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C3 PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND BIRTH

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY | SANTILLAN, KYLIE ANNE B. | PSY 227 | DEC. 12, 2022
period, the rate of cell differentiation intensifies,
OUTLINE support systems for cells form, and organs
I. Introduction appear.
II. Prenatal Development  The fetal period, lasting about seven months, is
III. Birth the prenatal period between two months after
IV. The Postpartum Period conception and birth in typical pregnancies.
Chapter 4: Physical Development in Infancy Growth and development continue their
V. Physical Growth and Development in Infancy dramatic course during this time.
VI. Motor Development
VII. Sensory and Perceptual Development
VIII. Reference

I. INTRODUCTION
This chapter chronicles the truly remarkable
developments from conception through birth. Imagine at
one time you were an organism floating in a sea of fluid
in your mother’s womb. Let’s now explore what your
development was like from the time you were conceived
through the time you were born. We will explore normal
development in the prenatal period, as well as the
period’s hazards (such as high levels of mercury that
were mentioned in the preceding story). We also will
study the birth process and tests used to assess the
newborn; discuss parents’ adjustment during the
postpartum period; and evaluate parent-infant bonding.

II. PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT


Typical prenatal development, which begins with
THE THREE TRIMESTERS OF PRENATAL
fertilization and ends with birth, takes between 266 and DEVELOPMENT. Both the germinal and embryonic
280 days (38 to 40 weeks). It can be divided into three
periods occur during the first trimester. The end of the
periods: germinal, embryonic, and fetal. first trimester as well as the second and third trimesters
are part of the fetal period.

TERATOLOGY AND HAZARDS TO PRENATAL


DEVELOPMENT
The danger of structural defects caused by teratogens is
greatest early in embryonic development. The period of
organogenesis (red color) lasts for about six weeks. Later
assaults by teratogens (blue-green color) mainly occur in
the fetal period and instead of causing structural damage
 The germinal period is the period of prenatal are more likely to stunt growth or cause problems
development that takes place during the first two
weeks after conception. It includes the creation
of the fertilized egg, called a zygote; cell
division; and the attachment of the zygote to the
uterine wall.
 The embryonic period is the period of prenatal
development that occurs from two to eight
weeks after conception. During the embryonic

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involving organ function. prohibited list (Eltonsy & others, 2016). Nonprescription
drugs that can be harmful include diet pills and high
dosages of aspirin (Cadavid, 2017). Research indicates
that low doses of aspirin pose no harm for the fetus but
that high doses can contribute to maternal and fetal
bleeding (Osikoya & others, 2017).

