The newborn brain prefers an environment that mimics what it already knows.
Expert has defined the first three months of a newborn infant’s life as the “Fourth Trimester”. This refers to the idea that newborn’s life nervous systems, digestive system, temperature control system, and so on, are not quite “ready for prime time.”
What parents can best provide in this special first period of life outside the womb is to create care routines that mimic the environment inside the womb.From a brain development perspective, what these suggestions draw attention to is that there are always to slowly introduce the baby to life in the outside world.
The idea that brains recognize the familiar is at the root of these suggestions. It has calming effect on the brain to know, at each and every stage of life, what to expect next.
It is a good idea that, in a world that is literally all new and infant can be “reminded” of easier days in the womb with the effortless comforts of not having to work hard in order to:
- Get nourishment
- Maintain perfect body temperature
- Be comforted by the sounds of a regular heartbeat
- Achieve effortless movement
- Be soothed by a worm, secure environment
The brain main function is to keep us alive. That fact, combined with other main “operating principles” of brain function, can influence many decisions we make as a parent.
The brain is:
- A survival organ
- A pattern seeking organ
- A pleasure seeking organ
- A novelty organ
- An energy conserving organ
- A meaning seeking organ
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