As a mother, I want you to know that it is not your job to know everything and do everything right the first time. It is our job as healthcare providers to provide you with the education necessary for you and your infant to be successful. The more involved you are as a parent within your infants care, the heightened your relationship will be with your infant, the more you will provide a stimulating environment for your little one, help to decrease overall stress levels, and help you to better understand typical developmental milestones and what you can do to achieve those.⁶

The first few days of the infants lives are typically confronted with stressful responses due to painful procedures, uncomfortable manipulations, bright lights, loud noises, and temperature changes - ultimately affecting the development of these infants, due to their level of immaturity.⁵ The therapists role is to assess for interruptions that may occur within these infants lives as they progress towards development and help them build an appropriate foundation thats aimed towards guiding future skills, including the incorporation of positive touch and appropriate amounts of stimuli for the developing infant.

Interventions to incorporate early on:

• Kangaroo care - skin-to-skin

• Breast feeding

• Swaddling - promoting midline for self-soothing and replicating the intrauterine environment

• Side lying diaper changes - limiting the effects of gravity

• Change in positioning - preventing side preferences, maintaining head shape, and limiting tightness

• Stretching

• Gentle infant massage - moving in the direction from head (cephalic) to toe (caudal) which is the path of infant development and control

• Providing gentle containment

• Sound enrichment (parent’s voice) along with carrying of the caregiver - multi-sensory care has provided improvements in both sensory and motor skills