Neonatal Development
Introduction
The neonatal period (birth to 1 month) is a time of extensive and ongoing system transition from uterine environment to external world, this includes the initial period after birth which is referred to as the perinatal period. Fir information on parturition see Birth.
It would seem obvious to say that development does not stop at birth. In fact many systems (cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, homeostasis) undergo significant changes at birth, and many others (neural) have not yet completed their development. Note this current project focuses on prenatal development, so postnatal content is not as detailed.
- Links: Birth | Postnatal Development | Puberty Development | original page
Neonatal - Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW)
VLBW neonates are between 401 to 1500 grams. The table below shows USA (NICHD) data for VLBW infants who survived beyond 3 days and had one or more episodes of blood culture-proven sepsis, the common cause of infection by gram-positive organisms, and the percentage of these resulting from coagulase-negative staphylococci.[1] [2]
Years | Blood culture-proven sepsis | Gram-positive organisms | Staphylococci |
1991 - 1993 | 25% | 73% | 55% |
1998 - 2000 | 21% | 70% | 48% |
Postnatal Neural
The links below are to a set of postnatal Neural Exam Movies by Paul D. Larsen, M.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Newborn normal
- Neural Exam Movies: normal behaviour | cranial nerves | Newborn Tone - resting posture | upper extremity | arm traction | arm recoil | scarf sign | hand position | lower extremity | leg traction | leg recoil | popliteal angle | heel to ear | neck tone | head lag | head control | Newborn Positions - prone | ventral suspension | vertical suspension | Newborn Reflexes - deep tendon reflexes | plantar reflex | suck, root | Moro | Galant | stepping | grasp | Newborn Head - head shape and sutures | head circumference | Neonatal Diagnosis
behaviour | tone | positions | reflexes | head |
Newborn abnormal
Newborn Abnormal Links: behaviour | cranial nerves | Newborn Tone - resting posture | upper extremity | arm traction | arm recoil | scarf sign | hand position | lower extremity | leg traction | leg recoil | popliteal angle | heel to ear | neck tone | head lag | head control | Newborn Positions - prone | ventral suspension | vertical suspension | Newborn Reflexes - deep tendon reflexes | plantar reflex | suck, root | Moro | Galant | stepping | grasp | Newborn Head - head shape and sutures | head circumference
behaviour | tone | positions | reflexes | head |
- Links: Neural Exam Movies
References
NCBI Bookshelf
The NCBI Bookshelf contains a number of complete online publications that relate to neonatal development. Of particular interest, is the new resource "Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries", which talks to important neonatal health issues in these countries.
Health Services/Technology Assessment Text (HSTAT) Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US), 2003 Oct.
- Criteria for Determining Disability in Infants and Children: Low Birth Weight
- Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Child and Maternal Health
- Management of Neonatal Hyperbilirubinemia
- Criteria for Determining Disability in Infants and Children: Failure to Thrive
- Newborn Screening for Sickle Cell Disease and Other Hemoglobinopathies
- Early Identification of Hearing Impairment in Infants and Young Children
- Critical Care Medicine
- The Effect of Corticosteroids for Fetal Maturation on Perinatal Outcomes
- Improving Treatment for Drug-Exposed Infants
- Recommendations for Use of Antiretroviral Drugs in Pregnant HIV-1-Infected Women for Maternal Health and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV-1 Transmission in the United States
- Management of Preterm Labor
- Management of Prolonged Pregnancy
- Cesarean Childbirth
- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) Volume 1 and Volume 2
Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries (2nd ed.) Dean T. Jamison, Joel G. Breman, Anthony R. Measham, George Alleyne, Mariam Claeson, David B. Evans, Prabhat Jha, Anne Mills, Philip Musgrove, editors Washington (DC): IBRD/The World Bank and Oxford University Press; 2006
- Newborn Survival
- Maternal and Perinatal Conditions
- Vaccine-preventable Diseases
- "Vaccines that prevent measles, tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis, Hib, and Neisseria meningitis prevent respiratory diseases.
- Vaccines against measles and pertussis, prevent diseases that cause or contribute to malnutrition.
