen during the first two weeks, is recognized by the creation of a ball of cells called the blastocyst. The embryonic period, from 3-8 weeks exhibits cellular differentiation. Finally, we can observe organ development during the fetal period, lasting from the third month through birth. Our son is certainly in the fetal period, as his due date is Saturday!

In chapter 4, Birth and the Newborn Child, Fiore outlines several methods of childbirth and includes a nice chart about sensory competence in newborns. As childbirth becomes near, the mother experiences Braxton hicks contractions. These contractions simulate real birth contractions. My wife has been having many of them this week. Dilation also begins and the expulsion period can last between 1.5 and 6 hours. 

Fiore also points out several methods of childbirth a mother may choose on pages 82-85. These include natural, midwife/doula, home delivery, and cesarean section. My wife chose to have a natural birth for our daughter is planning to do so again with our son. She is also having a midwife and doula deliver the baby. I’ll spare you the details, but she had a very argumentative doctor last time, and is avoiding the entire hospital! 

This section ends with a nice chart on pages 91-92 that shows sensory competence through one month. This is something I’ll be paying attention to over the next few weeks. 

• Vision - Least developed of all senses
• Smell - Seen in reaction to breast milk
• Taste - Make faces and develop tastes
• Hearing - Immediate response
• Touch - Skin to skin very important

Finally, chapter 5 discusses infancy and four major subjects are covered. 

Nutrition - Breast milk is ideal for up to six months. It fights disease, and children are less susceptible to allergic reactions (page 104).

Brain Development - Something known as “Infantile amnesia” results in an inability to remember events from early life. On page 107, motor development is mentioned, explaining head control, crawling, standing and walking.

Perceptual Development - In first year of life, infants discern patterns, depth, orientation, location, movement, and color

Visual Perception, p. 111 - Infants are down able to see and exhibit a preference for patterns.

I found the reading to be more interesting and applicable to my life this week. I would have considered the reading to be a bit dry, but having kids allowed me to relate concepts to my own life. As I look ahead in the book, I imagine that future chapters will be similar. Perhaps I will learn about all the things that are happening to me in adulthood!