Essay on Prenatal Development | EasyGoEssay Samples

The prenatal period is the time of development and growth of a child before his/her birth. During this cycle the child is fully dependant on his/her mother for its nutritional necessities. During the prenatal time such vital organs as the brain, spinal cord, heart and others are forming. The baby’s organs will not develop in order without the necessary mother’s vitamins, minerals. During this period birth defects can occur without proper care.

However, not only food deficit can influence the baby. The mother can be affected negatively because the child pulls on all the mother’s sources of vitamins and minerals to meet his/her own necessities. As a result, it can lead to mother’s stress causing low energy levels, gestational diabetes, and pregnancy toxemia. At the same time, women can avoid a great number of problems which are connected with prenatal period by using qualitative minerals and vitamins in their food supply.

I consider that nature or genetics plays the dominant role in the prenatal period, however the environment is important at this time, as well. Dr. Pasco Rakic, a professor of neuroscience at Yale University, states:” The number of neurons and the way that they are organized is determined by heredity” (Jabs, p. 24). Various environmental factors including maternal malnutrition, substance abuse (smoking, alcohol, and drugs), viral infections, and others can result in adverse impacts on the developing brain. Any perturbations during the prenatal period of development such as trauma, low body mass for time of gestation, or exposure to xenobiotic compounds can significantly affect health and disease later in life (Chapin, Gillman).

There are three periods of pregnancy called trimesters. A trimester lasts three months.

The first trimester is the initial stage of pregnancy from conception to 12 weeks gestation. During this period the fetus is most sensitive to damage from substances such as alcohol, drugs, certain medications, and illnesses. During the first trimester the mother’s body and the fetus are changing quickly.

A woman may notice such common signs as: blue lines under the skin over her breasts and abdomen; waistline expansion; breasts that grow larger, food aversions and cravings, heartburn and indigestion, fatigue, complexion problems, a need to urinate often , constipation, headaches, dizziness, or faintness and others.

The second trimester of pregnancy lasts until the end of the seventh month. It is considered the easiest period of pregnancy as the majority of women regain some of their energy.

During this period the female abdomen begins to swell. The second trimester often delivers nasal congestion and occasional nose bleeds; whitish vaginal discharge; less of a need to urinate often; constipation; increase in appetite; Braxton Hicks contractions in which the uterus becomes hard and tight and then relaxes; leg cramps; backache; fatigue. During this period the fetus has now developed all its organs and systems and will now focus on growing in size and weight. By the end of the second trimester, the process of producing neurons is completed.

During the third trimester the female body and fetus continue to grow and change. In the third period of pregnancy some women may feel uncomfortable as their due date is near. While the fetus grows in size and crowds the abdominal cavity, some women can have problems taking deep breaths, and sleeping well at night. At the same time, other women do not experience discomfort as they anxiously await the arrival of their child.

Bibliography:

Jabs, C. (1996, November). Your baby’s brainpower. Working Mother, 19, 24-28
Chapin RE, Robbins WA, Schieve, LA, Sweeny, AM, Tabacova SA, Tomashek KM. 2004. Off to a good start: The influence of pre- and periconceptual exposures, parental fertility, and nutrition on children’s health. Environ Health Perspect 112:69-78
Gillman MW. 2002. Epidemiological challenges in studying the fetal origins of adult chronic disease. Int J Epidemiol 31:294-29