This page will focus on the prenatal stages of development, pregnancy, birth, and life as a newborn. Many things can happen in these crucial stages of development that determine how the child will develop for the rest of its life. It also touches on the role that the mother and father play in the baby's life and the changes that they go through as well.
Our lives started when our mother's egg joined with our father's sperm and formed a zygote. The egg and sperm each contain chromosomes with genes intertwined. When fertilization occurs, the genes of the egg and the sperm join together and start the formation of the fetus. There are recessive genes and dominant genes and it is the combination of the two that make up the growing fetus. These gene traits determine what color eyes or hair the baby will have and even certain diseases that can be handed down such as sickle-cell anemia and muscular dystrophy. Abnormalities in the replication of chromosomes can cause disorders such as: Down Syndrome, Klinefelter Syndrome, Turner Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome.
The Germinal Stage:
-Begins when sperm meets egg
-The fertilized egg is called a zygote
-Zygote travels down the fallopian tubes
-Cell division begins after, takes 15 hours for one cell to become 2 and so on until there are 32 cells
-5 days after conception, ball of cells implants into uterus lining
-About 60% of conceptions don’t survive because they fail to implant
-Ball of cells becomes a blastocyst which has cells at one end (the inner mass) and an outer ring of cells
-Inner mass will become the embryo
-Outer ring becomes the placenta
-A connection between the two is made and the embryo can now receive nourishment from mother
-Begins when sperm meets egg
-The fertilized egg is called a zygote
-Zygote travels down the fallopian tubes
-Cell division begins after, takes 15 hours for one cell to become 2 and so on until there are 32 cells
-5 days after conception, ball of cells implants into uterus lining
-About 60% of conceptions don’t survive because they fail to implant
-Ball of cells becomes a blastocyst which has cells at one end (the inner mass) and an outer ring of cells
-Inner mass will become the embryo
-Outer ring becomes the placenta
-A connection between the two is made and the embryo can now receive nourishment from mother
The Embryonic Stage:
After 2 weeks the cell becomes a distinct human being. This is called the embryonic stage. The embryo divides into 3 layers and each one of these layers becomes a distinct part of the human. Neural tubes begin to form which later becomes the central nervous system: Spine and Brain. At 4 weeks after conception the head forms along with the eyes, ears, mouth and nose. At 5
weeks arms and legs begin to form and the heart begins to pump. By 8 weeks the embryo weighs about 1 gram and has all essential parts and organs except for the sex organs
After 2 weeks the cell becomes a distinct human being. This is called the embryonic stage. The embryo divides into 3 layers and each one of these layers becomes a distinct part of the human. Neural tubes begin to form which later becomes the central nervous system: Spine and Brain. At 4 weeks after conception the head forms along with the eyes, ears, mouth and nose. At 5
weeks arms and legs begin to form and the heart begins to pump. By 8 weeks the embryo weighs about 1 gram and has all essential parts and organs except for the sex organs
The Fetal stage:
-9weeks determines the sex of the fetus
-10 weeks fetal breathing movement occurs
-breathe in and expel amniotic fluid
-between weeks 12 and 16 mother can feel movement
-at 32 weeks and fetus spends 90%-95% of its time sleeping
-cutaneous senses (skin senses such as touch or pain) and proprioceptive senses (ones that detect motion of the body) are the first senses to develop followed by chemical senses (smell and taste) and vestibular (equilibrium and balance) last to develop are auditory and visual senses
-9weeks determines the sex of the fetus
-10 weeks fetal breathing movement occurs
-breathe in and expel amniotic fluid
-between weeks 12 and 16 mother can feel movement
-at 32 weeks and fetus spends 90%-95% of its time sleeping
-cutaneous senses (skin senses such as touch or pain) and proprioceptive senses (ones that detect motion of the body) are the first senses to develop followed by chemical senses (smell and taste) and vestibular (equilibrium and balance) last to develop are auditory and visual senses
Pregnancy:
●Trimester1:Covers the first three months of pregnancy. Conception takes place at the beginning of first trimester. Woman’s hormone levels change with the growth of child. Usually cannot visibly tell that the woman is pregnant. Extremely critical development that will become permanent base for further growth happens during the first trimester. Woman may experience fatigue and morning sickness during this stage. ●Trimester 2: Covers months 4 through 6 of pregnancy. Woman is usually visibly pregnant at this point of the pregnancy. The fetus is growing in size and begins moving during the second trimester. ●Trimester 3:Covers the last three months of pregnancy. The fetus continues to dramatically increase in size. The woman feels fatigued and uncomfortable during this stage.
