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Developing Through the Life Span Essay

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Prenatal Development and the newborn: The focal point of this section was conception and the development of life before birth. I’ve read that every woman is born with a number of eggs that will later be released. Out of that number 1 in 5,000 eggs will essentially mature. Contrary to women, a man begins producing sperm at puberty, which gradually decreases along with age. During the actual conception, over 200 million sperms head towards the egg and try to break through. One is successful, the rest aren’t.

The following section focused on prenatal development. Prenatal development is …… I learned about Zygotes (fertilized egg’s), the Embryo (the zygote’s inner cells), and the fetus (the embryo after 9 weeks)is the . More …show more content…

Drinking during pregnancy is associated with a variety of problems in the offspring. “Alcohol enters the fetal bloodstream in approximately the same concentrations present in the mother’s blood.” I’ve read that the child could one day become addicted to alcohol because of the mother introducing it to the child as a fetus. I’ve also learned that “1 in 800 infants are affected by Fetal Alcohol Syndrome” , (FAS) . “FAS can cause birth defects and mental retardation. It can cause “ (Placeholder1)head and lifelong brain abnormalities ”.

Another harmful substance that would be considered a teratogen is nicotine. Smoking during pregnancy I s hazardous! It has been linked to some 115,000 miscarriages and 5,600 infant deaths a year as well as to atopic pregnancy. I’ve learned the babies born by mothers who smoke cigarettes aren’t as healthy, they don’t receive as much nutrients, less blood oxygen, and could be born under weight. Also I believe that smoking moms are more likely to suffer from apnea (breathing lapses) and are twice as likely to die of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Also there was a study that showed children of smokers tended to be more prone to respiratory disease.

Last, I read about the Competent newborn. I’ve learned about “newborn abilities and how researchers explore infant mental abilities.” Newborns are born with a natural instinct (survival instinct). Which

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