11. Growth & Development: Newborn & Infant PrepU

Infant development is best described by which statement?

Development proceeds cephalocaudally.

A 2-month-old boy has inconsolable crying, is gassy, and constantly draws his legs up. It has been determined that the boy has colic. What is the best intervention to treat colic?

He needs to try a different formula to assess for sensitivity.

A parent who is feeding his child formula prepared at home using evaporated milk is concerned about whether the child is receiving all necessary nutrients. What would it be important for this parent to add to his child's diet to supplement the formula?

Iron

The nurse is assessing the oral cavity of a 6-month-old child. When palpating the location in which the first primary teeth erupt, which location is being assessed?

Lower central gumline The lower central incisors are usually the first to appear, followed by the upper central incisors.

The nurse is providing helpful feeding tips to the mother of a 2-week-old boy. Which recommendations will best help the child feed effectively?

Maintain a feed-on-demand approach

The mother of a 1-month-old infant voices concern about her baby's respirations. She states they are rapid and irregular. Which information should the nurse provide?

The respirations of a 1-month-old infant are normally irregular and periodically pause.

The nurse conducting a 6-month well-baby check-up assesses for the presence/absence of the asymmetric tonic neck reflex. At this age the reflex:

should have disappeared.

The nurse is educating the mother of a newborn about feeding practices. The nurse correctly advises the mother that:

the newborn's stomach can hold between one-half and 1 ounce.

A 9-month-old has been brought to the clinic for a well-child visit. The mother reports her son was born 6 weeks prematurely. During the data collection, the child's mother reports her son seems to be a few months "behind" what she recalls from her older children. What is the best response by the nurse?

"Delays are normal when a child is premature."

The parents of an 8-month-old boy voice concern to the nurse that their child is not developing motor skills as he should. What question would be appropriate for the nurse to ask in determining if their fears are warranted?

"Does he move a toy back and forth from one hand to the other when you give it to him?"

A parent asks the nurse if her 2-month-old could have bananas yet. The nurse would respond and educate the parent on the nutrition stages of infants by which of these responses?

"In two months you can try bananas if you think she is ready."

The student nurse is reviewing the records of a pediatric client. Which statement about the client's progress indicates the need for further instruction?

"Maturation refers to the child's increases in body size." Growth refers to an increase in physical size. Development is the sequential process by which infants and children gain various skills and functions. Heredity influences growth and development by determining the child's potential, while environment contributes to the degree of achievement. Maturation refers to an increase in functionality of various body systems or developmental skills.

The nurse comes into an infant's room on the pediatric floor. The nurse wants to try to feed the infant for the first time since her surgery. How does the nurse know what infant state the child is in by what the mother says and that it is okay to try and feed the infant?

"She has been a chatterbox and smiles just like her brother."

The mother of a 6-week-old infant reports she doesn't know if her child recognizes her face yet. What response by the nurse is most appropriate?

"Since about 4 weeks of age your child has been able to recognize those who are around him often."

A frustrated mother comes to a 9-month well-baby check-up because her son is refusing all of the solid food she gives him. When talking with this mother, the nurse discovers that she has struggled all her life with a weight problem. She attributes this problem to being forced to eat all of the food she was served as a child, even when she was full. Because she doesn't want to cause the same problem in her child, she tells the nurse that each time her son pushes food away with his tongue she believes that he doesn't want it. Which statement would be most appropriate for the nurse to say to this mother?

"The baby needs to learn how to move the food to the back of the mouth for swallowing, so catch the food and offer it again until the baby learns this."

The mother of a 11-month-old has come to the clinic with concerns. She reports to the nurse that her baby's "soft spot in the front" is now gone. The nurse assesses the infant and notes the fontanel has closed. What response by the nurse is most appropriate?

"The soft spot or fontanel has closed."

What is the correct amount of wet diapers a mature infant should have each day?

An infant should have 6 to 8 wet diapers/day.

When preforming neurological reflexes on the infant, which primitive reflex will be present longest?

Babinski

A newborn infant requires skin care that includes bathing. Besides hygiene, what is another reason for bathing an infant?