●Trimester1:Covers the first three months of pregnancy. Conception takes place at the beginning of first trimester. Woman’s hormone levels change with the growth of child. Usually cannot visibly tell that the woman is pregnant. Extremely critical development that will become permanent base for further growth happens during the first trimester. Woman may experience fatigue and morning sickness during this stage. ●Trimester 2: Covers months 4 through 6 of pregnancy. Woman is usually visibly pregnant at this point of the pregnancy. The fetus is growing in size and begins moving during the second trimester. ●Trimester 3:Covers the last three months of pregnancy. The fetus continues to dramatically increase in size. The woman feels fatigued and uncomfortable during this stage.
Birth:
A woman has many options when she is preparing to give birth. She can choose a doula, a midwife, or a doctor to deliver the baby. Labor happens in three stages. The first stage lasts 10-20 hours overall but has several important steps and because of this, it’s broken into three sub-stages. Early labor is the first stage where there’s usually non-painful contractions and the cervix begins to dilate. Active labor is the second sub-stage of the labor process. It lasts anywhere from 3 to 8 hours where the woman experiences stronger contractions. Her cervix dilates to 4 centimeters during this stage. If the woman chooses, this is when she’ll be given pain medication. Transition is the final sub-stage that lasts 15 minutes to 3 hours. The woman experiences rapid contractions. The cervix dilates to 10 centimeters. A woman’s water breaks most often in this part of labor. Once the baby’s head is out the rest of the body comes out quickly and the child is born. 5 to 10 minutes after the child is born the mother has to deliver the placenta.
A woman has many options when she is preparing to give birth. She can choose a doula, a midwife, or a doctor to deliver the baby. Labor happens in three stages. The first stage lasts 10-20 hours overall but has several important steps and because of this, it’s broken into three sub-stages. Early labor is the first stage where there’s usually non-painful contractions and the cervix begins to dilate. Active labor is the second sub-stage of the labor process. It lasts anywhere from 3 to 8 hours where the woman experiences stronger contractions. Her cervix dilates to 4 centimeters during this stage. If the woman chooses, this is when she’ll be given pain medication. Transition is the final sub-stage that lasts 15 minutes to 3 hours. The woman experiences rapid contractions. The cervix dilates to 10 centimeters. A woman’s water breaks most often in this part of labor. Once the baby’s head is out the rest of the body comes out quickly and the child is born. 5 to 10 minutes after the child is born the mother has to deliver the placenta.
Newborns spend most of their day asleep (about 16-18 hours a day). Half of time sleeping is spent in REM sleep and half of the time sleeping is spent in regular sleep. Crying is the signal babies use when they need something. Quiet alertness is when the baby's eyes are open and they are attentive to what is going on around them but are very still. This lasts about 1 hour each day and usually occurs in 5-10 minutes episodes. Some infants have regular and predictable schedules and are easily comforted when they are upset. Others are much more variable in their schedule and much more difficult to soothe when upset.
Maternal Health is extremely important during pregnancy. The mother should see a physician on a regular basis, maintain a healthy and balanced diet, and take pre-natal vitamins. Teratogens such as drugs and alcohol can negatively effect the woman's pregnancy and the baby. Alcohol use during pregnancy is the cause of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and can cause the baby to be born with physical and mental defects.
Although the mother is the one carrying the baby, the father also goes through hormonal changes during the pregnancy. A phenomenon called couvade happens to men while their partner is pregnant. A man going through couvade may experience weight gain, nausea, indigestion, mood swings, food cravings, sympathy pains and even mock contractions when their partner is in labor.