Kathleen Stassen Berger

Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield

Tattoon, M.A.

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Part I

Prenatal Development and Birth

Chapter Four

From Zygote to Newborn

Risk Reduction

The Birth Process

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Prenatal Development and Birth

• The majority of newborns are male (52%), and more are Chinese (30%)… yet every baby is unique… every area of development is directly relevant to the 150 million babies born in the world every year… there are generalities and variation… but expect to be awed by the miracle of birth.

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From Zygote to Newborn

• Prenatal development is divided into three

main periods

– germinal Period (0-2 weeks)

– embryonic Period (3-8 weeks)

– fetal Period (9 weeks-birth)

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From Zygote to Newborn• Germinal: The First 14 Days

• Conception occurs in fallopian tubes

• Cell differentiation and multiplication

• 42% of conceptions successfully implant in uterus

– blastocyst• when cells take on distinct characteristics and gravitate toward

particular positions, the entire cell mass (still very fragile and tiny)

– placenta• the organ that surrounds the developing embryo and fetus,

sustaining life via the umbilical cord…attached to the wall of the uterus

– Implantation• the process, beginning about 10 days after conception, which the

developing organism burrows into the placenta that lines the uterus, where it can be nourished and protected as it continues to develop.

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From Zygote to Newborn

• Embryo: from the third through the eighth week

– embryonic period (3-8 weeks)

• major organs develop

• at eight weeks, organism is less than 2˝

long

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From Zygote to Newborn

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From Zygote to Newborn

• Fetus: From the Ninth Week Until Birth– Fetal Period (9 weeks-birth)

• Sex organs develop

• Brain development is significant

• Age of viability occurs around 22 weeks

– fetus

• a developing organism from the ninth week after conception until birth

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From Zygote to Newborn

• The Third Month

– the fetus has all its body parts

– weighs approximately 3 ounces, about 3

inches long

– growth is rapid

– fetus is too small survive outside of the

womb

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From Zygote to Newborn

– in the fourth, fifth and sixth months the heartbeat becomes stronger

– the cardiovascular system more active

– the brain increases about six times in size

• age of viability– twenty-two weeks after

conception a fetus can survive outside the mother’s uterus if specialized medical care is available

• The Middle Three Months: Preparing to Survive

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From Zygote to Newborn

• The Final Three Months: From Viability to Full

Term

– Viability

• life outside the womb is possible

• born in the seventh month requires intensive

hospital care and life-support systems

• difference between preterm and newborn is the

maturation of neurological, respiratory,

cardiovascular systems

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Risk Reduction• toxins, illnesses and experiences can harm a

developing person before birth– teratology

• a science of risk analysis, the study of birth defects

– teratogens• Agents and conditions that can harm the prenatal brain,

impairing the future child’s intellectual and emotional functioning

– behavioral teratogens• Agents and conditions that can harm the prenatal brain,

impairing the future child’s intellectual and emotional functioning

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Risk Reduction• Determining Risk

– risk analysis

• the science of weighting the potential effects of a

particular event, substance, or experience to

determine the likelihood of harm

• Timing of Exposure

– critical period

• In prenatal development, the time when a

particular organ or other body part of the embryo

or fetus is most susceptible to damage by

teratogens

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Risk Reduction• Amount of Exposure

– Threshold effect• a situation in which a certain teratogen is

relatively harmless in small doses but becomes harmful once exposure reaches a certain level (the threshold)

– Interaction effect• the result of a combination of teratogens.

Sometimes risk is greatly magnified when an embryo or fetus is exposed to more than one teratogen at the same time

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Genetic Vulnerability

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Risk Reduction

• Protective Measures

• Benefits of Prenatal Care

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The Birth Process• The Newborn’s First Minutes

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The Birth Process

• The Newborn’s First Minutes

– Apgar scale

• a quick assessment of a newborn’s body functioning.– color

– heart rate

– reflexes

– muscle tone

– respiratory effort

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The Birth Process• Variations

– medical Intervention• cesarean section

– fetus is removed through incisions in the mother’s abdomen and uterus

• birth complications– includes anything in the newborn, the mother, or

the birth process itself that requires special medical attention

– anoxia• a lack of oxygen that, if prolonged during

birth, can cause brain damage or death to the baby

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The Birth Process• Low Birthweight (LBW)

– the average weight of a newborn is 7½ lbs.

• LBW is considered less than 5½ lbs.

• preterm is less than 35 weeks

– lifestyle choices

• e.g., cigarette smoking accounts for 25% of LBW births worldwide!

– maternal malnutrition

– multiple births

– prescription drugs

– unknown causes

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The Birth Process• Social Support

– Mother, Father, and a Good Start

– Help from fathers

• parental alliance – cooperation between a mother and a father based on their mutual communication to their children… the parents agree to support each other in their shared parental roles

• Postpartum Depression– 8-15% of women experience postpartum depression, a

sense of inadequacy and sadness after birth.

– includes irritability, sleep and eating disruptions, sadness, feeling overwhelmed and inadequate as a mom, no interest or overly worried about baby.