Bathing is a time for bonding with the parents.

Which activity is most beneficial in the development of the newborn?

Being sung to by his mother

An infant is breastfed. When assessing her stools, which findings would be typical?

Breastfed infants are less likely to be constipated than bottle-fed infants.

What information would you include when teaching the parents of an infant about colic?

Colic symptoms will probably fade at 3 months of age.

Which milestone would you expect an infant to accomplish by 8 months of age?

Sitting without support

In working with an infant, the nurse recognizes what as a characteristic of the infant?

The child grows and develops skills more rapidly than at any other time in their life.

A 5-month-old infant being assessed was born at 32 weeks. The nurse doing the well-child check-up should compare the baby to what norms?

The development of a 3-month-old

What action shows an example of Erik Erikson's developmental task for the infant?

The infant cries and the caregiver picks the child up.

The nurse is conducting a physical examination of a 5-month-old boy. Which observation may be cause for concern about the infant's neurologic development?

The infant displays an asymmetric tonic neck reflex (fencing reflex).

Using knowledge of normal growth and development, what would be expected when observing a 12-week-old infant?

The infant smiles at significant others

The mother of an infant asks you when to begin brushing her son's teeth. Your best response would be:

as soon as the first tooth erupts.

When teaching an infant's mother about bathing her, it would be important to instruct her that:

bath time provides an opportunity for play.

Anticipatory guidance for an infant for the 4th month should include the fact that she probably will:

be able to turn over onto the back.

The best way for an infant's father to help his child complete the developmental task of the first year is to:

respond to her consistently.

The father of a 6-week-old infant voices concerns about his son's stooling. He further shares that his son grunts and cries when having a bowel movement. What response by the nurse is most appropriate?

"What does his stool look like?"

The mother of a newborn reports she does not think her baby likes his formula since he spits up after only taking a small amount. Which response by the nurse is most appropriate?

"Your baby's stomach is small and can only hold about 1/2 to 1 ounce at birth."

The infant weighs 6 lbs., 8 oz. (2.95 kg) at birth. If the infant is following a normal pattern of growth, what would be an expected weight for this child at the age of four months?

13 lbs. (5.9 kg) Most infants double their birthweight by 4 months of age and triple their birth weight by the time they are 1 year old.

The infant measures 21 ½ inches (54.6 cm) at birth. If the infant is following a normal pattern of growth, what would be an expected height for this child at the age of six months?

27 ½ inches (69.9 cm) Most infants double their birth weight by 4 months of age and triple their birth weight by the time they are 1 year old. By 12 months of age, the infant's length has increased by 50 percent.

A 3-month-old still has a Moro reflex. Which statement is most true of this reflex?

Most 3-month-olds still have a Moro reflex.

The student nurse is caring for a 2 1/2-week-old in the newborn intensive care unit. Which term is most accurate when discussing this client?

Newborn A more accurate term for this child would be newborn rather than infant because the newborn or neonatal period of infancy is defined as the period from birth until 28 days of age. Infancy is the period of time up to 1 year old. Child and baby don't refer to the client's age accurately.

The nurse is assessing the oral cavity of a 4-month-old infant. Which finding is consistent with a child of this age?

No teeth Normally infants are not born with teeth. Occasionally there are one or more teeth at birth. These are termed natal teeth and are often associated with anomalies. The first primary teeth typically erupt between the ages of 6 and 8 months.

A nurse is preparing discharge teaching for a client being discharged with her newborn baby. What is the highest priority item that must be included in the teaching plan?

Restrain the baby in a car seat.

Which developmental milestone would the nurse expect an 11-month-old infant to have achieved?

Sitting independently

The nurse is assessing the sleeping practices of the parents of a 4-month-old girl who wakes repeatedly during the night. Which parent comment might reveal a cause for the night waking?

They put her to bed when she falls asleep. If the parents are keeping the child up until she falls asleep, they are not creating a bedtime routine for her. Infants need a transition to sleep at this age. If the parents are singing to her before she goes to bed, if she has a regular, scheduled bedtime, and if they check on her safety when she wakes at night, then lie her down and leave, they are using good sleep practices.