PRENATAL CARE
An increasing number of studies are finding that exercise
either benefits the mother’s health and has positive
neonatal outcomes or that there are no differences in
Teratogen is any agent that can potentially cause a birth outcomes (Barakat & others, 2017; Huang & others,
defect or negatively alter cognitive and behavioral 2017). Exercise during pregnancy helps prevent
outcomes. (The word comes from the Greek word tera, constipation, conditions the body, reduces the likelihood
meaning “monster.”) So many teratogens exist that of excessive weight gain, lowers the risk of developing
practically every fetus is exposed to at least some hypertension, improves immune system functioning, and
teratogens. For this reason, it is difficult to determine is associated with a more positive mental state, including
which teratogen causes which problem. In addition, it reduced levels of stress and depression (Bacchi & others,
may take a long time for the effects of a teratogen to 2017; Barakat & others, 2016; Magro-Malosso & others,
show up. Only about half of all potential effects appear 2017; Marques & others, 2015). For example, a recent
at birth. study found that two weekly 70-minute yoga sessions
reduced pregnant women’s stress and enhanced their
 The dose effect is rather obvious—the greater immune system functioning (Chen & others, 2017).
the dose of an agent, such as a drug, the greater
the effect. NORMAL PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT
 Genetic Susceptibility. The type or severity of Much of our discussion so far in this chapter has focused
abnormalities caused by a teratogen is linked to on what can go wrong with prenatal development.
the genotype of the pregnant woman and the Prospective parents should take steps to avoid the
genotype of the embryo or fetus (Lin & others, vulnerabilities to fetal development that we have
2017). described. But it is important to keep in mind that most
 Time of Exposure. Exposure to teratogens does of the time, prenatal development does not go awry, and
more damage when it occurs at some points in development occurs along the positive path that we
development than at others (Feldkamp & others, described at the beginning of the chapter.
2017). Damage during the germinal period may
even prevent implantation. In general, the III. BIRTH
embryonic period is more vulnerable than the Nature writes the basic script for how birth occurs, but
fetal period. parents make important choices about conditions
surrounding birth. We look first at the sequence of
Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs physical stages that occur when a child is born.
Prescription drugs that can function as teratogens include
antibiotics, such as streptomycin and tetracycline; some The Birth Process occurs in stages, takes place in
antidepressants; certain hormones, such as progestin and different contexts and in most cases involves one or
synthetic estrogen; and Accutane (the trade name for more attendants.
isotretinoin, a form of Vitamin A that is often used to
treat acne) (Brown & others, 2018; Dathe & Schaefer,  The first stage the longest of the three. Uterine
2018). Among the birth defects caused by Accutane are contractions are 15 to 20 minutes apart at the
heart defects, eye and ear abnormalities, and brain beginning and last up to a minute. These
malformation. In a recent study, isotretinoin was the contractions cause the woman’s cervix to stretch
fourth most common drug given to female adolescents and open.
who were seeking contraception advice from a physician  The second stage begins when the baby’s head
(Stancil & others, 2017). However, physicians did not starts to move through the cervix and the birth
give the adolescent girls adequate information about the canal. It terminates when the baby completely
negative effects of isotretinoin on offspring if the girls emerges from the mother’s body. With each
were to become pregnant. In a recent review of contraction, the mother bears down hard to
teratogens that should never be taken during the first push the baby out of her body. By the time the
trimester of pregnancy, isotretinoin was on the baby’s head is out of the mother’s body, the
contractions come almost every minute and last
for about a minute. This stage typically lasts
approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
 Afterbirth / The third stage the placenta,
umbilical cord, and other membranes are
detached and expelled. This final stage is the
shortest of the three birth stages, lasting only
minutes.

U.S. hospitals often allow the mother and her


obstetrician a range of options regarding the method of  Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment
delivery. Key choices involve the use of medication, Scale (NBAS) is a measure that is used in the
whether to use any of a number of nonmedicated first month of life to assess the newborn’s
techniques to reduce pain, and when to have a cesarean neurological development, reflexes, and
delivery. reactions to people and objects.
 The NBAS is especially designed to assess at-
 Natural Childbirth. This method of childbirth risk infants.
attempts to reduce the mother’s pain by
decreasing her fear through information about PRETERM AND LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS
childbirth and instruction in relaxation Various conditions that pose threats for newborns have
techniques to reduce pain during delivery. been given different labels. We will examine these
 Prepared Childbirth. Developed by French conditions and discuss interventions for improving
obstetrician Ferdinand Lamaze, this childbirth outcomes of preterm infants.
strategy is similar to natural childbirth but
includes a special breathing technique to control There are three related conditions pose threats to many
pushing in the final stages of labor and a more newborns: low weight, being born preterm and being
detailed anatomy and physiology course. small for date:

ASSESSING THE NEWBORN  Low birth weight infants – an infant that


Almost immediately after birth, after the baby and its weighs less than 5 pounds 8 ounces at birth.
parents have been introduced, a newborn is taken to be  Preterm infants – those born before the
weighed, cleaned up, and tested for signs of completion of 37 weeks of gestation (the time
developmental problems that might require urgent between fertilization and birth)
attention.  Small date for infants – also called as
 The Apgar Scale is widely used to assess the gestational age infants. These infants’ birth
health of newborns at one and five minutes after weighs are below normal when the length of
birth. pregnancy is considered. They can be preterm or
 It evaluates an infant’s heart rate, respiratory full term.
effort, muscle tone, body color, and reflex
irritability. The number and severity of health problems increase
when infants are born very early and as their birth
An obstetrician or a nurse does the evaluation and gives weight decreases (Linsell & others, 2017; Pascal &
the newborn a score, or reading, of 0, 1, or 2 on each of others, 2018). Survival rates for infants who are born
these five health signs. A total score of 7 to 10 indicates very early and very small have risen, but with this
that the newborn’s condition is good. A score of 5 improved survival rate have come an increased rate of
indicates there may be developmental difficulties. A severe brain damage (Rogers & Hintz, 2018) and lower
score of 3 or below signals an emergency and indicates level of executive function, especially in working
that the baby might not survive. memory and planning (Burnett & others, 2018).

