Prenatal Stages
This prenatal stage lasts about two weeks and ends with implantation.
What is the germinal stage?
This term refers to any environmental agent that can cause harm during prenatal development.
What is a teratogen?
This helps detect potential complications early and supports healthy development.
What is prenatal care?
This type of birth occurs through the birth canal.
What is vaginal delivery?
This test assesses heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, and color.
What is the Apgar scale?
This stage is when major organs begin forming and risk from teratogens is highest.
What is the embryonic stage?
This substance is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disability in the U.S.
What is alcohol?
Adequate intake of this nutrient is especially important for neural tube development.
What is folic acid?
This surgical birth may be necessary when complications arise.
What is a cesarean section (C-section)?
These automatic behaviors help newborns survive.
What are reflexes?
This prenatal stage focuses on growth, refinement, and maturation of systems.
What is the fetal stage?
The effects of teratogens depend most heavily on this factor.
What is timing of exposure?
This prenatal factor is linked to low birth weight and preterm birth.
What is smoking during pregnancy?
Birth before 37 weeks is considered this.
What is preterm birth?
This reflex allows infants to obtain nourishment.
What is the sucking reflex?
During this stage, the heart, brain, and spinal cord begin to develop.
What is the embryonic stage?
This maternal factor can affect fetal development through stress hormones.
What is chronic maternal stress?
Access to healthcare, nutrition, and education are examples of this broader influence on development.
What is the prenatal environment or socioeconomic context?
This condition refers to babies weighing less than 5.5 pounds at birth.
What is low birth weight?
This reflex involves curling fingers around an object placed in the hand.
What is the grasping reflex?
This stage includes rapid brain development and increased fetal movement.
What is the fetal stage?
This disorder can result from prenatal alcohol exposure and includes cognitive and behavioral deficits.
What is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)?
This demonstrates the interaction between biology and environment before birth.
What is prenatal development shaped by both genes (nature) and environment (nurture)?
This complication can lead to brain damage if severe or prolonged.
What is oxygen deprivation (anoxia)?
These newborn behaviors provide early information about neurological functioning.
What are neonatal reflexes?