Arm movement analysis before and after birth

More about the book

As the prevalence of diabetes is spreading in todays world it becomes increasingly important to understand the effects of diabetes on life and health of human beings. Among the multitude of consequences diabetes can have, an important one concerns the earliest phase of human life, the fetal and infant period. This book investigates the effects of diabetes on motor development by looking at specific arm movement variables before and after birth in fetuses and infants of non-diabetic and diabetic mothers. To that end, a unique, objective measurement method has been developed and applied to the analysis of arm movement. Data analysis concentrates on four key variables: count, range, velocity and duration of arm movements. The method used in this book to quantify arm movements offers unique information that has not been previously found in other studies concerning movement development. Therefore, the book provides valuable information about fetal and infant movement for researchers as well as practitioners interested in diabetes and its impact on motor development.