The human infant is called a neonate less than 28 days old. (Potter, Perry, Ross-Kerr, & Wood, 2009, p. 333) The newborn primarily experiences reflex changes during this critical period, leading to deep bonding and attachments between parents and newborn during the first 28 days. The newborn I worked with was 18 days old, male, Muslim, had the initials MK, and lived in a townhouse with his parents. During the delivery, the family requested as many female staff as possible for religious reasons. Physical Changes After getting to know MK, which I found difficult due to the way I held him and the lack of maternal scent, I performed to the best of my ability an assessment based on Apgar scale as well as a physical assessment. MK's weight was approximately 180 ounces and he measured 58 cm long with a head circumference of 33 cm. I asked about weight gain or loss trends that parents had noticed. They didn't say anything significant, just a slight drop in weight a few days after giving birth and then a steady weight gain. This can be attributed to fluid loss through breathing, urination, defecation and low fluid intake. (Potter, Perry, Ross-Kerr, & Wood, 2009, p. 333) I also noticed that MK used the abdominal muscles to breathe at about 40 breaths per minute. His heart rate was around 130 bpm. Her skin was a pretty pink color; however, his parents mentioned that he was a little yellow right after birth for a few days. This phenomenon can be attributed to excess bilirubin and liver immaturity. MK received a 10 on the Apgar scale which measures heart rate, respiratory effort, muscle tone, reflexes/irritability and body color. Next, I tested for the presence of innate reflexes, including: Mo...... middle of paper ...... the clues to his survival as I observed with MK and the deep bond that was present between him and his parents. Works Cited Potter, P., Perry, A., Ross-Kerr, J. and Wood, M. (2009). Canadian Foundations of Nursing, Fourth Edition. Toronto, ON: Elsevier CanadaWeiss, R. Your Newborn's Reflexes – Caring for Your New Baby. On About.com. Retrieved February 24, 2010 from http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/newborns/a/aa061801a.htm.Umberto de Vonderweid, Marialisa Leonessa, Family-centered neonatal care, Early human development, Volume 85, Number 10, Supplement 1, Proceedings and selected abstracts of the 1st International Conference on Clinical Neonatology, Turin, Italy, November 2009, October 2009, pages S37-S38, ISSN 0378-3782, DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2009.08.009.( http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T65-4XFXSTD-1/2/77dea0b0bcb26c5faf4cbd5cda1ca17b)