The Silent Incubator

Incubator.

As I was writing my second draft last week I came across an interesting link between developmental processes, brain chemistry, and addictive behavior. While I was contemplating my personal experiences that might of brought me to the position I'm in today, I came across a few articles on the negative effects of incubators. The exploration of my past started with discussing my family history in terms of genetics and traumatic environmental factors. As I began to tell the story of my life I remembered my mother had told me I was forced to live in an incubator for the first three to four weeks of my life, due to an extreme premature birth. Knowing what I know now concerning child development I started thinking of the repercussions an enclosed environment would have on a new born. When you start contemplating the lack of stimulation, and crucial human interaction, it becomes a terrifying thought all by itself.

Granted I probably wouldn't have survived if I didn't have the incubator as an option, the negative reactions of the incubator should not be overlooked. That's how I concluded on writing about the negative effects of incubators, outlined in a flyer titled, "Audio Integrated ANC for Infant Incubators." "Negative effects of incubator noise: auditory damage, irregular oxygen saturation, disturbed sleep cycles, delayed speech and learning development, sensorineural hearing loss"(NIU 1). As discussed in my second draft oxygen flow (especially with a newly born), disturbed sleep, and delayed speech and learning development, all go hand in hand with addiction, trich, and a list of other disorders. That's why I found it important to look into this a bit more, since it did happen to me, and let alone the importance of the first 5 years, but the first month, it probably had more of an impact on me than I would of thought. Also, being that premature probably didn't help.

http://www.niu.edu/ee/labs/files/Audio%20Integrated%20ANC%20for%20Infant%20Incubators.pdf