Chapter 4 Flashcards
The stage of prenatal development from approximately the third through the eighth week after conception, during which the basic forms of all body structures, including internal organs, develop.
Embryonic Period
The first two weeks of prenatal development after conception, characterized by rapid cell division and the beginning of cell differentiation.
Germinal Period
The stage of prenatal development from the ninth week after conception until birth, during which the fetus gains 7lbs and organs become more mature, gradually able to function on their own.
Fetal Period
The process, beginning about 10 days after conception, in which the developing organism burrows into the placenta that lines the uterus, where it can be nourished and protected as it continues to develop.
Implantation
The name for a developing human organism from about the third through the eighth week after conception.
Embryo
The name for a developing human organism from the start of the ninth week after conception until birth.
Fetus
An image of a fetus (or an internal organ) produced by using high-frequency sound waves.
Ultrasound
The age (about 22 weeks after conception) at which a fetus might survive outside the mother’s uterus if specialized medical care is available.
Age of Viability
A quick assessment of a newborn’s health. Score out of five twice right after birth. Total possible score of 10.
Apgar Scale
A surgical birth, in which incisions through the mother’s abdomen and uterus allow the fetus to be removed quickly, instead of being delivered through the vagina.
Cesarean Section (C-Section)
A woman who helps with the birth process.
Doula
Agents and conditions, including viruses, drugs, and chemicals, that can impair prenatal development and result in birth defects or even death.
Teratogens
Agents and conditions that can harm the prenatal brain, impairing the future child’s intellectual and emotional functioning.
Behavioral Teratogens
In prenatal development, when a teratogen is relatively harmless in small doses but becomes harmful once exposure reaches a certain level (the threshold).
Threshold Effect
A cluster of birth defects, including abnormal facial characteristics, slow physical growth, and retarded mental development, that may occur in the fetus of a woman who drinks alcohol while pregnant.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
The result of a laboratory test that reports something as true when in facts it is not true.
False Positive
A body weight at birth of less that 5.5lbs (2500grams).
Low Birthweight (LBW)
A body weight at birth of less than 3lbs 5 ounces (1500grams).
Very Low Birthweight (VLBW)
A body weight at birth of less than 2lbs 3ounces (1000grams).
Extremely Low Birthweight (ELBW)
A birth that occurs three or more before the full 38 weeks of the typical pregnancy-that is, at 35 or fewer weeks after conception
Preterm
A term for a baby whose birthweight is significantly lower than expected, given the time since conception.
Small for Gestational Age (SGA)
A disorder that results from damage to the brain’s motor centers. Speech and body movement is impaired.
Cerebral Palsy
A lack of oxygen that, if prolonged, can cause brain damage or death.
Anoxia
A test often administered to newborns that measures responsiveness and records 46 behaviors, including 20 reflexes.
Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS)
An unlearned, involuntary action or movement in response to a stimulus. A reflex occurs without a conscious thought.
Reflex
Symptoms of pregnancy and birth experienced by fathers.
Couvade
Cooperation between a mother and a father based on their mutual commitment to their children. In a parental alliance, the parents support each other in their shared parental roles.
Parental Alliance
A new mother’s feeling of inadequacy and sadness in the days and weeks after going birth.
Postpartum Depression
The strong, loving connection that forms as parents hold, examine, and feed their newborn.
Parent-Infant Bond
