an incision sometimes made to increase the size of the vagina to allow the baby to pass
Apgar Scale
standard measurement system that looks for a variety of indications of good health in newborns
anoxia
a restriction on oxygen to the baby, lasting a few minutes during the birth process, which can produce brain damage
bonding
close physical and emotional contact between parent and child during the period immediately following birth, argued by some to affect later relationship strength
preterm infants
infants who are born prior to 38 weeks after conception (also known as premature infants)
low-birthweight infants
infants who weigh less than 2,500 grams (around 5.5 lbs)
small-for-gestational-age infants
infants who, because of delayed fetal growth, weigh 90% (or less) of the average weight of infants of the same gestational age
very-low-birthweight infants
infants who weigh less that 1,250 grams (around 2.25 lbs) or, regardless of weigh, have been in the womb less than 30 weeks
age of viability
the point at which an infant can survive a premature birth
still birth
the delivery of a child who is not alive, occuring in less than 1 delivery in 100
infant mortality
death within the first year of life
cesarean delivery
a birth in which the baby is surgically removed from the uterus, rather than traveling through the birth canal
fetal monitor
a device that measures the baby's heartbeat during labor
reflexes
unlearned, organized involuntary responses that occurs automatically in the presence of certain stimuli
classical conditioning
a type of learning in which an organism responds in a particular way to a neutral stimulus that normally does not bring about that type of response
operant conditioning
a form of learning in which a voluntary response is strengthened or weakened, depending on its associaion with positive or negative consequences
habituation
the decrease in the response to a stimulus that occures after repeated presentations of the same stimulus
states of arousal
different degrees of sleep and wakefulness through which newborns cycle, ranging from deep sleep to great agitation
