PRENATAL

DEVELOPMENT AND
BIRTH
OBJECTIVES:
• Describe the prenatal development.
• Describe the birth process.
• Explain the changes that take place in the postpartum period
Chapter Outline
• Prenatal development
• Birth
• The postpartum period
The Course of Prenatal Development
• Divided into three periods
• Germinal, embryonic, and fetal
– Germinal period: Takes place in
the first two weeks after
conception
• Blastocyst: Inner layer of cells
• Trophoblast: Outer layer of cells
– Embryonic period: Occurs two to eight
weeks
after conception
• Embryo - Mass of cells
• Three layers of cells – Endoderm,
mesoderm, ectoderm
• Organogenesis: Organ formation that
takes place during the first two months of
prenatal development
– Fetal period: Two months after conception
and birth in typical pregnancies

Significant Developments in the Germinal Period

The Three Trimesters of Prenatal Development

• Brain Birth Process
– Neurons: Nerve cells, which handle
information processing at the cellular level Stages of birth – Three stages
in the brain – 1st stage - Uterine contractions are 5 to
20 minutes apart and last up to 1 minute
• Neurogenesis - Generation of new – 2nd stage - Begins when the baby’s head
neurons starts to move through the cervix and birth
• Neuronal migration - Cells moving outward canal
from their point of origin to their appropriate • Ends when the baby completely emerges
locations from the mother’s body
– 3rd stage
Teratogen: Agent that causes a birth defect • Afterbirth: When the placenta, umbilical
• Teratology - Field of study that cord, and other membranes are detached
investigates the and expelled
causes of birth defects
• In the United States, 99 percent of births
• Teratogen influence take
– Dose place in hospitals
– Genetic susceptibility – Midwifery
– Time of exposure – Doula: Caregiver who provides continuous
physical, emotional, and educational
• Prescription drugs support for
– Streptomycin and tetracycline the mother before, during, and after
– Hormones - Progestin and synthetic childbirth
estrogen • Methods of childbirth
– Accutane – Medication
• Analgesia, anesthesia, and oxytocin
• Nonprescription drugs
– Diet pills and high dosages of aspirin
– Natural childbirth: Reduces the mother’s
• Psychoactive drugs pain by decreasing her fear through:
– Caffeine • Education about childbirth
– Alcohol • Relaxation techniques during delivery
– Prepared childbirth: Special breathing
• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: Appear technique to control pushing in the final
in the offspring of mothers who drink alcohol stages of labor
heavily during pregnancy • Detailed anatomy and physiology course

– Nicotine – Cesarean delivery

– Cocaine • Breech position: Baby’s position in the
– Methamphetamine uterus that causes the buttocks to be the
– Marijuana first part to emerge from the vagina
– Heroin • Cesarean delivery: Surgical procedure in
– Incompatible blood types which the baby is removed from the
– Environmental hazards mother’s uterus through:
– An incision made in her abdomen
– Maternal diseases
• Syphilis Assessing the Newborn
• Genital herpes
• AIDS • Apgar scale: Assessing the health of
newborns at one and five minutes after birth
– Other parental factors - Evaluates an infant’s heart rate,
• Maternal diet and nutrition respiratory effort, muscle tone, body
• Maternal age color, and reflex irritability
• Emotional states and stress
• Paternal factors

Prenatal Care
• Screening for manageable conditions and
treatable diseases
• Programs include educational, social, and
nutritional services
• Exercise during pregnancy:
– Helps prevent constipation
– Conditions the body
– Reduces excessive weight gain
– Is associated with a more positive mental
State
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS):
Assessment of the newborn’s

– Behavior, neurological and stress

responses, and
regulatory capacities

The Postpartum Period

• Physical adjustments
• Emotional and psychological adjustments
• Bonding
• Period after childbirth that lasts until:
– Mother’s body has completed its
adjustment and has returned to a nearly
prepregnant state

• Adjustments needed are:

– Physical - Fatigue
– Emotional
– Psychological

• Postpartum depression: Strong feelings of

sadness, anxiety, or despair
– Have trouble coping with daily tasks in the
postpartum period
– Treatment - Antidepressant drugs,
psychotherapy, and regular exercise

Bonding

• Formation of a physical bond, between

parents and their newborn shortly after birth
• Rooming-in arrangement - Baby remains
in the mother’s room most of the time during
its hospital stay