S2 W4 Prenatal development

Question 1

Risk factor

Answer 1

more likely

Question 2

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)

Answer 2

Some FASD: result in neurological but not physiological problems.

Question 3

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

Answer 3

FAS: abnormally small head, underdeveloped brain, eye abnormalities, congenital heart disease, joint anomalies, and malformations of the face.

Question 4

Causality

Answer 4

causes

Question 5

Genetic risk factors

Answer 5

account fro 10-15% of congenital defects.
Inherited gene disorder: risk dependent on father’s status (causality). Autosomal gene disorders (e.g., sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis) (if father is carrier)

Chromosomal abnormalities found 1 in 200 live births (e.g., down’s syndrome and Edward’s syndrome): Account for 50-70% of first trimester miscarriages.

Question 6

Environemntal risk factor: radiation and Pollution

Answer 6

Radiation can cause serious birth defects and cancer. Air pollution has been linked to autism (Volk et al., 2014). Genetic factors interact with an environmental factor.

Question 7

Environmental risk factor: Viral infection

Answer 7

COVID-19 (viral infection): leads to increased risk of premature birth, stillbirth and is linked to low birth weight. Evidence of neurodevelopmental impact is limited.

Question 8

Envrionmental risk factor: Domestic violence

Answer 8

Approx. 6.9% of women experience domestic violence in the UK (Crime survey for England and Wales, 2022). Approx. 7-8% of pregnant women experience violence by their intimate partners, most more than once.
High rate of miscarriage.

Question 9

Socioeconomic status (SES)

Answer 9

Domestic violence, radiation/pollution are linked to SES.
SES causes a risk to pre/postnatal development both neural and physical.

Question 10

Maternal malnutrition

Answer 10

related to premature birth and low birth (disproportionately affects people who live in poverty (food poverty). = the risk of spina bifida, a neural tube defect (NTD), can be reduced if vitamins containing folic acid are taken during pregnancy

Question 11

Maternal risk factors:

Answer 11

Age/Stress and support/Teratogens

Question 12

Mother’s age

Answer 12

increase in chromosomal abnormalities with higher age. Risk for down syndrome 1/2000 at 20 but 1/200 by 37Y.

Question 13

Fathers age

Answer 13

The age of father is a factor in social function impairments – extreme of which are autism and schizophrenia. Likely due to DNA methylation abnormalities in sperm of father.

Question 14

Teenage pregnancy

Answer 14

Teenage Pregnancy: Teenager’s growth is not complete. Pelvic cradle is not ready, leading to complication during birth and pain for the mother.

Question 15

Psychological stress

Answer 15

associated with premature delivery and low brith weight.

Question 16

Support: protective factor

Answer 16

The presence of a sympathetic mate and other supportive family members, adequate housing, and steady employment protective factors against maternal psychological stress.
These protective factors appear to enhance the prospects for a healthy baby (Thompson, 1990)

Question 17

Teratogens

Answer 17

( tera: monster, gen: origin of)
Factors that affect the fetus via the mother:
Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs/Contagious Infections/Env.Contaminant (mercury/radiation)

Question 18

Environmental factor: secondhand Smoking

Answer 18

Nicotine results in abnormal growth of placenta, increase in rate of spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, and neonatal death. Associated with low birth weight.

Question 19

Maternal factor: first hadn cigarette smoke

Answer 19

Lung problems, childhood asthma, developmental problems, short attention span, learning problems, behavioural problems.

Question 20

Alcohol

Answer 20

Alcohol consumption/ leading cause of intellectual disabilities. It can also result in atypical physical development (underdeveloped upper jaw, facial deformities, widely spaced eyes.). No established “safe” limit of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

Question 21

Alcohol exposure

Answer 21

Damage the corpus callosum, hippocampus, and basal ganglia among other brain areas.

Most serious damage from alcohol is caused in first few weeks of gestation but can vary over the gestational period.

FAS and FASD

Question 22

Drugs: prescription

Answer 22

Thalidomide (nausea), Valium (tranquilizer), Accutane (acne), streptomycin & tetracycline (antibiotics), artificial hormones.

Question 23

Drugs: Caffeine

Answer 23

increased rate of spontaneous abortion + low birth weight.

Question 24

Drug: Marijuana

Answer 24

low birth weight, premature delivery; infants startle more readily, have tremors, and experience sleep cycle problems.

Question 25

Drug: cocaine

Answer 25

more likely to be stillborn or premature, have low birth weights, have strokes, have birth defects, infants more irritable, uncoordinated, slow learners

Question 26

Drug: Methadone & Heroin

Answer 26

born addicted; likely to be premature, underweight, vulnerable to respiratory illness, tremors, irritable; infants have difficulty attending, poor motor control.

Question 27

Contagious infection: Rubella or German measles (viral)

Answer 27

can cause a syndrome of congenital heart disease, cataracts, deafness, and intellectual disability in more than half of all babies born to mothers who suffer from the disease during the first 12 GW.

Question 28

Contagious infection: Syphilis (bacterial)

Answer 28

can lead to liver damage, impaired hearing and vision, and deformities of the teeth and bones.

Question 29

Teratogenic principles

Answer 29

The susceptibility of the organism depends on the: Stage of fetal development, Normal variance in susceptibility across the population, Physiological state of the mother.

Teratogenic effects are likely to be specific to a particular organ. The greater the concentration of a teratogenic agent, the greater the risk. Teratogens that adversely affect the developing organism may affect the mother a little or not at all.

Question 30

Tranatal learning

Answer 30

learning that occurs during the prenatal period but is remembered during the postnatal period. The fetus learns.

Question 31

Prenatal learning: Habituation/dishabituation paradigm

Answer 31

Used with fetuses and infants to study memory.
Stimulus are presented to the fetus/infant multiple times until their response platous (i.e., they habituate).
The fetus/infant begins to respond to the stimulus again over time (i.e., they dishabituate). Stimulus is presented again. If learning occurred fewer trials will be need for habitation.