IV. THE POSTPARTUM PERIOD


The weeks after childbirth present challenges for many
new parents and their offspring. This is the postpartum
period, the period after childbirth or delivery that lasts
for about six weeks or until the mother’s body has
completed its adjustment and has returned to a nearly CHAPTER 4: PHYSICAL
pre-pregnant state. This is the time when a woman
adjusts, both physically and psychologically to the
DEVELOPMENT IN
process of birth. It also involves a great deal of
adjustments and adaptation (Doering & others, 2017).
INFANCY
It is very important for infants to get a healthy start.
The adjustments are physical, emotional and
When they do, their first two years of life are likely to be
psychological.
a time of amazing development. In this chapter, we
focus on the biological domain and the infant’s physical
PHYSICAL ADJUSTMENTS
development, exploring physical growth, motor
A woman’s body makes numerous physical adjustments
development, and sensory and perceptual development.
in the first days and weeks after childbirth (Neiterman &
Fox, 2018). She may have a great deal of energy or feel
V. PHYSICAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
exhausted and let down. Though these changes are
IN INFANCY
normal, the fatigue can undermine the new mother’s
Infants’ physical development in the first two years of
sense of well-being and confidence in her ability to cope
life is extensive. Newborns’ heads are quite large in
with a new baby and a new family life (Doering, Sims,
comparison with the rest of their bodies. They have little
& Miller, 2017).
strength in their necks and cannot hold their heads up,
but they have some basic reflexes. In the span of 12
After delivery, a mother’s body undergoes sudden and
months, infants become capable of sitting anywhere,
dramatic changes in hormone production. When the
standing, stooping, climbing, and usually walking.
placenta is delivered, estrogen and progesterone levels
During the second year, growth decelerates, but rapid
drop steeply and remain low until the ovaries start
increases in such activities as running and climbing take
producing hormones again.
place. Let’s now examine in greater detail the sequence
of physical development in infancy.
EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL
ADJUSTMENTS
PATTERNS OF GROWTH
Emotional fluctuations are common for mothers in the
The cephalocaudal pattern is the sequence in which the
postpartum period. For some women, emotional
earliest growth always occurs at the top—the head—
fluctuations decrease within several weeks after the
with physical growth and differentiation of features
delivery, but other women experience more long-lasting
gradually working their way down from top to bottom
emotional swings (O’Hara & Engeldinger, 2018;
(for example, shoulders, middle trunk, and so on). This
Pawluski, Lonstein, & Fleming, 2017).
same pattern occurs in the head area, because the top
parts of the head—the eyes and brain—grow faster than
However, some women develop and experience
the lower parts, such as the jaw.
postpartum depression that involves a major depressive
episode that typically occurs about four weeks after
delivery. Women with postpartum depression have such
strong feelings of sadness, anxiety or despair that for at
least a two-week period they have trouble coping with
their daily tasks.

