PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

AUSTRIA, JANINE MAE • DE PEDRO, MARL ADRIAN

 What is prenatal?
• relating to pregnant women and their unborn babies
 Introduction
Early research studies in developmental
psychology ignored the prenatal period. Some
studies started with the pre-school child but most
with the school-age child. Later studies extended
downward to the time of birth, but it was not until
the mid-1940s that developmental psychologists
turned their attention to the prenatal period.
It was recognized that knowing what happens
before birth is essential to a complete
understanding of the normal pattern of development
and to a realization of what can happen to distort
this pattern.
 Today, there is extensive evidence to
show how conditions in the prenatal environment
can and do affect the development before birth.
This has justified beginning the study of
development from the moment of conception
rather than from the time of birth.
Most of the development that takes place
before birth has been investigated by
physiologists and members of the medical
profession, and the results of these studies
have been extensively borrowed by developmental
psychologists.
 How Life Begins?
New life begins with the union of a male sex cell and
a female sex cell. These sex cells are developed in the
reproductive organs, the gonads.
gonads
Male sex cells – spermatozoa (singular: spermatozoon)
Male gonads - testes
Female sex cells – ova (singular: ovum)
Female gonads – ovaries
It has been estimated that there are approximately
3,000 genes in each chromosome. These are passed on from
parent to offspring.
Preliminary
Stages
 How Life Begins?
 Maturation
- is the process of chromosome reduction through cell
division: one chromosome from each pair goes to a
subdivided cell, which in turn splits lengthwise and
forms two new cells. Maturation of sex cells does not
occur until sex maturity has been attained, following the
onset of puberty in both boys and girls.
Division of the chromosomes during the maturational
process is a matter of chance. There are 16,777,216
possible combinations of the 23 chromosomes from female
sex cells.
 How Life Begins?
 Ovulation
- is a preliminary stage of development limited
to the female sex cells. It is the process of
escape of one mature ovum during menstrual
cycle. It is believed that the two ovaries
alternate in producing a ripe ovum during each
menstrual cycle.
When the length of the menstrual cycle is
normal, approximately 28 days, ovulation occurs
between fifth and the 23rd days of the cycle,
with the average on the 11th day.
 How Life Begins?
 Fertilization
- which occurs at the time of conception, is
the third stage of development preliminary
to the beginning of a new life. It normally
occurs while the ovum is in the fallopian
tube. More specifically, it is generally
believed that fertilization takes place
within 12 to 36 hours and usually within the
first 24 hours after the ovum has entered
the tube.
 Stages of
Prenatal
Development
 GERMINAL STAGE
o The first two weeks after conception
o The germinal stage spans the time fro
m fertilization to implantation in th
e wall of the uterus.
o For the first three or four days the
mass of dividing cells moves about th
e uterus before implantation.
COMMON PHYSICAL
HAZARDS DURING GERMINAL
STAGE

o Starvation
o Lack of Uterine Preparation
o Implantation in the Wrong Place
 EMBRYONIC STAGE
 The period of 2 to 8 weeks after conc
eption.
 Major organ systems begin to take sha
pe,which is now called the embryo.
 Nervous system, head and blood vessel
s form at this time as well.
 During the 4th week,the heart starts
beating.
COMMON PHYSICAL
HAZARDS DURING EMBRYONI
C STAGE
 Miscarriages
- Falls
- Emotional shocks
- Malnutrition
- Glandular disturbances
- Vitamin deficiency
- serious diseases such as pneumonia and
diabetes
 Developmental Irregularities
Maternal malnutrition; vitamin and
glandular deficiencies; excessive use
of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco; and
diseases such as diabetes and German
measles, interfere with normal
development, especially that of the
embryonic brain.
 FETAL STAGE
 From the 9th week until birth.
 All major organs as well as fingers and toe
s develop by the 12th week.
 The fetus grows more than 30 fold in weight
during the 2nd trimester (1 oz. to 2 lbs.)
 The fetus reached the age of viability, whe
re it could sustain life on its own outside
of the womb.
COMMON PHYSICAL
HAZARDS DURING FETAL STA
GE

 Miscarriages
 Prematurity
 Complications of Delivery
 Developmental Irregularities
Some Common
Characteristics
Associated with
Ordinal Position
 Firstborns
 behave in a mature way
 serve as models to younger siblings
 tend to conform to group wishes and pressures
 have feeling of insecurity and resentment
 lack dominance and aggressiveness
 develop leadership abilities
 usually high achievers or overachievers
 are often unhappy because of insecurity
 Middle-borns
 learn to be independent and adventuresome
 become resentful or try to emulate the other’s behaviour
 resent privileges older siblings granted
 act up and break rules
 develop a tendency to “boss”
 develop the habit of underachievers
 have fewer responsibilities
 are plagued by feelings of parental neglect
 turn to outsiders for peer companionship
 Last-borns
 tend to willful and demanding
 have fewer resentments and greater feeling of
security
 usually protected by parents
 tend to underachieve
 experience good social relationships outside the home
 tend to be happy because of attention and
“spoiling”
Threats
to
Prenatal
Development
 Maternal malnutrition is related to p
remature birth and low birth weight.

 The risk of spina bifida, a neural tu

be defect, can be reduced if vitamins
containing folic acid are taken durin
g pregnancy.
 TERATOGENS
 Derived from the Greek root teras, m
eaning“monster”.
 Can include;
◦ Certain drugs taken by the mother
◦ X-rays
◦ Environmental contaminants such as
lead and mercury
◦ Infectious organisms
 TERATOGENS
 Can include infectious diseases such a
s rubella, which can lead to serious b
irth defects (heart disease, mental re
tardation, deafness)
 HIV/AIDS and syphilis can be passed fr
om mother to child during pregnancy.
 Syphilis can lead to liver damage, imp
aired hearing and vision and deformiti
es in teeth and bones.
SMOKING
• Can lead to miscarriage, premature
birth, low birth weight and increa
sed risk of infant mortality.
• The more the mother smokes, the gre
ater the risk.
• Maternal smoking has also been link
ed to sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS)
SMOKING
• Maternal smoking can also lead to;
◦ Lung problems
◦ Childhood asthma
◦ Developmental problems
◦ Short attention span
◦ Learning problems
◦ Behavioral problems
ALCOHOL
o Maternal alcohol use can lead to
fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
o Alcohol is also the leading cause
of mental retardation (facial def
ormities, underdeveloped upper ja
w, widely spaced eyes).
o There is no established “safe”
limit for alcohol use during preg
nancy.
DRUGS
 Any drug used during pregnancy,
whether legal or illicit, or any
medication, whether prescribed o
r bought over the counter can po
tentially harm the fetus.
 Pregnant women should consult th
eir doctors before taking any me
dication.