Week 4 Key Terms

Question 1

Apgar scale

Answer 1

A quick overall assessment of a baby’s immediate health at birth.

Appearance (Color)
Pulse (Heart rate)
Grimace (Reface irritability)
Activity (Muscle tone)
Respiration (Breathing)

Question 2

Breastfeeding for pre-term babies

Answer 2

Breastfeeding is especially valuable to pre-term babies, but is especially challenging because of an underdeveloped suck reflex and the need for energy required to feed

Question 3

Cesarean Section

Answer 3

Also known as a C-Section; a surgical procedure that removes the fetus from the uterus through the abdomen

Typically performed because of concerns for the health or safety of the mother or fetus. About 33% of all births.

Question 4

Cigarettes/Tobacco while pregnant

Answer 4

Fetal deaths, premature births, and low birth weight are up tp twice as frequent in mothers who are smokers. Infants are prone to congenital heart defects, respiratory problems, and SIDS

Question 5

Drinking while pregnant

Answer 5

Exposure to alcohol is associated with lower birth size, growth deficits through adolescence, and deficits in attention, memory, and cognitive development

Question 6

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Answer 6

The continuum of physical, mental, and behavioral outcomes caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the most severe form of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. 2-7/1,000 infants. Distinct facial characteristics, deficits in motor coordination, language, and cognitive development

Question 7

Grey Zone of pre-term births

Answer 7

Babies born after just approximately 23-26 weeks of gestation

This is the zone where fetus viability is extremely low and there is a high likelihood of death or serious long-term disability

Question 8

Kangaroo Care

Answer 8

An intervention for low-birthweight babies in which the infant is placed vertically against the parent’s chest providing skin-to-skin contact

Common in developing countries where mothers may not have access to hospitals, but it’s so effective that many U.S. hospitals offer it to preterm infants

Question 9

Lead

Answer 9

Lead is a toxin that interferes with neural development and causes cell death, widespread deficits

Irritability, emotional under-activity, disciplinary problems, classroom hyperactivity, and decreased attentional skills

Question 10

Maternal age

Answer 10

Women who give birth past the age of 35, and especially past 40, are at greater risk for pregnancy and birth complications, including miscarriage and still birth, than are younger women

More vulnerable to pregnancy-related illnesses (hypertension, diabetes), and their pregnancies involve increased risks to the newborn (low birth weight, preterm, respiratory problems)

Question 11

Opioids (cocaine, heroin) while pregnant

Answer 11

Infants exposed to cocaine and heroin have signs of addiction and withdrawal symptoms (tremors, irritability, abnormal crying, disturbed sleep, impaired motor control)

Exposure is associated with reduced birthweight, shorter length, smaller head circumference, and impaired motor performance at birth

Question 12

Placenta

Answer 12

The principal organ of exchange between the mother and the developing organism, enabling the exchange of nutrients, oxygen, and wastes via the umbilical cord

Develops from the outer later of the embedded blastocyst

Question 13

Risks of premature births

Answer 13

A premature birth is 35 weeks after conception (37 weeks pregnant). Extremely premature is 28 (30) weeks.

Respiratory distress, hypoxia (too little oxygen), brain hemorrhages

Language and cognitive delays (especially attention)

Question 14

Teratogens

Answer 14

An environmental factor that causes damage to prenatal development

Such as disease, drugs, or other environmental factor