- New vaccines, Streptococcus pneumoniae, influenza, typhoid fever, and rotavirus.
- Vaccines to prevent mumps and varicella that are routinely used in some developed countries are not included in most vaccination programs in developing countries.
- Clean umbilical cord care to reduce the incidence of neonatal tetanus, vitamin A therapy to reduce the case-fatality rate (CFR) from measles."
Basic Neurochemistry, Molecular, Cellular, and Medical Aspects (6th ed.) Siegal, George J.; Agranoff, Bernard W.; Albers, R. Wayne; Fisher, Stephen K.; Uhler, Michael D., editors. Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins; c1999.
- etiology of schizophrenia may involve pathological processes during brain development
- steroid hormone receptors become evident in target neurons of the brain
- Biochemistry of Thyroid Hormone Actions on Brain
"Hypothyroidism increases synaptic density, at least transiently. Interesting parallels with synapse formation are reported for learning behavior in rats; neonatal hypothyroidism impairs learning ability, whereas hyperthyroidism accelerates learning initially, followed by a decline later in life"
"The outlook is almost uniformly fatal, and the few babies who survive have severely compromised development and a cardiomyopathy that usually proves fatal. In rare cases, a patient stays asymptomatic until after the neonatal period, when hepatomegaly, vomiting, metabolic acidosis, hypoglycemia and a proximal myopathy become evident."
brain utilizes ketones in states of ketosis
"Significant utilization of ketone bodies by the brain is, however, normal in the neonatal period. The newborn infant tends to be hypoglycemic but becomes ketotic when it begins to nurse because of the high fat content of the mother's milk. When weaned onto the normal, relatively high-carbohydrate diet, the ketosis and cerebral ketone utilization disappear."
Reviews
Articles
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Childhood Disease
There are many different diseases that can impact on postnatal development, the most serious of which result in death. Some postnatal diseases may also have different outcomes dependent upon availability of medical support, though even in developed countries other factors can also impact on outcomes.
For example, a recent British Medical Journal (BMJ 25 June 2005) article "Outcome of meningococcal disease in children" identified in this UK study (of 498 children) three independent factors associated with an increased risk of death: not being cared for by a paediatrician, junior staff working with not enough supervision, and failure of staff to administer adequate inotropes.
Meningococcal disease, also called "meningitis", is a viral or bacterial infection of cerebrospinal fluid of the spinal cord and brain. Treatment and outcomes differ for either viral (less severe, resolves without specific treatment) or bacterial (severe, may result in brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disability) infections. For bacterial meningitis, determining the type of bacteria is important because antibiotics can prevent some types from spreading and infecting other people. Before the 1990s, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, but new vaccines being given to all children as part of their routine immunizations have reduced the occurrence of invasive disease due to H. influenzae. Today, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis are the leading causes of bacterial meningitis. (text modifed from CDC information - More? CDC - meningococcal disease | technical information)
Australian Information
NHMRC- Publications Relating to Child Health
[page3a.htm NHMRC Infectious Diseases School Exclusion recommendations]
Institute for Child Health Research (WA), internet required
http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/about/intro.html
NSW Information
The following are links to PDF documents prepared by NSW Health designed for clinical care (not patient information). Clinical Practice Guidelines for Paediatric Care
Acute Management of Infants and Children with: Bacterial Meningitis | Otitis Media | Fever | Asthma | Croup |
American Information
American Academy of Family Physicians The Newborn Examination: Part I. Emergencies and Common Abnormalities Involving the Skin, Head, Neck, Chest, and Respiratory and Cardiovascular Systems | Part II. Emergencies and Common Abnormalities Involving the Abdomen, Pelvis, Extremities, Genitalia, and Spine | Common Issues in the Care of Sick Neonates
American Medical Association "Kids Health" (these are easy to read general public pages American not Australian Information )
Baby Development by Topic Childhood Infections
Glossary Links
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Cite this page: Hill, M.A. (2024, June 14) Embryology Neonatal Development. Retrieved from https://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/embryology/index.php/Neonatal_Development
- © Dr Mark Hill 2024, UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4 - UNSW CRICOS Provider Code No. 00098G