Prenatal Development Research Paper

Questions are constantly circling about proper prenatal care and healthy prenatal development. Understanding prenatal and child development is something that requires extensive research of the different theories involving biology, families, heredity and genetics, and different behaviors. As an expecting mother, I can see where this becomes very overwhelming. I can’t stress enough the importance of knowing the dangerous teratogens in your life particularly. Teratogens are factors that cause malformation of an embryo. It’s extremely important to know that even know you might not be showing much developing as an expecting mother, your child is experiencing many critical periods and stages of development. There are many different influences that …show more content…
This stage is called the germinal stage and it begins with conception. Sadly, during a stage as delicate as the germinal stage teratogens can actually terminate the pregnancy instead of cause malformations. However, it is important to remember that each stage of development is critical for different parts of the child’s development. Therefore, even though teratogens can cause terminate life during the germinal stage, the fetal stage is critical for brain growth and development. This is when cell differentiation is mostly complete and the embryo becomes a fetus. The fetal stage is the longest stage and marks major stages of growth including the neural tube development, sex organs, and weight and length continues in growth. During the embryonic stage, approximately twenty-two days after conception, the cells of the embryo are multiplying quickly and are beginning to take on specific functions. This is because the embryo begins to divide into three layers that become the important body system. This is the majority of the first trimester and where the fetus is most susceptible to damage from external forces. Overall, there is never a stage of development where teratogens are not extremely …show more content…
Now imagine the profound impact you could make for your child’s future if you created a healthy life for your child from conception to their 2nd birthday. This 1,000 window is a great way to ensure a child to live a healthy life. According to www.thousanddays.org, “evidence shows that the right nutrition during the 1,000 day window can: save more than one million lives each year, significantly reduce the human and economic burden of diseases, reduce the rick for developing various non-communicable diseases, improve an individual’s educational achievement and earning potential, and increase a country’s GDP by at least 2-3 percent annually.” The 1,000 day window is so crucial because the consequences that come from undernourished children are often irreversible and for any child under the age of two it can be

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