BIOLOGY

PROJECT
NAME: SOWMTHAA.D.K.
CLASS: XI –B

TOPIC:
GESTATION

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 INDEX
SN CONTENT PGNO
O
01 INTRODUCTION 04
02 TRIMESTERS OF PREGNANCY 06
03 MATERNAL IMAGINATION 09
04 FEELINGS AND MOODSWINGS 13
DURING PREGNANCY
05 PRENATAL CARE 15
06 AMINOCENTESIS 20
07 MULTIPLE PREGNANCY 21
08 PARTURITION 23
09 ROLE OF HORMONES DURING 26
PREGNANCY
10 CONCLUSION 29
11 BIBILIOGRAPHY 30

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INTRODUCTION:
Gestation, in mammals, the time between conception
and birth, during which the embryo or foetus is
developing in the uterus.
This definition raises occasional difficulties because
in some species (e.g., monkeys and man) the exact
time of conception may not be known. In these cases
the beginning of gestation is usually dated from some
well-defined point in the reproductive cycle (e.g., the
beginning of the previous menstrual period).
This definition raises occasional difficulties
because in some species (e.g., monkeys and man)
the exact time of conception may not be known.
In these cases the beginning of gestation is
usually dated from some well-defined point in
the reproductive cycle (e.g., the beginning of the
previous menstrual period). he length of
gestation varies from species to species. The
shortest known gestation is that of the Virginian
opossum, about 12 days, and the longest that of
the Indian elephant, about 22 months. In the
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course of evolution the duration of gestation has
become adapted to the needs of the species. The
degree of ultimate growth is a factor, smaller
animals usually having shorter periods of
gestation than larger ones. Exceptions are
the guinea pig and related South American
rodents, in which gestation is prolonged
(averaging 68 days for the guinea pig and 111
days for the chinchilla). The young of these
species are born in a state of greater maturity
than are those of the rat with its period of 22
days.

TRIMESTERS OF PREGNANCY:
Pregnancy has three trimesters, each of which is
marked by specific feotal developments. A
pregnancy is considered full-term at 40 weeks;
infants delivered before the end of week 37 are
considered premature. Premature infants may
have problems with their growth and
development, as well as difficulties in breathing
and digesting.
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First Trimester (0 to 13 Weeks)
The first trimester is the most crucial
to your baby's development. During
this period, your baby's body structure
and organ systems develop. Most
miscarriages and birth defects occur
during this period.
Your body also undergoes major
changes during the first trimester.
These changes often cause a variety of
symptoms, including nausea, fatigue,
breast tenderness and frequent
urination. Although these are common
pregnancy symptoms, every woman
has a different experience. For
example, while some may experience
an increased energy level during this
period, others may feel very tired and
emotional.
Second Trimester (14 to 26 Weeks)

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The second trimester of pregnancy is
often called the "golden period"
because many of the unpleasant
effects of early pregnancy disappear.
During the second trimester, you're
likely to experience decreased nausea,
better sleep patterns and an increased
energy level. However, you may
experience a whole new set of
symptoms, such as back pain,
abdominal pain, leg cramps,
constipation and heartburn.
Somewhere between 16 weeks and 20
weeks, you may feel your baby's first
fluttering movements.

Third Trimester (27 to 40 Weeks)

You have now reached your final
stretch of pregnancy and are probably
very excited and anxious for the birth
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of your baby. Some of the physical
symptoms you may experience during
this period include shortness of breath,
hemorrhoids, urinary incontinence,
varicose veins and sleeping problems.
Many of these symptoms arise from
the increase in the size of your uterus,
which expands from approximately 2
ounces before pregnancy to 2.5 pounds
at the time of birth.

