Hazards in Prenatal Development

Prenatal Development Hazards

• Teratology is the study of birth defects. A teratogen is anything that causes birth defects, derived from the Greek word "tera" meaning "monster."

Hazards to Prenatal Development

• Prescription and over-the-counter drugs: Including antibiotics, diet pills, aspirin, and coffee can negatively impact prenatal development. Exposure to these substances can result in lower birth weight, head circumference issues, impaired motor skills, and difficulties with information processing and attention.
• Psychoactive drugs: Exposure to nicotine, caffeine, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin during pregnancy can lead to premature births and newborns with lower birth weights. Heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome, a cluster of abnormalities including facial deformities, limb defects, heart problems, and potentially mental retardation.
• Environmental hazards: Exposure to radiation (job sites, X-rays), environmental pollutants, toxic waste, prolonged exposure to heat (saunas, hot tubs), can lead to chromosomal abnormalities in the child. High temperatures in the mother due to prolonged exposure to high heat can also endanger the fetus and potentially cause birth defects or fetal death.

Other Maternal Factors

• Infections: Rubella (German measles), syphilis, and genital herpes can harm the developing fetus during pregnancy.
• Maternal health conditions: AIDS, stress, and age (too young or too old) can elevate the risks of birth defects and harm the baby.
• Mother's nutrition: Affects the development of the fetus through the placenta.
• Gestational period anomalies: Transmission of infections to the baby across the placenta, during contact with maternal blood during childbirth and through breastfeeding.
• Maternal age: Older mothers face higher risks of chromosomal abnormalities in their children, and consequently, higher mortality rates for children born to adolescents.

Paternal Factors

• Environmental exposures: Fathers' exposure to lead, radiation, pesticides, and petrochemicals can cause abnormalities in sperm, potentially leading to miscarriages or childhood cancers in the offspring.

Conception

• Human development begins at conception.
• Cephalocaudal trend: The head grows more rapidly than the body during prenatal development .
• Proximodistal trend: The fetus develops from the center of the body outwards.

The Birth Process

• A visual aid of the birth process is accessible at the provided YouTube link.

The Newborn

• Myelination: The process of insulating axons by layers of fat cells begins presnatally and continues after birth.
• Brain development: At birth, a baby's brain is about 25% of its adult weight. The brain rapidly produces connections between neurons. Connections that aren't used are eliminated.

Reflexes of the Newborn

• Newborns have automatic reflexes for survival. These reflexes are crucial for immediate life needs and disappear as the baby learns and develops other skills.
  • Sucking reflex: Initiated by touching the roof of the mouth; ensures the baby can latch onto and feed from a bottle or breast.
  • Rooting reflex: Baby turns their head in the direction their cheek is stroked to locate and feed.
  • Gripping reflex: Enables the infant to grasp and hold onto objects.
  • Curling reflex: Response to touching the soles of the feet, either with curling the toes or spreading them out.
  • Startle/Moro reflex: Response to sudden noises or movements, involves throwing the arms and legs out, and throwing the head back, often accompanied by crying, and pulling limbs back into the body.
  • Galant reflex: The baby curves its body toward the side being stroked.
  • Tonic Neck Reflex: The limbs on the side where the baby's head faces are straightened, while the limbs on the opposite side will curl.