BONDING
A special component of the parent-infant relationship is
bonding, the formation of a connection, especially a Growth also follows the proximodistal pattern, the
physical bond between parents and the newborn in the sequence in which growth starts at the center of the body
period shortly after birth. and moves toward the extremities. For example, infants
control the muscles of their trunk and arms before they
Many hospitals now offer a rooming-in arrangement, in control their hands and fingers, and they use their whole
which the baby remains in the mother’s room most of hands before they can control several fingers (Bindler &
the time during its hospital stay. However, if parents others, 2017).
choose not to use this rooming-in arrangement, the
weight of the research suggests that this decision will not HEIGHT AND WEIGHT
harm the infant emotionally (Lamb, 1994). In the first several days of life, most newborns lose 5 to
7 percent of their body weight before they adjust to
feeding by sucking, swallowing, and digesting. Then
they grow rapidly, gaining an average of 5 to 6 ounces sheath covers most axons and speeds information
per week during the first month. They have doubled their transmission. (d) As the axon ends, it branches out
birth weight by the age of 4 months and have nearly into terminal buttons.
tripled it by their first birthday. Infants grow about 1
inch per month during the first year, approximately  Neurons change in two very significant
doubling their birth length by their first birthday. ways during the first years of life. First,
myelination, the process of encasing axons
THE BRAIN with fat cells, begins prenatally and
We have described the amazing growth of the brain from continues after birth, even into adolescence
conception to birth. By the time it is born, the infant that and emerging adulthood (Juraska & Willing,
began as a single cell is estimated to have a brain that 2017).
contains approximately 100 billion nerve cells, or  Second, connectivity among neurons
neurons. increases, creating new neural pathways
 Extensive brain development continues after (Eggebrecht & others, 2017; Zhou & others,
birth, through infancy and later (Sullivan & 2018). New dendrites grow, connections
Wilson, 2018; Vasa & others, 2018). Because among dendrites increase, and synaptic
the brain is still developing so rapidly in infancy, connections between axons and dendrites
the infant’s head should be protected from falls proliferate. Whereas myelination speeds up
or other injuries and the baby should never be neural transmissions, the expansion of
shaken. dendritic connections facilitates the
 Shaken baby syndrome, which includes brain spreading of neural pathways in infant
swelling and hemorrhaging, affects hundreds of development.
babies in the United States each year (Hellgren
& others, 2017). One analysis found that fathers SLEEP
were the most frequent perpetrators of shaken When we were infants, sleep consumed more of our time
baby syndrome, followed by child care providers than it does now (Goh & others, 2017). The typical
and boyfriends of the victim’s mother (National newborn sleeps approximately 18 hours a day, but
Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, 2012). newborns vary greatly in how much they sleep (Dias &
others, 2018; Sadeh, 2008). The range is from about 10
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT refers to the changes in the hours to about 21 hours a day.
prefrontal cortex in adolescents and older adults have  REM Sleep – the eyes flutter beneath close lids;
important implications for their cognitive development. in non-REM sleep, this type of eye movement
Connect to “Physical and Cognitive Development in does not occur, and sleep is more quiet (Bathory
Adolescence” and “Physical Development in Late & Tomopoulos, 2017).
Adulthood.”  Shared Sleeping – sleeping arrangements for
newborns vary from culture to culture (Field,
At birth, the newborn’s brain is about 25 percent of its 2017). For instance, sharing a bed with a mother
adult weight. By the second birthday, the brain is about is a common practice in many cultures like
75 percent of its adult weight. However, the brain’s areas Guatemala and China.
do not mature uniformly.  Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) – is a
 The Brain’s Four Lobes are frontal, occipital, condition that occurs when infants stop
temporal and parietal. breathing, usually during the night and die
 Frontal lobes are involved in voluntary suddenly without any apparent reason.
movement, thinking, personality and
intentionality purpose. The link between infant sleep and children’s cognitive
 Occipital Lobes function in vision. functioning likely occurs because of sleep’s role in brain
 Temporal Lobes have an active role in hearing, maturation and memory consolidation, which may
language processing and memory. improve daytime alertness and learning.
 Parietal Lobes play important roles in
registering special location, attention and motor NUTRITION
controls. A number of developmental changes involving eating
characterize the infant’s first year (Leow & others,
THE NEURON (a) The dendrites of the cell body 2017). As infants’ motor skills improve, they change
receive information from other neurons, muscles, or from using suck-and-swallow movements with breast
glands through the axon. (b) Axons transmit milk or formula to chew-and-swallow movements with
information away from the cell body. (c) A myelin semisolid and then more complex foods. As their fine
motor control improves in the first year, they transition store shelf, chase a cat, and participate actively in the
from being fed by others toward self-feeding. “By the family’s social life (Thelen, 2000). These milestones are
end of the first year of life, children can sit examples of gross motor skills, which involve large-
independently, can chew and swallow a range of muscle activities such as moving one’s arms and
textures, are learning to feed themselves, and are making walking.
the transition to the family diet and meal patterns”
(Black & Hurley, 2007, p. 1). At this point, infants need  The First Year: Motor Development
to have a diet that includes a variety of foods— Milestones and Variations includes twelve
especially fruits and vegetables. developmental milestones were assessed,
including grasping, rolling, sitting, and crawling;
Malnutrition in Infancy any infants around the world standing and walking; and overall mean of
