Growth and Development and Health Promotion of an Infant Essay

Development simply refers to human growth from birth throughout childhood to adulthood. Human development depends on nature and nurture. Nature emphasizes biology and genetic modifications for human development while nurturing bases development on things such as environment, (Balogh, 2014). Infancy occurs from birth to 24 months.

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Physical development is the increase in body organs and having control over body muscles. Infants learn to control their large muscles (gross motor) by doing things such as sitting, and small muscle (fine motor) growth enable them to perform tasks such as eating (Berk, 2017). Like newborn babies, children respond to different stimuli and use reflex for movement since their muscles are too weak to control their bodies. After a period of five months, infants gain control of their heads and arms, (Berk, 2017). Fine motor skills or use of small muscles develop after 12 months, and at this stage, infants are able to lift objects and even play with toys. Infants also develop a good sense of touch as they are able to use their muscles. It is advisable for both parents and educators to use positive reinforcements in helping the infant's physical development (Drennan & Goodman, 2014).

Cognitive development is learning, understanding and reasoning capabilities (Navedo, 2013). Intelligence develops at this stage. Infants use their senses such as touching and smelling to interact with the environment. In doing so, they learn how to memorize, think and reason. (Navedo, 2013). At this stage, cognitive development is caused by sensory stimuli since their still lack muscle strength, this is known as sensor motor stage. Infants also learn how to adopt to different situations. Through assimilation, they use their own experience gathered from past experience to similar situations. On the flip side, through accommodation, they tend to adopt past experience to fit the new environment (Berk, 2017). Development of memory is also key when adopting to different situations. Physical development of the brain determines the cognitive development of language. Infants learn or understand language before they can actually speak (Ambridge et al., 2015). At an early stage, they babble, then holophrastic speech or single words and finally use telegraphic speech to convey a complete message (Ambridge et al., 2015).

Infant health promotion is the method and ways of preventing disease in infants and improving their health. Healthy nurturing of a baby begins before conception, (Balogh, 2018). Infants are at a greater risk when it comes to health issues. The family of an infant and the society around the infant plays a major role in ensuring good health (Drennan & Goodman, 2014). Provision of basic needs such as food, clothing, and shelter to ensure good health because lack of it may cause illness to the infant. Cultural factors such as beliefs and customs, language and religion of a community also affect the health of an infant. Political factors play a significant role in determining the health services available to an infant, formulation of policies that affect the infant's health and stability for nurturing the infant. Finally, the economic factors of the parent will determine the lifestyle of an infant (Drennan & Goodman, 2014).

Conclusion

Nursing consideration should be considered during infancy for health promotion. At an early stage, an infant should be vaccinated as a preventive measure against diseases and illness. Use of qualified nursing for infants born with conditions that need special attention (Drennan & Goodman, 2014).

References

AMBRIDGE, B., KIDD, E., ROWLAND, C. F., & THEAKSTON, A. L. (2015). The ubiquity of frequency effects in first language acquisition. Journal of Child Language, 42(2), 239-273. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S030500091400049X

Balogh, V.,B.F.A.I.H.C.P.Y.T. (2014). From womb to world: Folic acid and iron benefits and future health implications. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 29(3), 38-41. Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1545045469?accountid=131932

Berk, L. (2017). Development through the lifespan. Pearson Education India.

Drennan, V., & Goodman, C. (Eds.). (2014). Oxford Handbook of Primary Care and community nursing. Oxford Handbooks in Nursing.

Navedo, C. M. (2013). Benefits of baby sign on cognitive development in infants (Order No. 1539978). Available from Nursing & Allied Health Database. (1416351789). Retrieved from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1416351789?accountid=131932