Brain Development: A Few Things You Will Teach As A Neonatal Nurse

You have a heart that longs to care for newborns, and you want to help, which may be one of the reasons you are thinking about becoming a neonatal nurse. One of the most important things you will be doing is sharing some helpful knowledge with the newborn's parents regarding neonatal care. The following is a sneak peek into what you will be learning and sharing regarding brain development. 

Brain Development

A parent will be looking to you for guidance, and one of the things that you can help with is enhancing a newborn's brain development. You can tell the newborn's parent that his or her baby is born with over 100 billion neurons eager to learn about their new environment. 

The following are just some nuggets you could pass on to the parents of a newborn bundle of joy:

The Importance Of Interaction

One of the most important things that help a developing brain is interaction, which comes in many forms, like something as simple as conversation. You should always recommend that televisions remain off up until the newborn is at least 2 years old (although more time isn't a bad idea). This is important because the way that a parent talks to his or her child should boost brain development. The child will listen to things like tone, to how a word is spoken, or your accent. But, studies have shown that people normally speak 940 words per hour yet will only speak 170 words an hour with a television. 

Be Stimulating

Make sure you tell the parent to be as stimulating as he or she can be. The child depends on stimuli to learn the ways of the world and how to interact. The following are just some suggestions to pass on:

• Making different expressions
• Be sure to tell the parent that eye contact is important for memory development and connection
• Touch is incredibly important--and not just a hand, but other items as well with different textures to stimulate the infant's brain
• You may also teach the parent about stimulating every other sense not previously mentioned, like the sense of smell, taste, or sound

These are just some of the things that you can teach as a new parent; but there is a lot more that you can do with your chosen profession. Just remember that there are many parents out there who need your help and support.