Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Development begins at the moment of conception, when the sperm from the father merges with the egg from the
mother. - Within a span of 9 months, development progresses from a single cell into a zygote and then into an embryo and
fetus. - The fetus is connected to the mother through the umbilical cord and the placenta, which allow the fetus and mother
to exchange nourishment and waste. The fetus is protected by the amniotic sac. - The embryo and fetus are vulnerable and may be harmed by the presence of teratogens.
- Smoking, alcohol use, and drug use are all likely to be harmful to the developing embryo or fetus, and the mother
should entirely refrain from these behaviors during pregnancy or if she expects to become pregnant. - Environmental factors, especially homelessness and poverty, have a substantial negative effect on healthy child
development.
EXERCISES AND CRITICAL THINKING
- What behaviors must a woman avoid engaging in when she decides to try to become pregnant, or when she finds out
she is pregnant? Do you think the ability of a mother to engage in healthy behaviors should influence her choice to
have a child? - Given the negative effects of poverty on human development, what steps do you think that societies should take to
try to reduce poverty?
[1] DeCasper, A. J., & Fifer, W. P. (1980). Of human bonding: Newborns prefer their mothers’ voices. Science, 208, 1174–1176;
Moon, C., Cooper, R. P., & Fifer, W. P. (1993). Two-day-olds prefer their native language. Infant Behavior & Development, 16,
495–500.
[2] Mennella, J. A., Jagnow, C. P., & Beauchamp, G. K. (2001). Prenatal and postnatal flavor learning by human
infants. Pediatrics, 107(6), e88.
[3] Moore, K., & Persaud, T. (1993). The developing human: Clinically oriented embryology(5th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Saunders.
[4] Niccols, G. A. (1994). Fetal alcohol syndrome: Implications for psychologists. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 91–111.
[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2005). Alcohol use and pregnancy. Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/factsheets/FAS_alcoholuse.pdf