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<html lang="en" class="hexml-course s2e"><!--[if lt IE 8]> <html class="oldie"> <![endif]--><!--Generated at Wed, 12 Oct 2022 23:23:13 +0000--><head><meta name="author" content='["Carole Dobrich"]'><meta name="course" content="MA03"><meta name="topic" content="3.1"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="copyright" content="2022 Health e-Learning"><meta name="robots" content="NONE,NOARCHIVE"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=0"><link rel="stylesheet" href="//static.health-e-learning.com/jigsaw/design/hexml.pack.css?v=1665616993" type="text/css"><script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8" src="//static.health-e-learning.com/jigsaw/design/hexml.pack.js?v=1665616993"></script><title>MA03: Infant innate behaviours</title></head><body class="loading"><div class="ajax-modal Fixed"></div><div class="watermark"><span>Health e-Learning</span></div><div id="access"><a href="#access" accesskey="a">Access Keys</a><a href="#menu" accesskey="m">Skip to Menu</a><a href="#content" accesskey="c">Skip to Content</a><a href="#footer" accesskey="f">Skip to Footer</a></div><div id="nav"><span class="nav-menu">Maintaining BFHI Education for Nurses and Midwives - Series 2</span><a id="hamburger" href="#"><span class="hamburger hamburger--collapse"><span class="hamburger-box"><span class="hamburger-inner"></span></span></span></a><div class="progress-container"><div id="myBar" class="progress-bar"></div></div></div><nav id="menu"><ol><li><a href="topic_1-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">1.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Introduction</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_2-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">2.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Protection of Breastfeeding [Domain 1]</span></a><ol><li><a href="topic_2-1.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">2.1 </span><span class="menu-item-title">A Code History Timeline</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_2-2.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">2.2 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Marketing - the role of the International Code</span></a></li></ol></li><li><a href="topic_3-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">3.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Understanding the importance of skin-to-skin</span></a><ol><li class="current mm-selected"><a href="topic_3-1.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">3.1 <i class="fa fa-caret-right" aria-hidden="true"></i></span><span class="menu-item-title">Infant innate behaviours</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_3-2.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">3.2 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Skin-to-skin and the role of the Health Worker</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_3-3.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">3.3 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Addressing barriers to skin-to-skin</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_3-4.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">3.4 </span><span class="menu-item-title">The loving relationship</span></a></li></ol></li><li><a href="topic_4-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">4.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Postnatal Interventions</span></a><ol><li><a href="topic_4-1.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">4.1 </span><span class="menu-item-title">The chemistry of feeding</span></a></li></ol></li><li><a href="topic_5-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">5.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Special needs and infant challenges [Domain 6]</span></a><ol><li><a href="topic_5-1.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">5.1 </span><span class="menu-item-title">The 'late preterm' 'early term' baby</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_5-2.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">5.2 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Ankyloglossia</span></a></li></ol></li><li><a href="topic_6-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">6.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Managing common difficulties</span></a><ol><li><a href="topic_6-1.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">6.1 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Engorgement</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_6-2.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">6.2 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Hyperlactation</span></a></li></ol></li><li><a href="topic_7-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">7.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Supplementation</span></a><ol><li><a href="topic_7-1.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">7.1 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Feeding-line device at the breast or chest</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_7-2.