Prenatal

(Conception to birth)


Two physical developmental
milestones that typical developing
children should attain during the
prenatal period are the heart and the
brain. When the fetus heart is first
developed it looks like a tube. As the
fetus begins to grow, the heart also
begins to grow. Due to lack of room,
that tube begins to twist and curl to
take on the shape of a normal human heart. At this stage, the heart has two divided heart chambers.
Next, the heart develops two atriums and one large ventricle. The next step in development is the
separation from one large ventricle into two ventricles, the left and the right. The fetus heart now has four
heart chambers (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, 2010).

Brain development begins with the construction and closing of the neural tube, the earliest nervous tissue
that looks like a fat earthworm stretched out along the entire back of the embryo. The neural tube forms
from the neural plate, which begins forming just sixteen days after conception. This plate stretches and
starts folding up, forming a groove at about eighteen days, which begins to close into a tube around
twenty-two days after conception. By 27 days, the tube is fully closed and has already begun its
transformation into the brain and spinal cord of the embryo. At the end of the second trimester, the brain
has developed enough for the baby to survive outside the womb. (Adolph, K. E., 2008).

In the prenatal stage, there is also a development of social emotional development as well as at least two
signs that shows atypical development. The simple movement of the fetus in response to his or her
mother and surrounds displays their social emotional development. If the mother is stressed, the fetus
has been recorded to show signs of stress by moving or kicking intensely in the womb. Another sign of
social emotional development is a child being recorded making similar movements in a certain point of a
day.

There are two language and cognitive developmental milestones that typically developing children should
achieve in the prenatal period. The first is the act of a fetus simply responding to a persons voice through
movements. While pregnant, some mothers have experienced their babys movements or kicks while
someone talked to the tummy. The second is the act of a fetus simply understanding his or her mothers
voice. While pregnant, some mothers have experienced their baby moving into a sleep position when the
mother sings. A newborn has also been known to adjust to their environment through familiar sounds that
they heard through the womb (Berk, L.E., 2013).

One sign that may signal atypical development during the prenatal period of development is continual
growth of the fetus. The doctor can calculate the babys growth by measuring the mothers abdomen from
the top of the uterus to the pubic bone. This measurement in centimeters usually equals the number of
weeks in the pregnancy. Doctors often begin taking these measurements in the second trimester.

One strategy a family can use to influence their childs learning and development in the prenatal stage is
simply interacting or talking to the unborn child. There is no evidence that you can increase your babys
intelligence by playing music and reading stories. However, it may help him or her to recognize and bond
with parents after birth. If parents are not comfortable with singing and chatting to their unborn child, the
natural stimulation the baby receives from everyday conversations, and activities, is more than enough to
prepare him or her for the outside world (Fogel, A., 2001).

One social factor that influences the prenatal stage of development is survival which promotes physical
health of the mother and fetus. One culture factor that influences the prenatal stage of development by
Western societies is the "medicalized" of childbirth which has caused infant mortality rates to fall.