INFANCY

Infancy is the period of a new born. It is the early period of

existence as an
individual. The first period of life among humans, the period
of life between birth and the acquisition of language
approximately one to two years later.
Infancy is the earliest part of a person's life, when they're a
baby. It's extremely rare for anyone to remember their
own infancy.

An amazing amount of growth and development happens

during infancy: babies learn to crawl, laugh, and
communicate, among many other things. Infancy is vaguely defined, usually
including the time from birth to about one year old. You can also use the word
to mean "the very beginning of something," so if your lemonade stand is brand
new, it's still in its infancy. The word comes from the Latin infantia, "early
childhood," and literally, "inability to speak."

According to legal standards, an infant is an individual who is a minor until

reaching the age of legal maturity, which in America today, is eighteen years.
According to medical terminology, an infant is a young child, but no specific
age limits are placed on when the individual ceases to be an infant and becomes
a child.
Many psychologists use the word infant in much the same way as members of
the medical profession do, and like them, fail to set an age limit on infancy. This
gives the period an ambiguous status in the life span.
The word infant suggests extreme helplessness, and it will be limited in this
book to the first new weeks of life. During this period, the new-born’s complete
helplessness gradually gives way to increasing independence.
 SUBDIVISIONS OF INFANCY

Infancy is further subdivided into two phases:

1.) Period of partunate
2.) Period of neonate
These are described as follows:

PERIOD OF PARTUNATE
From birth to fifteen to thirty minutes after birth.
This period begins when the foetal body has
emerged from the mother’s body has emerged from
the mother’s body and lasts until the umbilical cord
has been cut and tied. Until this is done, the infant
continues to be a parasite and makes no adjustments
to the postnatal environment outside the mother’s
body.

PERIOD OF NEONATE
From the cutting and tying of umbilical
cord to approximately the end of the
second week of postnatal life. The infant
is now a separate, independent
individual and is no longer a parasite.
During this period, the infant must take
adjustments to the new environment
outside the mother’s body.
CHARACTERISRICS OF INFANCY