PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

Gestation
- Period between conception and birth

Gestational Age
- Dated from first (1st) day of an expectant mother’s las menstrual cycle.

The first clear sign of pregnancy is a missed menstrual cycle.

Pregnancy tests identify the presence of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin which is

produced by the embryos and fetuses.

STAGES OF PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT

Germinal Stage
Embryonic Stage
Fetal Stage

GERMINAL STAGE [Fertilization to two (2) weeks]

- Zygote divides, becomes more complex, and is implanted in the wall of the uterus
- Within thirty – six (36) hours after fertilization, zygote undergoes rapid cell division
and duplication (A.K.A. Mitosis)

GERMINAL STAGE [Fertilization to two (2) weeks]

- While dividing, it travels to the uterus (3 – 4 days), forms into a blastocyst, and is
implanted in the wall of the uterus.
- Some cells in the edge of the blastocyst form the embryonic disk.

GERMINAL STAGE [Fertilization to two (2) weeks]

Embryonic disk
1. Ectoderm (Upper Layer) – becomes outer layer of skin, nails, hair, teeth,
sensory organs, and nervous system.
2. Endoderm (Inner Layer) – becomes the digestive system, liver, pancreas,
salivary glands, and respiratory system.
3. Mesoderm (Middle Layer) – becomes inner layer of skin, muscles,
skeleton, excretory and circulatory system.
GERMINAL STAGE [Fertilization to two (2) weeks]

Other parts of the blastocyst became:

1. Amniotic Sac – fluid – filled membrane that encases the fetus
2. Placenta – passage of oxygen, nourishment, and wastes
3. Umbilical Cord – where placenta is connected to the embryo

EMBRYONIC STAGE [Two (2) to eight (8) weeks]

- Organogenesis occurs (rapid development of organs and major body systems)

- Considered as the Critical Period in Pre – Natal Development
- Brain Growth and development begins here until after birth and beyond.

EMBRYONIC STAGE [Two (2) to eight (8) weeks]

Most defective embryos do not survive beyond first (1st) trimester.

Spontaneous Abortion (Miscarriage)

- Expulsion of the embryo from the uterus
- 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage
- Most miscarriages result from abnormal pregnancies
- MALES are more likely to be stillborn

FETAL STAGE [Eight (8) weeks to Birth]

- Starts when first bone cells appear

- Rapid growth of fetus occurs to about twenty (20) times its original length
- Complexity of Body Systems are evident
- “Finishing Touches” occur.

FETAL STAGE [Eight (8) weeks to Birth]

- Fetuses move inside the womb. They are not stationary.

- Observed through Ultrasound
- Males are more active than girls throughout gestation.

FETAL STAGE [Eight (8) weeks to Birth]

- Fetuses respond to their mother’s movement beginning at twenty (26) weeks to

thirty – six (36) weeks
- Shows basic ability to recognize their mother’s voice and native language when
nearing full term

What determines sex?

Focal points:

XX Female

XY Male

Chromosomes

Normal: 23 from sperm and 23 from the ovum.

Issues; 22 pairs are called autosomes (not related to sexual expression.) 23rd pair are sex chromosomes.

Patterns of Genetic Transmission

Dominant and Recessive Inheritance

- [For example] Do you have a dimples? If so, you are probably inherited them through dominant
inheritance. If your parents have dimples but you do not, recessive inheritance occurred.

1. Alleles - Alternative version of the same gene.

2. Homozygous - When two alleles are the same.

3. Heterozygous - When two alleles are different.

4. Dominant inheritance - Dominant alleles are always expressed and shows up as a trait of that person.

5. Recessive Inheritance - It doesn’t shows traits but traits of one from each parents.

6. Polygenic Inheritance - Interaction of several genes.

Genotypes and Phenotypes: Multifactorial Transmissions.

* Phenotype - Observable characteristics of a person.

* Genotype - Genetic make up of a person, containing expressed or unexpressed characteristics.

But experience modifies the expression of the genotype for most traits.

* Multifactorial Transmission - Combination of genetics and environmental factors produce certain

complex traits.
Genetic and Chromosomal abnormalities

Most birth disorders:

1. Tay Sachs - fatal generative disease of central nervous system.

2. Sickle cell Anemia - blood disorder

3. Glaucoma - fluid pressure builds up in the eye

4. Huntington’s Disease - Progressive degeneration of nervous system

Dominant or Recessive Inheritance of Defects

Defects - Transmitted by Dominant Inheritance are less likely lethal than Recessive Inheritance because
any affected children would die before reproducing.

Incomplete dominance - Pattern of Inheritance in which a child receives 2 different alleles , resulting a
partial expression of a trait.

—— birth defects ———-

1. Alpha thalassemia is a blood disorder that reduces the production of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is the
protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen to cells throughout the body.

2. Hemophilia is a rare disorder in which your blood doesn't clot normally because it lacks sufficient
blood-clotting proteins (clotting factors). If you have hemophilia, you may bleed for a longer time after
an injury than you would if your blood clotted normally.

3. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle

degeneration and weakness due to the alterations of a protein called dystrophin that helps keep muscle
cells intact. DMD is one of four conditions known as dystrophinopathies.

Sex Linked-Inheritance

Sex linked-inheritance of Defects in Sex linked-inheritance

Pattern of inheritance in which certain characteristics carried on the X chromosome inherited from the
mother are transmitted differently to her male and female offspring.
Chromosomal Abnormalities:

Errors in Cell Divisions:

1. Klinefelter syndrome - Caused by extra female chromosome. Klinefelter syndrome (KS), also known as
47,XXY or XXY, is the set of symptoms that result from two or more X chromosomes in males. The
primary features are infertility and small testicles.

1. Turner syndrome - Missing sex chromosomes. is a chromosomal condition that affects development
in females. The most common feature of Turner syndrome is short stature, which becomes evident by
about age 5. An early loss of ovarian function (ovarian hypofunction or premature ovarian failure) is also
very common.

1. Down syndrome - Chromosomal disorder characterised by moderate-to-severe mental retardation

and by such physical signs as a downward sloping skin fold at the inner corners of the eye. Also called as
trisomy-21.

CONCEIVING NEW LIFE

Development starts at conception, as sperm and egg meet and an entire new individual created from
parental genomes and persist between nature and nurture.

How fertilization takes place

* Fertilization - Union of a sperm and ovum to produce a zygote; also called conception.

* Zygote - One-celled organism resulting from fertilization.

What causes Multiple births?

Dizygotic twins - Twins conceived by the union of two different ova (single ovum that splits) with two
different sperm cells; also called fraternal twins; they are no more alike genetically than any other
siblings.

Monozygotic Twins - Twins resulting from the division of a single zygote after fertilization; also called
identical twins; they are genetically similar.