N – Glossary Terms
General term for labor and delivery free of medical intervention.
neck righting reflex
The tendency for a newborn to lie with one arm crooked and raised behind the head while the other is extended away from the body. This reflex will disappear shortly after birth.
A general name for birthmarks.
The yellowing of a newborn's skin, usually beginning on the second or third day after birth and lasting a week to ten days. Caused by the immaturity of the newborn's systems, jaundice is common, with more than half of newborns having the disorder.
A test for abnormalities of the fetal heartbeat in which a monitor is used to listen to the fetus's heart while the mother is at rest. (In a stress test, the fetal heartbeat is monitored in response to uterine contractions.)