A plausible pathway of imprinted behaviors: skin-to-skin actions of the newborn immediately after birth follow the order of fetal development and intrauterine training of movements

Abstract We hypothesize that the competence of a newborn in the first hours after birth is the direct result of behavior training that begins during the first 12 weeks of fetal life. Correlation of Widstrom’s 9 Instinctive Stages (behaviors of the full-term newborn during the first hours after birth) with the developmental movements during fetal life demonstrate that the fetus is invested in learning specific tasks, in a specific order, that are evolutionarily necessary for survival during the first hour and beyond.