What is Developmental

psychology and
Beginnings- Prenatal
development and
hazards
 Stages of Human
Development
•If someone asked you what stage of your life you are in, what would you
say?

•Many of us think of the stages of life as simply childhood and adulthood.

But can our lives really be summed up into two basic categories?

•Throughout our lifetimes, we experience drastic changes and big

milestones. From the day we are born, we are constantly learning,
growing, and developing.

•It is difficult to summarize human development into clear-cut stages. But

many practitioners in developmental psychology have created theories to
help understand our intellectual and cognitive development better.
 The stages of life are the different phases that all individuals
pass through in a regular lifetime. During each stage, most
people will share common interests, actions, and behaviors.
When we talk about the concept of life stages, three distinct
phases come to mind: childhood, adulthood, and old age. 
A dramatic lifestyle change often characterizes the transition
to a different stage of life. People often say that someone is
entering a new stage of life
Stages of Life
But how many stages of life are there? Well, that depends on
who you ask.
Some developmentalists break up the human life span into
nine stages. Others think twelve is a more suitable number. 
In some of these theories, the first stage is prenatal
development. So in the eyes of some psychologists, the life
cycle begins before birth. 

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 Prenatal
Diagnostic
Tests
These tests are used to indicate
whether a fetus is developing normally
These are some of the most common
tests…
Prenatal Tests
Ultrasound
◦ This is usually conducted by the 7th week
and then at various times after
◦ This technique is helpful in determining
abnormalities and helps determine the
sex of the baby
◦ We are even able to see the prenatal
brain developing by ultrasound
Prenatal Tests
Amniocentesis
◦ Between the 15th and 18th
week, this may be performed

◦ A sample of amniotic fluid is

withdrawn by syringe and
tested for chromosomal or
metabolic disorders

◦ This is very useful for

indications of birth defects

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Prenatal Tests
Conflicts
Because this method can help to determine if
there are birth defects, it can put the parents in a
awkward position of acceptance of what they
should do next
The psychological dilemma presented can be quite
strong and it is important to let the parents decide
what is best for them and their family

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Prenatal Tests
Brain-imaging Techniques
◦ We now have the ability to do Fetal
MRI on fetuses

◦ It is best to have this done in the 3rd

trimester so that the images are as
clear as possible

◦ This techniques can help determine

if there are abnormalities in the
CNS, brain, GI tract, sex organs and
placenta

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 Hazards to
prenatal
development
Hazards to development
The environment that the mother and father live can affect the
fetus development
These are referred as “Teratogens”
These are any agents that could potentially cause a birth defect or
negatively alter cognitive and behavioral functions
Things such as: pollution, lifestyle choices, drugs/medication, work
environments to name a few…

NOTE: sometimes the affects aren’t even seen at birth (only about
½), but develop later on
That is why prenatal testing is helpful but also why we do so much
observation of babies, toddlers and children.
We are looking for differences in development that can clue us in
that a child may have a developmental delay or handicap
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6XqDRdGScY
Maternal mental
and emotional
health aspects that
can affect infant
development
Mother’s mental and
physical states
• Maternal diseases and infections can affect fetal
growth
• Especially if they cross the placental barrier –or- if the
child comes into contact at birth
• Conditions such as: genital herpes, AIDS, blood diseases
• The nutritional heath and mental health can also affect
the birth
• Nutrition is very important during pregnancy in order
for the birth to go well for both the mother and the
child
• Undernourishment, obesity and poor diet are common
factors for low birth rates
Mother’s mental and
physical states
• Maternal age also has an affect on birth
• Adolescence mothers have double the mortality
rate of infants than mothers in their 20s!
• Adequate prenatal care is super important in
adolescence births
• Also mothers over 35 have increases risks of
complications during development and/or birth
Mother’s mental and
physical states
• Maternal states of stress and emotional health
can have dramatic effects on the development
of the fetus
• When pregnant women experience intense fear,
anxieties, and negative mood states, the fetus
can be affected
• This can lead to children with mental disorders,
ADHD, language delay and learning delays
Mother’s mental and
physical states
• When mothers take medications for their emotional
and mental health, many studies have shown that
these births have a higher chance of Autism

• Maternal mental and emotional health affects the

development of the fetus in many ways.