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MATERNAL IMAGINATION:
Maternal imagination, also
called theory of maternal imagination,
is the idea through which maternal
thoughts during pregnancy are
transmitted directly to the
developing foetus, resulting in
a congenital disorder at birth. Belief in
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maternal imagination was prevalent
in Europe during the 16th to 18th
centuries. Throughout the
late Renaissance and Enlightenment
periods, many “monstrous births,” or
those in which infants were born with
physical anomalies, were attributed to
maternal imagination. (Some
congenital disorders were attributed to
mechanical causes, such as a
narrow uterus.) Monstrous births were
sensationally cataloged in publications
called wonder books, which captured
the attention of audiences interested in
observing disability. French
physician Ambroise Paré’s Des
monstres et prodiges (1573; Of
Monsters and Marvels) is an example
that gained wide renown. Although
they seem fanciful to modern-day
viewers, wonder books anchored
developing empirical systems of
medical observation. They served as
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transitional texts between supernatural
and natural explanations for what later
became as recognized as congenital
disability.
The theory of maternal imagination
hinges on the belief that women’s
bodies are highly susceptible to
powerful external events. Tales about
such susceptibility can be found in the
historical literature. According to such
stories, a pregnant woman exposed to
traumatic or highly sensitive stimuli
was able to translate those
impressions to the developing fetus. A
pregnant woman who was startled by
a frog, for instance, could imprint her
impression onto the body of her child;
that is, her child’s body might manifest
physical evidence of the event, such as
webbed toes or fingers or a froglike
head. A woman who gazed too
obsessively at a portrait
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of Christ might give birth to a bearded
child. Thus, perceived corporeal
strangeness in the infant supposedly
communicated to the mother a “lesson”
concerning her affect and demeanor.
Yet explanations based in maternal
imagination theory, as present-day
scholars often point out, also bestow
on mothers an extreme amount of
control over the plasticity, form, and
shape of their children’s bodies.

In holding women culpable for the

appearance of congenital disability, the
theory of maternal imagination
assumed that women had greater
effects than men on the biological
constitution of their children. The idea
was one that could be leveraged for
convenience. For example, the debate
over maternal imagination as a reliable
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scientific barometer for
birth anomalies largely circulated
around medical theorizing about the
degree to which fathers could be held
responsible for monstrous births.
Maternal imagination may have been a
desperate resolution to the question of
the male partner’s shared responsibility
in the birth of a disabled child. A
mother’s influence over her child’s
biological constitution would expand
only during instances of congenital
disability. In fact, as in contemporary
examples of the births of disabled
children, fathers sometimes abandoned
households after the births of children
with medically remarkable distinctions.

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FEELINGS AND MOOD SWINGS DURING
PREGNANCY :
During pregnancy you will probably feel
many ups and downs. You may
experience some or all of these
emotions (and they may change
quickly):
 Surprise – if your pregnancy is
unexpected. You may then feel joy
(if you welcome the pregnancy) or
fear (if you are unsure about the
change to your life) or both.
 Happiness – particularly if you have
been trying and you feel well.
 Anger – which can result from your
body’s hormonal changes, from a
sense of being vulnerable, or from
pregnancy symptoms that are
uncomfortable or painful.
 Fear for the baby’s health – if you
have concerns about your baby
having an illness or disability. If you
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 are worried about a particular risk,
talk to your midwife or doctor.
 Fear of birth – which is a recognised
psychological disorder. Counselling
and talking with your midwife or
doctor can help you overcome this
fear.
 Love – for your baby, your partner
and your family.
 Sadness or disappointment – if you
have illness or complications during
your pregnancy, or you can’t have
the birth plan that you would prefer.
 General sadness about the world –
whereby you find it hard to watch
the news or hear sad stories about
children or families.
 Grief – if you suffer a miscarriage, a
loss at a later stage of pregnancy, or
a stillbirth.
 Prolonged sadness from perinatal
depression – in this case, you will

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 need the help of mental health
specialists.

PRENATAL CARE:
Expert prenatal care ensures that
both mother and the baby are as
healthy as possible throughout
your pregnancy. It includes
 Genetic carrier screening
 Nuchal translucency test
 Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)

GENETIC CARRIER SCREENING :

Timing: Before or during pregnancy

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How it works: A blood test is done to
see whether you're a carrier of a
genetic change that could raise your
baby's risk for a genetic condition.
Two conditions commonly screened for
are cystic fibrosis and spinal
muscular atrophy.
California Prenatal Screening Program (CA PNS) :
CA PNS screening is a combination of
these two blood tests, performed at
different stages of pregnancy:
 Cell-free DNA screening (also called
noninvasive prenatal testing or
NIPT) is done at 10 weeks of
pregnancy or later to determine a
baby's risk for Down syndrome and
two other syndromes, trisomy 18
and trisomy 13. It can also predict
the sex of your baby.
 A maternal serum alpha –
fetoprotien is done between 15 and
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 21 weeks of pregnancy to assess
the risk for abnormalities of the
spine (neural tube defects) or
abdomen (abdominal wall defects).
Nuchal translucency test
A nuchal translucency scan is
an ultrasound scan that measures
your baby’s nuchal translucency — a
fluid-filled space behind your baby’s
neck. This measurement can help your
doctor estimate the risk of your baby
having a chromosomal
abnormality such as Down syndrome.
A nuchal translucency scan is done
between 11 and 14 weeks of
pregnancy. nuchal translucency scan
is usually performed by a specially-
trained technician called a
sonographer.