are malnourished (UNICEF, 2018). Early weaning of milestones. A larger size at birth (such as birth
infants from breast milk to inadequate sources of weight, birth length, and head circumference)
nutrients, such as unsuitable and unsanitary cow’s milk was the aspect of pregnancy and delivery that
formula, can cause protein deficiency and malnutrition showed the strongest link to reaching motor
in infants. milestones earlier.
 Development in the Second Year
VI. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT In the second year of life, toddlers become more
The Dynamic Systems View the perspective on motor motorically skilled and mobile. Motor activity
development that seeks to explain how motor behaviors during the second year is vital to the child’s
are assembled for perceiving and acting. competent development, and few restrictions,
except for safety, should be placed on their
According to dynamic systems theory, motor adventures.
development is not a passive process in which genes
dictate the unfolding of a sequence of skills over time. FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Rather, the infant actively puts together a skill to achieve Involve finely tuned movements. Grasping a toy, using
a goal within the constraints set by the infant’s body and a spoon, buttoning a shirt, or any activity that requires
environment. Nature and nurture, the infant, and the finger dexterity demonstrates fine motor skills. Infants
environment, are all working together as part of an ever- have hardly any control over fine motor skills at birth,
changing system. but newborns do have many components of what will
become finely coordinated arm, hand, and finger
As we examine the course of motor development, we movements (McCormack, Hoerl, & Butterfill, 2012).
will describe how dynamic systems theory applies to
some specific skills. First, though, let’s examine the Infants refine their ability to grasp objects by developing
beginning of motor development: the infant’s reflexes. two types of grasps.
 Initially, infants grip with the whole hand,
REFLEXES which is called the palmar grasp.
Reflexes are built-in reactions to stimuli; they govern the  Later, toward the end of the first year, infants
newborn’s movements, which are automatic and beyond also grasp small objects with their thumb and
the newborn’s control. forefinger, which is called the pincer grip.
 It is genetically carried survival mechanism.
 The rooting reflex occurs when the infant’s VII. SENSORY AND PERCEPTUAL
cheek is stroked, or the side of the mouth is DEVELOPMENT
touched. Sensation occurs when information interacts with
 The sucking reflex occurs when newborns sensory receptors—the eyes, ears, tongue, nostrils, and
automatically suck an object placed in their skin. The sensation of hearing occurs when waves of
mouth. pulsating air are collected by the outer ear and
 The moro reflex occurs in response to a sudden, transmitted through the bones of the inner ear to the
intense noise or movement. auditory nerve. The sensation of vision occurs as rays of
 The grasping reflex occurs when something light contact the eyes, become focused on the retina, and
touches the infant’s palm. are transmitted by the optic nerve to the visual centers of
the brain.
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS
Parents proudly announce such milestones as their Perception is the interpretation of what is sensed. The
children transform themselves from babies unable to lift air waves that contact the ears might be interpreted as
their heads to toddlers who grab things off the grocery noise or as musical sounds, for example. The physical
energy transmitted to the retina of the eye might be retinal image of the object changes as you
interpreted as a particular color, pattern, or shape, move toward or away from the objects.
depending on how it is perceived.  Shape Constancy is the recognition that an
object remains the same shape even though
THE ECOLOGICAL VIEW its orientation to us changes.
According to the Gibson’s’ ecological view, we directly
perceive information that exists in the world around us. OTHER SENSES
This view is called ecological “because it connects Other sensory systems besides vision also develop
perceptual capabilities to information available in the during infancy. We will explore development in hearing,
world of the perceiver” (Kellman & Arterberry, 2006, p. touch and pain, smell, and taste.
112). Thus, perception brings us into contact with the
environment so we can interact with and adapt to it  Hearing a) Pregnant mothers read The Cat in
(Kretch & Adolph, 2017). Perception is designed for the Hat to their fetuses during the last few
action. Perception gives people information such as months of pregnancy. (b) When they were born,
when to duck, when to turn their bodies as they move the babies preferred listening to a recording of
through a narrow passageway, and when to put their their mothers reading The Cat in the Hat, as
hands up to catch something. evidenced by their sucking on a nipple that
 The Ecological View – the view that perception produced this recording, rather than another
functions to bring organism in contact with the story, The King, the Mice and the Cheese.
environment and to increase adaptation.  Touch and Pain Newborns do respond to touch.
 Affordances – Opportunities for interaction A touch to the cheek produces a turning of the
offered by objects that fit within our capabilities head; a touch to the lips produces sucking
to perform functional activities. movements. Newborns can also feel pain.
 Smell Newborns can differentiate odors (Doty &
VISUAL PERCEPTION Shah, 2008). The expression on their faces seem
Visual Acuity and Human Faces at birth, the nerves to indicate that they like the way vanilla and
and muscles and lens of the eye are still developing. As strawberries smell but do not like the way rotten
a result, newborns cannot see small things that are far eggs and fish smell (Steiner, 1979).
away. The newborn’s vision is estimated to be 20/240  Taste Sensitivity to taste is present even before
on the well-known Snellen chart used for eye birth (Doty & Shah, 2008). Human newborns
examinations, which means that a newborn can see at 20 learn taste prenatally through the amniotic fluid
feet what an adult with normal vision can see at 240 feet and in breast milk after birth (Beauchamp &
(Aslin & Lathrop, 2008). Mennella, 2009)

