Prenatal and postnatal periods of child development

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

The desire to have a child must be meaningful on the part of both parents. It is useful for the expectant mother not only to know about the upcoming changes in the body, but also to read as much information as possible about the prenatal and postnatal periods of the baby's development.

Before birth

The prenatal period, or intrauterine development, which lasts an average of 280 days (40 weeks), is usually divided into three stages:

• Initial stage. This is the first week of development from the moment of fertilization to implantation in the uterine mucosa of the embryo.
• Embryonic stage. Over the next seven weeks, the formation of all systems and organs takes place. The main food for the baby are substances delivered with the mother's blood. In the third week, blood vessels, the pronephros (pronephros) and the heart are laid. After another seven days, the formation of the liver, stomach, lung, pancreas and endocrine glands, as well as the primary kidney, the rudiments of the legs and arms, is completed. In the fifth week, the lungs and bronchi continue to develop in the embryo, the rectum and bladder are formed. After two weeks, intensive growth of the head is observed, you cansee ears and eyes, fingers and toes.
• Fruit stage. Starting from the ninth week of pregnancy and until the moment of birth, the child gains weight and increases in size, the maturation and development of systems and organs continues.

Classical music concerts

Until recently, the idea of calculating the age of a child from conception seemed completely crazy, but now scientists are no longer so skeptical.

Studies show that babies can learn in the womb. The best stimulation is to play classical music to the fetus.

Almost immediately after conception, the baby's brain begins to develop, and by the end of the fifth month, the number of brain cells is formed, which will remain unchanged throughout the postnatal period. With intrauterine development, cells increase with the help of intercellular connections.

Stimulation of cells through classical music increases the likelihood of developing intelligence. In addition, in the postnatal period, such children are easier to learn and even begin to speak a few months earlier than their peers.

After birth

The postnatal period is the time from birth to death. In pediatrics, it is customary to distinguish the following stages of postnatal development:

1. The first month after birth is the neonatal period.

2. From the second month to the year - infancy.

3. The second year of life is late infancy.

4. From two to six years - younger children's age (preschoolperiod).

5. 6-10 years old (girls) and 6-12 years old (boys) - school period.

First month

During the first 28 days of a baby's life, dramatic changes occur. We will tell you in detail about the features of the neonatal period:

1. Physiological weight loss. Pediatricians consider weight loss up to 10% in the first five days to be normal.
2. Immediately after birth, babies have a search, suck, motor and grasping reflex.
3. During the first month of life, the muscles are in good shape, and the body automatically assumes the fetal position. Hypertonicity usually disappears after two to three months.
4. The number of bowel movements directly depends on the frequency of feeding. For the first two days, meconium is excreted from the intestines.
5. Newborns spend most of their time sleeping - they can sleep up to 22 hours a day.

Separation of mother and child during childbirth, of course, affects the psychological state of the baby in the early postnatal period. However, if you maintain constant contact, this stage passes without serious consequences.

When it comes to food, WHO and pediatricians around the world consider breast milk to be the ideal diet, especially for newborns. The number and frequency of feedings is best left to the discretion of the baby.

From a month to a year

Imagine what a difficult task a child faces in the first year of life. First, the baby learns to hold his head, then crawl and sit down, get up, walk, grab objects. Formationmotor skills in children in the postnatal period of development allows them to get as much information as possible about the world around them.

The first attempts to capture and hold the subject appear already at 3-4 months. For such training, light and noisy rattles are suitable. At this age, children begin to understand the relationship between certain movements and the sounds that appear during this.

At about 6-7 months, babies discover an independent way of moving in space - crawling. After some time, they try to get up on their feet and take their first steps, and the active participation of adults will definitely benefit this complex process.

At the end of the infancy period, the child tries to imitate adults in manipulating objects: bringing a cup to his mouth, rolling a typewriter, banging on a drum.

Two years

During the first year of life, the baby is attached to the mother, but development in the postnatal period adds self-confidence. At 12 months, the baby already knows how to walk and struggles to become independent. Parents are surprised to discover the moment when the child ceases to obey their will and becomes a person with his own desires.

The development of the baby during late infancy is accompanied by the formation of character and goes at a very fast pace. The little explorer is calm only at the moment of sleep, and the rest of the time he literally does not sit still.

Until the age of two, a child accumulates a passive vocabulary and learns to understandcolloquial speech, so that after a while you can start speaking on your own.

It's no secret that children can develop in different ways. However, there are times when the principle of "everything in its time" is better not to apply in the postnatal period. Be sure to contact a specialist if the baby has not begun to walk or does not play simple games after a year and a half, does not speak a word after two years, or does not respond to the long absence of his mother (adult caring for him).

3 to 5 years

The postnatal period of a child's development is often accompanied by crises, and the first one occurs at the age of three. The “we” position is replaced by an independent “I”, which changes the baby’s attitude to everything around. Instead of the world of objects, the main interest is now the world of people.

In early preschool age, the development of communicative activity, social perception and speech functions, as well as imagination and figurative thinking.

In the sixth year of life, we can appreciate the individuality and character of the baby. With the help of imagination, the child literally paints his life with bright colors. Experts believe that children's drawings at preschool age are a connection with the inner world of a young artist.

Closer to the school period, the child is well oriented in time and space, in everyday things and relationships between people.

6 to 10 years old

The manifestation of the crisis of 6-7 years speaks about social readiness for school. The child is trying to realize his place in the system of complex socialrelations, there is a separation of the external and internal world.

In primary school age, memory and perception undergo significant changes. Teaching becomes the leading activity, other duties and daily routine appear.

Students show individuality and interest in competitions. They are active, full of energy and inquisitive. It is important for children to see a good example before their eyes: the love of parents, the atmosphere of friendliness, willingness to help and mutual respect.