Chorionic Villus Sampling (CVS) :

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Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), or
chorionic villus biopsy, is a prenatal
test that involves taking a sample of
tissue from the placenta to test for
chromosomal abnormalities and certain
other genetic problems. The placenta
is a structure in the uterus that
provides blood and nutrients from the
mother to the foetus.

The chorionic villi are tiny projections of placental

tissue that look like fingers and contain the same
genetic material as the foetus. Testing may be
available for other genetic defects and disorders
depending on the family history and availability of
lab testing at the time of the procedure.

CVS is usually done between the 10th and 12th

weeks of pregnancy.
Unlike amniocentesis (another type of prenatal
test), CVS does not provide information on
neural tube defects, such as spina bifida. For this
reason, women who undergo CVS also need a
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follow-up blood test between 16 to 18 weeks of
their pregnancy to screen for neural tube defects.

There are two types of CVS procedures:

 TRANSCERVICAL: In this procedure, a

catheter is inserted through the cervix into the
placenta to obtain the tissue sample

TRANSABDOMINAL : In this procedure, a

needle is inserted through the abdomen and
uterus into the placenta to obtain the tissue
sample.

AMINOCENTESIS:
Aminocentesis is a test used for prenatal
diagnosis of inherited diseases, Rh
compatibility , neural tube defects and lung
maturity. It is normally performed during the
second trimester of the pregnancy .
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 It allows the detection of health problems in
the foetus as early as fifteen weeks of
gestation. This process involves removal of
amniotic fluid from the uterus for testing or
sampling. This amniotic fluid surrounds and
protects the foetus during pregnancy.
This fluid contains foetal cells and various
proteins.
Indications of Amino centesis :
 Diagnostic
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  Therapeutic

MULTIPLE PREGNANCY :

Multiple pregnancy occurs when more than one

foetus simultaneously develop in the uterus .
One such is “TWIN PREGNANCY”
In twin pregnancy two foetus develop
simultaneously. In some rare cases ,
development of three foetus ( triplets), four
(quadruplet), five (quintuplets), six (sextuplets),
may also occur.

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TWIN PREGNANCY :
 One of the commonest variety of multiple
pregnancy.
 It is of two types :
 Dizygotic twins (80%), which results in
fertilization of two ova leading to fraternal
twin.
 Monozygotic twin (20%), which results in
fertilization of one ova leading to identical
twin

PARTURITION:

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STAGES OF PARTURITION :
Parturition contains three stages :
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ROLE OF HORMONES DURING PREGNANCY
:

Hormones that are secreted during gestation

period are :
 Oestrogen
 Progesterone
 Relaxin hormone
 Human chorionic
gonadotropin hormone
 Corticotropin hormone
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ROLE OF OESTROGEN :
Oestrogen play a vital role in pregnancy.
Oestrogenic group of hormones comprises three
hormones.
 Estradiol
 Estrone
 Estriol
ROLE OF ESTRADIOL :
Estradiol is the most active homone present in
almost all vertebrates. It is producd by placenta.

ROLE OF ESTRONE :
It is the circulating hormone

ROLE OF ESTRIOL :
It is found in the urine of the women and in
the placenta.
Role of progesterone :
It thickens the uterine lining. Prevents the
body from ovulating during pregnancy.
Role of relaxin hormone :
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 It is produced by the ovaries and the
placenta . It loosens and relaxes the muscles,
joints ,ligaments during pregnancy to help your
body stretch.
Human chorionic gonadotropin hormone :
It is produced by syncytiotrophoblastic cells of
the placenta during pregnancy. This hormone
stimulates the corpus luteum to produce
progesterone to maintain the pregnancy.
Corticotropin hormone :
It is released into maternal and foetal circulation
from the placenta. It is associated with
spontaneous preterm birth .

CONCLUSION :
Gestation is the time period in which the foetus
gets developed inside the mother’s womb. It
occurs in all the mammals. Every mammal has
different time period of gestation. Gestation
period may depend on the size of organisms.
The maximum gestation period for humans
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should not exceed 42 weeks because it poses a
risk for the mother and the baby's health.

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Bibiliography:

 https://www.slideshare.net/gestation-
period
 https://
bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.co
m
 https://knowledgecycle.in
 https://www.bankofbiology.com
 https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

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