Infants show an interest in human faces soon after birth INTERMODAL PERCEPTION
(Johnson& Hannon, 2015). Research shows that within When you see the ball bounce, you hear a bouncing
hours after infants are born, they prefer to look at faces sound; when a player stretches to hit a ball, you hear a
rather than other objects and to look at attractive faces groan. When you look at and listen to what is going on,
more than at unattractive ones (Lee & others, 2013). you do not experience just the sounds or just the sights—
 Color Vision The infant’s color vision also you put all these things together. You experience a
improves (Yang & others, 2015). By 8 weeks, unitary episode. This is intermodal perception, which
and possibly as early as 4 weeks, infants can involves integrating information from two or more
discriminate between some colors (Kelly, sensory modalities, such as vision and hearing (Bremner
Borchert, & Teller. 1997) & Spence, 2017; Hannon, Schachner, & Nave-Blodgett,
 Perception of Occluded Objects Infants 2017; Nomikou, Koke, & Rohlfing, 2017). Most
develop the ability to track briefly occluded perception is intermodal (Bahrick, 2010).
moving objects at about 3 to 5 months of age
(Bertenthal, 2008) NATURE, NURTURE AND PERCEPTUAL
 Depth Perception They placed infants on the DEVELOPMENT
edge of this visual cliff and had their mothers The Gibson’s argued that a key question in infant
coax them to crawl onto the glass. perception is what information is available in the
 Perceptual Constancy allows infants to environment and how infants learn to generate,
perceive their world as stable. There are 2 types differentiate, and discriminate the information—
of perceptual constancy certainly not a nativist view. The Gibson’s’ ecological
 Size Constancy is the recognition that an view also is quite different from Piaget’s constructivist
object remains the same even though the view. According to Piaget, much of perceptual develop-
ment in infancy must await the development of a
sequence of cognitive stages for infants to construct
more complex perceptual tasks. Thus, in Piaget’s view
the ability to perceive size and shape constancy, a three-
dimensional world, intermodal perception, and so on,
develops later in infancy than the Gibson’s envision.

PERCEPTUAL MOTOR COUPLING

Perception and action are often not isolated but rather are
coupled. Individuals perceive to move and move to
perceive.

VIII. REFERENCES
Karen AdolphMartha Ann BellRobert FantzEleanor
GibsonJames J. GibsonWilliam JamesMark
JohnsonScott JohnsonRachel KeenPatricia KuhlDaphne
MaurerCharles NelsonJohn RichardsEsther
ThelenRichard Walk

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