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What is the duration of the germinal stage?
During which stage do most vital organs and bodily systems emerge?
At what point in the foetal stage does the zone of viability occur?
What significant development occurs in the third month of the foetal stage?
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What role does amniotic fluid play during the embryonic stage?
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What is one factor that can negatively influence prenatal development?
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Which maternal condition is associated with a high risk of damaging brain development in a fetus?
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Which of the following substances is considered detrimental when used by mothers during pregnancy?
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Which environmental factor can potentially influence prenatal development?
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The neonatal period is recognized as lasting approximately how long after birth?
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What reflexes are important for a newborn's survival immediately after birth?
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Which of the following is NOT a factor influencing prenatal development?
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What hormonal response is generated due to maternal stress during pregnancy?
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At what age do most children typically utter their first word?
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What term describes one-word sentences used by young children to convey whole meanings?
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Which stage of language development involves the use of consonant-vowel combinations?
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What is the vocabulary size of a child by the age of 18 months?
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At what age does a child typically begin to use telegraphic speech?
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What is the primary characteristic of vision in neonates?
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What is a key aspect of hearing development in neonates?
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At what age does the brain of a neonate reach about 50% of its eventual adult weight?
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Which of the following developments occurs during the preschool period?
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What influence does malnutrition have on a child's development?
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During the first year of life, how much does an infant's birth weight typically change?
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Which developmental trend describes growth from the head downward?
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What sensory preference is well-developed in neonates regarding taste?
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What describes the growth pattern of gross and fine motor skills during the preschool period?
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At what age does a preference for right or left hand typically begin to show?
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What is a key environmental factor that can stunt a child's physical development?
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What changes occur in the brain between the ages of five and seven?
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Which process involves changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences?
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What do the two complementary processes in cognitive development, according to Jean Piaget, involve?
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During middle childhood, physical growth is characterized by which of the following?
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What aspect of cognitive development does Piaget emphasize through interaction with the environment?
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Study Notes
Germinal Stage
- Lasts from conception to about two weeks
- Conception occurs when the sperm cell fertilizes the ovum
- Rapid cell division occurs, and the mass of cells migrates to the uterus
- The mass of cells implants into the uterine wall, forming a placenta during the implantation process.
Embryonic Stage
- From the end of the 2nd week until the 8th week
- Development of the placenta and the umbilical cord
- Most of the vital organs and bodily systems such as the heart, spine and brain emerge.
- The embryo is contained in a sac within the mother’s uterus and is surrounded by amniotic fluid.
Foetal Stage
- Lasts from 8 weeks to birth.
- Muscles and bones begin to form.
- Sex organs develop in the third month.
- Brain cells multiply during the final three months.
- By about 26 weeks, the zone of viability is reached - when the baby could survive if born prematurely.
Factors Influencing Prenatal Development
- Genetic Disorders
- Gene abnormalities
- Chromosome abnormalities
- Culture, Family, & Environmental Toxins
- Culture influences thoughts and decisions around pregnancy and child-rearing
- Miscarriages
- Changes in family structure over time
- Environmental toxins - air pollution, radio-activity
- Maternal Nutrition/Malnutrition
- Maternal Illness and Psychopathology
- Many illnesses are high risk for damaging brain development
- Lead to intellectual and other disorders
- Examples include rubella, syphilis, HIV
- Maternal Stress and Emotion
- Stress hormones affect blood pressure and the immune system.
- Maternal Drug Use
- Alcohol, smoking, and other substances can affect prenatal development.
- Prescription and over-the-counter drugs can also affect development.
Neonatal Period
- Spans approximately the first two to four weeks after birth
- The newborn is much more competent than was previously thought
- Display more than 20 reflexes over which they initially have no control
- Involuntary responses to specific stimuli
- Important for the newborn’s survival
- Absence of reflexes may be an early indication of neurological problems
Neonatal Period: Perceptual Development
- Neonates are able to take in information from their environment via their senses
- Vision
- The visual system is present at birth
- The ability to coordinate the movement of the eyes is not fully developed
- Cannot focus properly (blurry vision)
- Neonates actively scan their surroundings
- Can see objects about 21 cm away
- Preference for looking at faces and patterns with sharp contrasts
- Hearing
- Can distinguish human speech from other sounds
- Can distinguish between human speech sounds
- Preference for their mother's voice
- Baby talk directed towards them
- Taste and Smell
- Well-developed sense of smell
- Can distinguish between different smells
- Well-developed sense of taste
- Strong preference for sweet as opposed to sour tastes.
- Vision
Preschool Period
- Characterized by rapid growth during the first two years of life, slower pattern of growth between the ages of two and six years.
- Growth follows the cephalocaudal developmental trend and the proximodistal developmental trend.
- Cephalocaudal Developmental Trend
- From the head downward
- The trunk grows fastest during the first year.
- Gain control over muscles of the head and neck, then the arms and abdomen, and finally legs.
- By four to six months, birth weight has often doubled.
- By the end of year one, birth weight has often tripled.
- Body proportions also change.
- The brain increases from being 25% of its eventual adult weight at birth to being about 50% at the age of one year.
- Ability to acquire new information increases.
- Genetics and the environment influence growth.
- Malnutrition may stunt brain growth and cognitive development.
- Proximodistal Developmental Trend
- From the center outward
- Gross motor skills develop faster than fine motor skills during this period.
- Preference for the right or left hand begins to show at about two years.
- Environmental factors can stunt or delay normal development.
- Sustained periods of malnutrition are associated with stunted growth.
- Cephalocaudal Developmental Trend
Middle Childhood
- Age 6 to puberty
- Slower average growth rate
- Increase in strength, coordination, and muscular control, leads to improved gross motor and fine motor skills.
- An improvement in motor-perceptual functioning (hand-eye coordination).
- Three main environmental influences on physical growth and development: the quality of care, nutrition, and illnesses
- Brain continues to grow in both structure and function.
- Between five and seven years, the brain experiences a growth spurt, particularly in the frontal lobes
- Frontal lobe development is important for planning and for the development of executive functions.
Cognitive Development
- Refers to the age-related changes that occur in mental activities such as paying attention, perceiving, learning, thinking, and remembering.
- Jean Piaget’s theory: interaction with the environment and maturation gradually alters the way children think.
- Assimilation: interpreting new experiences in terms of existing mental structures without changing them.
- Accommodation: changing existing mental structures to explain new experiences.
Language Development
- At birth, undifferentiated crying to communicate their needs.
- After the first month, caregivers can distinguish cries of pain, hunger, discomfort, tiredness, and boredom by listening to the pitch of the cry.
- Six to eight weeks, babies start making cooing sounds.
- Around four months, babies utter consonant–vowel combinations in long strings, such as ‘babababa’ or ‘mamamama’.
- Six to seven months, babbling starts to resemble the child’s home language.
- Most children utter their first word at about 12 months.
- Start with holo-phrases: one-word sentences to convey the meaning of a whole sentence.
- Vocabulary increases to about 50 words by the age of 18 months.
- At about 24 months, babies use telegraphic speech.
- Only those words that are necessary to communicate meaning.
- From three to six years, vocabulary and sentence length increase.
- By age six, the child uses all the parts of speech.
- Vocabulary spurt: develops a vocabulary of approximately 10 000 words.
- Four years later, their vocabulary increases to around 40 000 words.
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Description
Explore the vital stages of human prenatal development from conception to birth. This quiz covers the germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages, highlighting key processes, organ formation, and factors influencing development. Test your understanding of how life begins and evolves in the womb.
