replay

Question 1

State the effect on the foetus/baby of smoking or alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Answer 1

Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream of a foetus. This can lead to low birth weight and premature birth (when a baby is born too soon).

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can harm the developing baby’s nervous system, especially its brain.

Question 2

Name some chemicals or diseases which can damage the developing embryo/foetus.

Answer 2

An environmental chemical called ORGANOPHSOPHATES, found in insecticides.

Slower brain development leading to poor memory, slower processing speed, poorer comprehension / reasoning.

Question 3

Describe the effects of some chemicals/diseases on the health of the embryo/foetus/baby.

Answer 3

HIV-spontaneous early abortion, low birth weight babies, and stillbirths.

Malaria-intrauterine growth retardation, and delivery of low birth-weight infants (<2500 g or <5.5 pounds), a risk factor for death.

Question 4

Describe what is meant by the term fertilisation

Answer 4

the nucleus of the sperm and the nucleus of the egg must fuse (join together) to produce a fertilised egg (zygote). This produces a new organism with the full genetic information.

Question 5

State what the umbilical cord is.

Answer 5

The placenta is attached to the developing embryo by the umbilical cord

Question 6

State how these chemicals can get from the mother’s body to the embryo’s/foetus’ body.

Answer 6

some small chemicals and viruses can pass from the mothers blood to the foetus’s blood at the placenta.