• This can also be seen in postpartum depression in

the care and affection given by the mother
• The amount of interaction with the mother is
important in the development of the infant
Substance
use/abuse
and
pregnancy
Substance use and
pregnancy
Research shows that use of tobacco, alcohol, or illicit
drugs or misuse of prescription drugs by pregnant women
can have severe health consequences for infants.

This is because many substances pass easily through the

placenta, so substances that a pregnant woman takes also
reach the fetus

Recent research shows that smoking tobacco or

marijuana, taking prescription pain relievers, or using
illegal drugs during pregnancy is associated with double
or even triple the risk of stillbirth.

Estimates suggest that about 5 percent of pregnant

women use one or more addictive substances

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Medications
and
vitamins
Medications
Prescription and nonprescription drugs

◦ These can affect sensory development and heart development

◦ These types of medication can also have psychological,

emotional and mental affects on the fetus

◦ Even vitamins can have an effect on development

◦ Example: Accutane, a form of vitamin C that is often used to
treat acne, can lead to brain malformation

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Psychoactive Drugs
Psychoactive Drugs
Regular use of some drugs can cause neonatal abstinence
syndrome (NAS), in which the baby goes through
withdrawal upon birth.

Most research in this area has focused on the effects of

opioids (prescription pain relievers or heroin)
The type and severity of an infant's withdrawal
symptoms depends:
◦ on the drug(s) used
◦ how long and how often the birth mother used
◦ how her body breaks the drug down
◦ whether the infant was born full term or prematurely.

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 Symptoms of drug withdrawal in a newborn can develop
immediately or up to 14 days after birth and can
include:
•blotchy skin coloring •seizures
•diarrhea
•sleep problems
•excessive or high-pitched crying
•abnormal sucking reflex •slow weight gain
Psychoactive •fever •stuffy nose and
Drugs •hyperactive reflexes sneezing
withdrawals •increased muscle tone
•sweating
•irritability
•poor feeding •trembling
•rapid breathing •vomiting
 Psychoactiv
e Drugs
◦ Examples include caffeine,
alcohol, nicotine, cocaine,
marijuana and heroin

◦ These drugs affect the nervous

system of the mother and can
cause low birth weights, and
learning disabilities

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Psychoactive
Drugs
Cocaine
It is not completely known how a
pregnant woman's cocaine use
affects her child, since cocaine-
using women are more likely to
also use other drugs such as
alcohol, to have poor nutrition, or
to not seek prenatal care.

All of these factors can affect a

developing fetus, making it
difficult to isolate the effects of
cocaine.
Psychoactive Drugs
Cocaine
Pregnant women who use cocaine are at higher risk for
◦ maternal migraines
◦ Seizures
◦ premature membrane rupture
◦ placental abruption (separation of the placental lining from
the uterus)

Pregnancy is accompanied by normal cardiovascular

changes, and cocaine use exacerbates these changes
◦ sometimes leading to serious problems with high blood
pressure (hypertensive crisis), spontaneous miscarriage,
preterm labor, and difficult delivery
Psychoactive Drugs
Cocaine
◦ Babies born to mothers who use cocaine during
pregnancy may also have low birth weight and smaller
head circumferences

◦ The babies are shorter in length than babies born to

mothers who do not use cocaine

◦ They also show symptoms of irritability, hyperactivity,

tremors, high-pitched cry, and excessive sucking at
birth.

◦ These symptoms may be due to the effects of cocaine

itself, rather than withdrawal, since cocaine and its
metabolites are still present in the baby's body up to 5
to 7 days after delivery
How to help
So what can we do to help avoid these types of
problems from developing?
• Prenatal care is important
• Keeping the mother and family actively fit helps
with mental and emotional states
• A health diet helps the fetus grow
• Inclusive care plans are ways to involve the whole
family
Summary
This wraps up our section on what
developmental psychology is and the
prenatal stage of beginnings and test
and hazards.

As you can see MANY things can affect

development, so it is important for us to
understand how we development- why-
and how to make it better

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