Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Prenatal Development and Birth
Prenatal Development and Birth
• Developmental Milestones
– 3rd week – neural tube
– 4th week – heart beat
– 7th week – a rudimentary skeleton
– 7th-8th weeks – sexual development
• If male, the Y chromosome triggers a
reaction to produce testes, otherwise
ovaries result
• Figure 4.3 A human embryo at 40 days.
THE PERIOD OF THE FETUS
• Third Month
– Movement – cannot yet be felt by mother
– Digestive system and excretory systems
functioning
– Reproductive system contains immature
ova or sperm cells
• Figure 4.4 Rate of body growth during the fetal period. Increase in size is especially dramatic from
the ninth to the twentieth week. ADAPTED FROM MOORE & PERSAUD, 1993.
THE PERIOD OF THE FETUS
• Fourth-Sixth Months
– Sucking, swallowing, breathing
– Movements – felt by mother
– Heart beat can be heard with stethoscope
– Sweat glands functioning
– Vernix – protects skin from chapping
– Lanugo – fine hair helps vernix stick to skin
– Visual and auditory senses are functional
THE PERIOD OF THE FETUS
• Toxoplasmosis –
– Caused by eating undercooked meat,
handling cat feces
– Causes eye and brain damage during first
trimester
– Induces miscarriage later in pregnancy
• Table 4.2 Common Diseases That May Affect an Embryo, Fetus, or Newborn
TERATOGENS
• Drugs
– Thalidomide
• Used to prevent nausea and vomiting
• Tested on animals and was “safe”
• Caused birth defects (for some) if taken
during first 2 months of pregnancy
–Eyes, ears, noses, hearts
–Phocomelia – parts of limbs missing,
feet or hands connected to torso
TERATOGENS
• Drugs
– Aspirin – growth retardation, infant death
– Ibuprofen – 3rd trimester – pulmonary
hypertension, prolonged delivery
– Caffeine – miscarriage, low birth weight
– Lithium – 1st trimester – heart defects
– Oral contraceptives – heart defects
– Diethylstilbestrol (DES) – delayed effects in
reproductive system, primarily female
TERATOGENS
• Drugs
– Alcohol – compromises functioning of the
placenta
• Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
–Microcephaly
–Malformation of heart, limbs, joints
and face
–Hyperactivity, seizures, tremor
–Lower IQ, major adjustment problems
TERATOGENS
• Alcohol
– Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE)
• Social drinking (1-3 per day)
• Greatest risk – binge drinking (5+)
• Slow physical growth, poor motor skills,
attention difficulties, verbal learning
difficulties
• Subnormal intellectual performance
• Father’s drinking may also be harmful
TERATOGENS
• Cigarette Smoking
– Cleft lip
– Abnormal lung functioning
– Miscarriage
– Low-birth-weight
– Ectopic pregnancy – implantation in
fallopian tube
– Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
– Higher concentration of nicotine in fetus
TERATOGENS
• Marijuana
– Emotional regulation in males
– Poorer reading/spelling at 10 years old
– More depression/anxiety
• Narcotics (heroin, methadone)
– 60-80% born addicted
– Breathing/swallowing coordination
– Normal developmental progress by age 2,
although boys remain vulnerable
TERATOGENS
• Cocaine
– Miscarriage, premature birth
– Sleep disturbances, very irritable
– Lower IQ
– Poor language development skills
– Negative effects also due to
• Maternal vocabulary
• Home environment
• Exposure to additional teratogens
• Table 4.3 Partial List of Drugs and Treatments Used by the Mother That Affect (or Are Thought to
Affect) the Fetus or the Newborn
TERATOGENS
• Environmental Hazards
– Radiation – death, mental retardation
– Chemicals/pollutants
• Lead/mercury – deformities, mental
retardation
• PCB’s – less neurologically mature
–Prenatal and postnatal effects
• Father’s exposure also harmful
• Figure 4.6 Average cognitive test performance at age nine, based on child’s level of exposure to
PCB prenatally and through breast feeding. Light bars indicate children who were exposed to low
levels of PCB, dark bars are children who were exposed to high levels of PCB.
MATERNAL CHARACTERISTICS
• Mother’s experience
– First 6-12 hours – sensitive period for
emotional bonding (not essential)
– Maternity blues – 40-60% of mothers
– Postpartum depression – 10% of mothers
• Should seek professional help
• Depression affects outcomes of both
mother and infant
THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT
SURROUNDING BIRTH
• Figure 4.10. Gestational age at birth for singletons, twins, and triplets.
POTENTIAL PROBLEMS AT BIRTH