Infant Development Fact Sheet

PLEASE FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS:

Preparation
Choose a topic from the list below (or choose a topic of your own) to use as the foundation for this assessment. Use the Capella library and Internet to locate academic and professional articles on the topic. Use a minimum of three (at least one academic and one professional) recent (within the last 5 years) articles as resources for this assessment.

Topics
Here are some suggested topics:

The effect of maternal stress on prenatal development.
Prenatal exposure to drugs and the effects on brain development.
Environmental influences on prenatal development. Please select only one:
Diseases.
Outside environmental hazards.
Medications (legal and illegal).
Alcohol and tobacco.
The effect of maternal post-partum depression on newborn infant development.
The effects of premature birth on the developing infant.
Scenario
You have been asked to develop a fact sheet for parents on a topic of infant development.

Instructions
For a two-page fact sheet, provide and an introduction to the topic, and then use bullet points to display information succinctly. Use language appropriate for your audience. In other words, avoid technical terms or jargon, unless you define it. You may create an original chart or graphic to explain a concept, if desired. Microsoft Office has many simple tools to create charts and graphics. Offer a recommendation for an intervention, supported with scholarly literature. Finally, provide a conclusion.

For this assessment:

Describe the problem as it exists today in the United States. Be sure to include any statistics on frequency, geographic distribution, cultural distribution, and so on.
Describe the research methods used by researchers in the field of human development; discuss strengths and weaknesses of methods.
Explain how the problem affects developing infants.
Explain how the research findings have influenced both social thinking and social policies with regard to the problem.
Offer one intervention you would recommend if a client came to you with the selected problem.
Example Assessment: You may use the assessment example, linked in the Assessment Example section of the Resources, to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.

Additional Requirements
Font: Use 12-point New Times Roman. You may use single or double-spaced lines, or use variable spacing to make the flyer easy to read and understand.
References: Add an additional reference page with 3–5 scholarly or professional citations.

As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.

What counseling would you offer to someone considering pregnancy, or in the early stage of pregnancy, about things that can affect prenatal development, such as teratogens and other factors?
How might your counsel change, based on demographic factors such as age or ethnicity of the woman?
What counseling would you offer to help lessen the effect of postnatal complications, such as low birth weight or preterm birth?
How do theories (cognitive, psychosocial, ecological, or other) explain how the type of play demonstrated in the video clips promotes successful development in the stages you identified?