P RENATAL D EVELOPMENT C HAPTER 3 ( PG 91-95, ) (Infants and Children)

B RAINSTORM … Why Have Children?

W HY H AVE C HILDREN ? Giving/receiving warmth & attention Experiencing the fun that children add to life Being accepted as a responsible & mature member of society Having someone to care for us in old age Gaining a sense of accomplishment from seeing child’s achievements Learning to be less selfish and to make sacrifices Having someone to carry on “family” Having offspring to help with family responsibilities (work, income) Loss of freedom/being tied down Financial strain Family/work conflict…not having enough time Interference with mother’s work opportunities/career Worries over children’s health & safety Risk of bringing up children in a world of war, crime, “negatives” Reduced time to spend with husband or wife Loss of privacy Fear that children will turn out badly ( Infants & Children, Table 3.1, pg 94) AdvantagesDisadvantages

F ACTS … Family size is decreasing Women are waiting until they are older to start a family Older parents may be less energetic than younger ones, but they are more financially stable and emotionally more mature Individuals who put off parenthood until well into their 30’s or early 40’s risk having fewer children than they desire or none at all Fertility issues among women rises sharply in the 30’s Amount of semen and concentration of sperm in men decrease after the age of 30

G ROUP A CTIVITY Complete worksheets for Chapter 3: Prenatal Development (pg ) in Infants and Children book

P RENATAL E NVIRONMENTAL I NFLUENCES Define these terms: teratogen - any environmental agent that causes damage during the prenatal period fetal alcohol spectrum disorder -a range of physical, mental, and behavioral outcomes caused by prenatal alcohol exposure rubella -three-day or German, measles’ responsible for a wide variety of prenatal abnormalities, esp. when it occurs during the embryonic period toxoplasmosis -a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked meat or through contact with the feces of infected cats; during the 1 st trimester; leads to eye and brain damage toxemia -an illness of the last half of pregnancy (a.k.a. preeclampsia), in which the mother’s blood pressure increases sharply; if untreated, can cause convulsions in the mother & death of the fetus

A NSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS : What 4 factors determine the harm done by teratogens? dose heredity other negative influences (poor nutrition, lack of medical care) age

N AME 7 TERATOGENS AND TELL ONE IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT EACH. 1. Prescription & non prescription drugs Fact: aspirin, caffeine, anti-depressants are linked to “problems” Most widely used potent teratogen is a Vitamin A derivative called Accutane prescribed to treat severe acne. Exposure during the 1st trimester results in ear, eye, skull, brain, heart, & immune system abnormalities (Honein, Paulozzi, & Erickson, 2001) 2. Illegal drugs Fact: highly addictive mood-altering drugs such as cocaine, heroine, methadone, and marijuana have become more widespread, esp. in poverty-stricken inner-city areas; babies are at risk for many problems, newborn stress, birth and even death 3. Tobacco Fact: low birth weight, miscarriage, prematurity, impaired heart rate & breathing during sleep, infant death, asthma & cancer later in childhood; nicotine raises the concentration of carbon monoxide in the bloodstream of both the mother & fetus; passive smoke also leads to various “problems”

4. Alcohol Fact: fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (fetal alcohol syndrome, partial FAS, and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder); alcohol consumption during pregnancy affects the child’s motor coordination, speed of info processing, reasoning, and intelligence & achievement test scores during PS and school yrs 5. Radiation Fact: can cause mutation, damaging DNA in ova/sperm; born w/underdeveloped brains, physical deformities, and slow physical growth; increased risk or childhood cancer 6. Environmental Pollution Fact: dangerous chemicals, industrial contaminants, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s-used to insulate electrical equipment), lead (paint)…impair prenatal development and increases the chances of life-threatening diseases & health problems later on 7. Infectious disease Fact: viruses (rubella)-low birth weight, hearing loss, bone defects and risk of severe mental illness in adulthood, HIV & AIDS-destroys immune system, herpes viruses, bacterial & parasitic diseases (toxoplasmosis)

N AME 5 MATERNAL FACTORS THAT AFFECT PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT AND TELL ONE IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT EACH. 1. Exercise Fact: regular, moderate exercise is good, but very frequent, vigorous, extended exercise is not 2. Nutrition Fact: a healthy diet, consisting of a gradual increase in calories, women should take folic acid & other vitamins & minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, C), prenatal malnutrition can cause serious damage to the CNS, distort the structure of organs, suppresses the immune system, respiratory illnesses, and irritability/unresponsiveness to stimulation, mother’s poor diet=loss of baby’s brain weight

3. Emotional stress Fact: a higher rate of miscarriage, prematurity, low birth weight, infant respiratory illness & digestive disturbances, and irritability the first 3 yrs, several commonly occurring physical defects (cleft lip/palate, heart deformities) 4. Blood incompatibility Fact: Rh blood factor-when mother & fetus blood types do not match, reduces oxygen supply, mental retardation, miscarriage, heart damage and infant death can occur 5. Maternal age & previous births Fact: older maternal age risks infertility, miscarriage, and babies born with chromosomal defects, infants born to teenagers have a higher rate of problems, but not due to age factor