Zera Babe S.
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Factors Affecting Prenatal
Development
1. Maternal nutrition
Fetus gets the nourishment from
maternal blood stream through placenta,
so the mother’s diet should contain
necessary nutrients, like proteins for
tissue building and repair, fats to form
tissues, etc.
2. Mental health
Substances that can harmfully affect
pre-natal development are called
tetrarogens, which may either cause
physical or mental abnormalities. Some
diseases, if contracted by the mother,
are believed to be tetratogence. A
disease causing virus can be
transmitted from the mother’s blood
stream to the baby’s if it is small enough
to pass through the placental screen.
3. Bacterial infections
Bacterial infections may also cross the
placental screen, one such infection,
toxoplasmosis, has recently been
blamed for some cases of congenial
brain damage and blindness.
4. Drugs
Drugs are other chemicals that can filter
through the placenta into the blood
stream of fetus. The risk is greater
during the early stages of pregnancy,
when development is progressing more
rapidly.
5. Smoking
contract the blood vessels in the uterus
and placenta. This interferes with the
delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the
fetus.
6. Alcohol
When consumed in moderate amounts,
alcohol has no ill effects. But if the
mother drinks excessively, she is likely
to give birth to a small baby with
retarded motor development.
7. Emotional state of mother
Emotions can temporarily affect the
child. The activity level of the fetus is
increased when the mother is
emotionally upset. Difficulty of labor and
delivery is also related to the mother’s
level of tension during the preceding
months.
8. Maternal age
Those woman who are below 21, have
chances of miscarriage, still births, and
fetal malformations. The reason is that
the reproductive organs of the female
are not fully mature.
Principles of Growth and
Development
1. Development is orderly and
follows a sequential pattern
which is predictable.
2. Development is the product of
the interaction of maturation and
learning.
3. There are individual differences
in development.
4. Development proceeds by
stages.