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">7.2 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Cup feeding</span></a></li><li><a href="topic_7-3.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">7.3 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Finger Feeding</span></a></li></ol></li><li><a href="topic_8-0.html"><span class="menu-item-icon">8.0 </span><span class="menu-item-title">Closing session</span></a><hr></li><li class="appendix"><a href="references.html"><span class="menu-item-icon no-topic"><i aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-book i-topic"></i></span><span class="menu-item-title">List of references</span></a></li><li class="appendix"><a href="contents.html"><span class="menu-item-icon no-topic"><i aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-file-text-o i-topic"></i></span><span class="menu-item-title">Course contents</span></a></li><li class="appendix"><a href="full.html"><span class="menu-item-icon no-topic"><i aria-hidden="true" class="fa fa-print i-topic"></i></span><span class="menu-item-title">Print version</span></a></li></ol></nav><div id="content"><h1 id="top">3.1 Infant innate behaviours</h1><section class="section" id="The_9_instinctive_stages"><h2>The 9 instinctive stages</h2> <div class="content-node"> <p>Several researchers have described this species-specific set of innate behaviors when an infant is placed in skin-to-skin contact with the birthing parent immediately following birth. It is clear that newborn babies are born with the instinct to breastfeed.</p> <p>A newborn baby is born with all the necessary neurobehavioural capability to breastfeed - innate responses. The infant responses are expressed through the autonomic nervous, hormonal, and somatic systems which regulate heart rate, breathing, oxytocin and cortisol levels, and muscle movement.</p> <p>The balance between these systems is very fragile and easily disturbed, particularly in the newborn period. The transition from in-utero to adaptation to life outside the uterus is often described as the sensitive period.</p> <p>The baby will use olfactory and tactile cues as behavioural sequences which stimulate hand-to-mouth movements, tongue action with mouth opening, focus on the nipple and crawling towards it, massage of the breast to stimulate the nipple, head bobbing and licking at the nipple, and finally self-attachment. Widstrom et alenlightened the world to the baby's ability to perform this task without the active participation of the mother/parent.</p> <p>Widstrom et al. further described these innate behaviours when newborns are in skin-to-skin contact after birth. This contact "elicits the newborn infant’s internal process to go through what could be called 9 instinctive stages: birth cry, relaxation, awakening, activity, rest, crawling, familiarization, suckling, and sleeping".</p> </div> <blockquote> <div class="content-node"> <p>The newborn will rest throughout the first hour after birth. This Resting Stage is interspersed with the other stages. The newborn may have periods of activity, then rest, then become active again. Or the Resting Stage may occur between stages, for example, after activity and before the newborn begins to crawl.</p> </div> </blockquote> <div class="captionBox"><img width="458" height="694" data-src="images/9_instinctive_stages_A-T.jpg" src="//static.health-e-learning.com/jigsaw/design/lazy_image.gif" alt="https://www.aliveandthrive.org/sites/default/files/nine_instinctive_stages.pdf"><p>https://www.aliveandthrive.org/sites/default/files/nine_instinctive_stages.pdf. <br>&copy; Alive and Thrive</p></div> <div class="box"><div class="box-title"><h3>Baby-led latching</h3></div> <div class="content-node"> <p>View the video below and note the following:</p> <ul> <li>the position of mother/lactating parent and baby</li> <li>the calming effect of this position on baby</li> <li>the beginnings of mouthing and interest in the breast</li> <li>the head bobbing and seeking with the tongue</li> <li>and finally, the baby latched on and is suckling.</li> </ul> <p>Did you notice the innate behaviours and instinctive stages?</p> </div> <div class="captionBox videobox"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://static.step2education.com/m/b/es/positioninglatchingbabyled.mp4" style="max-width:100%;" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="1"></iframe></div> </div> </section><div id="footer"><a href="topic_3-0.html" rel="prev" class="prev">&laquo; Prev</a><a href="topic_3-2.html" rel="next" class="next">Next &raquo;</a><br style="clear: both"><div class="floating-menu"><button class="theme-toggle" title="Toggle colors (dark or light)"><i class="fa fa-moon-o"></i></button><button class="gotoTop" title="Back to top"><i class="fa fa-chevron-up"></i></button></div><a href="javascript:%20window.print()" id="printLink">Print this page</a><span class="noPrint"> | </span>&copy; 2022 Health e-Learning<p class="printOnly">COPYRIGHT: You are permitted to print ONE (1) copy for your personal use only. No graphics, tables, quizzes, videos, etc, may be used in any form without express written consent. Author: ["Carole Dobrich"]</p><p class="dateUpdated">Updated on Wed, 12 Oct 2022 23:23:13 +0000</p></div></div></body></html>
