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Development of Newborn Behavior

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Book cover Postnatal Growth Neurobiology

Abstract

As a newborn lies undressed and uncovered immediately after delivery, his color begins to change, with mottled uneven acrocyanosis of his trunk and extremities as the autonomic nervous system attempts to control the loss of body heat. The infant begins to shiver, and then to cry and flail his limbs in jerky, thrusting movements in an effort to maintain his own body temperature. In spite of the enormous demands of a new uncontrolled environment, if one speaks gently and insistently into one ear, his movements become smoother, and slower, and the infant gradually quiets completely. His color improves as his face softens and brightens; his eyes widen and, with an alert look, both eyes turn smoothly to the side from which the voice is coming. His head follows with a sudden smooth turn toward the voice, and he searches for the face of the speaker. His face brightens as he fixes on the eyes of the examiner and listens intently for several minutes. If the examiner moves his face slowly to the baby’s midline and then across to the other side, the newborn will track the examiner’s face, head, and eyes, smoothly turning in an 180° arc.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Child Development Unit, Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, USA

    T. Berry Brazelton

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

    Frank Falkner

  2. School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA

    Frank Falkner

  3. Department of Growth and Development, Institute of Child Health, University of London, WC1N 1EH, London, England

    James M. Tanner

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Brazelton, T.B. (1986). Development of Newborn Behavior. In: Falkner, F., Tanner, J.M. (eds) Postnatal Growth Neurobiology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0522-2_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0522-2_18

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