Prenatal Development

Question 1

Length of human gestation

Answer 1

• 38 weeks from conception to birth
• 0 weeks = conception
• 40 weeks from pregnancy to birth

Question 2

Three stages of development

Answer 2

1. zygote
2. embryo
3. fetus

Question 3

how many weeks is the zygote stage

Answer 3

0 - 2 weeks

Question 4

how many weeks is the embryo stage

Answer 4

3 - 8 weeks

Question 5

how many weeks is the fetus stage

Answer 5

9 - 38 weeks

Question 6

when do you start counting a pregnancy

Answer 6

when last week of menstrual period start counting pregnancy 2 weeks before conceptions

Question 7

What happens during the zygote/germinal stage

Answer 7

• conception
• gametes meet
• massive cell division
• potential twins

Question 8

what happens during embryo stage

Answer 8

• stage of most rapid development
• most vulnerabilty
• cell differentation
• placenta and amniotic fluid exhange of nutrients/waste through semi-permeable membrane

Question 9

What happens at 4 weeks of embryo stage

Answer 9

heartbeat

Question 10

what happens at 5-6 weeks of embryo stage

Answer 10

• rapid brain development
• movement begins

Question 11

What happens at 9 weeks of fetal stage

Answer 11

• all internal organs present
• tactile stimulation –> responsive to touch

Question 12

what happens at 10 - 12 weeks of fetal stage

Answer 12

• heart and brain structure
• “breathing,” grasping, swallowing, sucking

Question 13

what happens at 16 - 20 weeks of fetal stage

Answer 13

movement felt by mother

Question 14

what happens at 28 weeks of fetal stage

Answer 14

• may survive on own if born
• external sounds
• sight –> shine a light on mother’s abdomen and get a response from fetus

Question 15

taste and smell of fetus

Answer 15

• preference persist postnatally
• scent of amniotic fluid

Question 16

what happens at 25 - 28 week of fetal stage

Answer 16

• hearing
• internal and external hearing
• habituation to repeated sound stimulus
• HR/pulse increase to new sounds
• HR/pulse decreased to repeated sounds

Question 17

Anise Study & Carrot Juice Experiment

Answer 17

• mothers who had consumed carrot juice during pregnancy lead to infant liking taste of carrot juice
• mothers who had not consumed carrot juice during pregnancy lead to infants not liking the taste of carrot juice

Question 18

fetuses and neonates prefer

Answer 18

• mother’s voice
• mother’s language

Question 19

Non-nutritive sucking

Answer 19

• fetus’s heart rate measured for nutritive response
• sound delievered through headphones
• operantly conditioned to suck faster for mom’s voice

Question 20

Cat in the Hat Study

Answer 20

• mother reads the cat in the hat before birth
• infants tested soon after birth on Cat in the Hat vs. another rhyming story
• variation on NNS/HAS ti measure preference

Question 21

Results of Cat in the Hat Study

Answer 21

• for infants who had heard the cat in the hat prenatally, they sucked in the right pattern to hear it (non-nutritive sucking technique)
• controls showed no difference –> trained to suck slower for rhymes never heard before (other story)

Question 23

Teratogens

Answer 23

agents that cause harm during prenatal development

Question 24

factors that influence severity of effect

Answer 24

1. dose
2. genetic predisposition of baby and mother
3. combinations
4. age/timing (sensitive periods in prenatal development)

Question 25

When is everything most vulnerable

Answer 25

the period of the EMBRYO (3 - 8 weeks)

Question 26

prescription drug teratogens: thalidomide

Answer 26

• used for severe nausea but babies started being born with missing lombs
• prescribed at 10 - 12 weeks

Question 27

substance teratogens

Answer 27

alcohol
cigarettes
opiods

Question 28

environmental teratogens

Answer 28

lead

Question 29

disease teratogens

Answer 29

• rubella: leading cause of baby defects (neurological defects)
• zika: mosquitos; babies born with microcephaly

Question 30

maternal factor teratogens

Answer 30

• age
• disease
• nutrition, emotional stage

Question 31

Acute maternal stress is associated with

Answer 31

higher rates of:
* miscarriage
* preterm birth
* low birth weight
* respiratory and digestive illness
* colic = intense crying
* sleep disturbances
* irritability

usually earthquakes or attack

Question 32

chronic maternal stress is associated with

Answer 32

• childhood anxiety
• short attention span
• hyperactivity
• aggression
• lower test scores (correlational)

Question 33

mechanisms for maternal stress

Answer 33

• stress hormones
• allostatic load
• chronic stress
• detrimental to growth, immunity (non-essential functions)

Question 34

stress hormones and maternal stress

Answer 34

• draws blood to mother’s organs
• cross placenta, increase HR, BP, anf blood glucose

Question 35

allostatic load on maternal stress

Answer 35

• lifetime load of doing flight or fight response
• long term wear and tear on organs and systems

Question 36

chronic stress on maternal stress

Answer 36

long term heightened stress reactivity

Question 37

us infant mortality

Answer 37

5.5/1000

Question 38

why is the US IMR higher than other wealthy countries

Answer 38

• wealth disparity/access to healthcare
• race/ethnicity groups have the highest IMR compared to non-racial white groups