PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND BIRTH

Periods of Prenatal Development

-The time between conception and delivery, known as

gestation, is when an unborn child goes through
tremendous developmental changes. Gestation typically
lasts between 37 and 41 weeks. The first day of a
pregnant mother's most recent menstrual cycle is
typically used to calculate gestational age.

STAGES OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

  First Month Of Life / 1 MONTH
Growth occurs more quickly in the first month of life
than it does at any later point; the umbilical cord is
functional. The swellings on the skull that will
eventually become the mouth, ears, nose, and eyes can
be seen up close with a microscope. Its sex is yet
unknown.
 7 WEEKS
The embryo develops into a fetus at the end of the
second month. The tongue and tooth buds are among the
developed facial parts. The legs have knees, ankles, feet,
and toes, and the arms have hands, fingers, and thumbs.
The skin on the fetus is quite thin.
 3 MONTHS
The fetus is around 3 inches long and weighs about 1
ounce by the end of the third month. It possesses lips, a
nose, vocal chords, fingernails, toenails, and closed
eyelids. Its head still occupies a significant portion of its
overall length—and it has a prominent forehead. One
may detect sex. The organ systems are operating, albeit
not to their maximum potential.
 4 MONTHS
The head is currently only one-fourth the length of the
entire body, which is also how it will be at birth. At this
point, the fetus weighs roughly 6 ounces and is 8 to 10
inches long.
The placenta has finished developing. The fetus may
kick, a sensation called as quickening, and the mother
may feel it. Due to increased muscular tone, the reflex
behaviors that first surfaced in the third month are now
more intense.
 5 MONTHS
At this point, the fetus weighs between 12 and 1 pound
and is about 1 foot long. It also has distinct sleep and
wake rhythms, a preferred position inside the uterus
known as its lay, and increases in activity, kicking,
stretching, wriggling, and even hiccupping. The coarse
hair has started to grow in eyebrows and eyelashes, the
body is covered in woolly hair known as lanugo, and the
head has fine hair.
 6 MONTHS
By the end of the sixth month, the fetus weighs 1 1/4
pounds and is about 14 inches long, showing a little
slowdown in the rate of growth. Under the epidermis,
there are fat pads; the eyeballs can open, close, and
glance in any direction. It has the ability to hear and to
clench its hand. Early in the sixth month of pregnancy,
the respiratory apparatus of the fetus has not developed,
and its chances of survival are very slim.
 7 MONTHS
The fetus, which is about 16 inches long and weighs 3 to
5 pounds, has completely established response patterns
by the end of the seventh month. It sucks its thumb and
cries and breaths and swallows. Lanugo might vanish at
this point, or it can stay put until just after birth. Head
hair might keep growing.
 8 MONTHS
The fetus at eight months gestation is 18 to 20 inches
long and weighs 5 to 7 pounds. Its movements are
restricted as a result of its living quarters getting smaller.
A coat of fat is covering the entire body of the fetus
throughout this and the next month, allowing it to adapt
to changing temperatures external to the uterus.
 9 MONTHS- NEW BORN
The fetus ceases to grow approximately one week before
birth, when it has grown to an average weight of roughly
71⁄2 pounds and a length of about 20 inches, with males
often being somewhat longer. The organ systems are
functioning more effectively, fat pads are still forming,
the heart rate is rising, and more waste is being released
through the umbilical cord. The skin's crimson hue is
beginning to fade.
  Germinal Stage (Fertilization to 2 Weeks)
 Embryonic Stage (2 to 8 Weeks)
 Fetal Stage (8 Weeks to Birth)

Cultural Beliefs and Practices about Pregnancy and

Childbirth
TERATOGENS: THE BIRTH PROCESS AND METHODS OF CHILDBIRTH
METHODS OF DELIVERY
C SECTION VS. NORMAL DELIVERY
Teratology is the name of the scientific discipline that
looks at the origins of birth abnormalities. Certain
teratogen exposures can change the developing brain and
have an impact on cognitive and behavioral functioning,
although they do not always result in physical birth
abnormalities. Researchers in the field of behavioral
teratology investigate these functional abnormalities.

The dose, genetic susceptibility, and the time of

exposure to a particular teratogen influence both the
severity of the damage to an embryo or fetus and the
type of defect.

 Dose. The dose impact is quite self-evident: the

higher the dosage of an agent, such a
medication/drug, the stronger the effect.
 Genetic susceptibility. The genotypes of the
embryo or fetus and the pregnant mother are
related to the kind or degree of abnormalities
brought on by a teratogen.
 Time of exposure. When teratogen exposure
happens at some stages of development but not
at others, it causes more harm. The fetal period
is less susceptible than the embryonic phase.

THE BIRTH PROCESS

There are three phases to labor.

1. cervix dilatation
2. infant birth, and
3. placenta delivery.

Labor takes a new mother 12 to 14 hours on average.

For women who have given birth before, the labor
process should take roughly seven hours