Factors Affecting Baby's Development

This assignment delves into various factors influencing a baby's growth and development. From pre-conception stage to the first year of life, key aspects such as maternal nutrition, lifestyle habits, environmental factors, and parental behavior are analyzed. The task involves reviewing these factors and their impacts on a baby's health and well-being, drawing from sources like Moore et al.'s 'Before We Are Born'.

Assignment

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
Task 1.1 : Different Stages of development. ...................................................................................3
TASK 1.2 : Routine check ups........................................................................................................4
TASK : 1.3 Factors affecting the development of the baby............................................................5
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................6
Books and Journals ................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
This report will describe the various stages of development from conception to birth. In
order ton understand the process of development of a baby this report will identify and determine
the stages of development in brief. The report will also include relevant explanation on the
routine check ups need to be carried out during antenatal care, postnatal care and the first year of
a baby's life. Furthermore, the various factors affecting the development at various levels will be
described in this report.
Task 1.1 : Different Stages of development.
The due date of a woman's is analysed and calculated since the first day of her last period
of menstruation. Conception happens in two weeks from that particular day, that the point when
a woman is exactly considered to be pregnant. A huge number of sperms floats inside a woman's
body in order to combine with an egg and fertilize it.
0-4 weeks - Among millions of sperm only one gets successfully penetrated with the egg, it
forms the genetic make-up determining the physical appearance, sex, personality and sex of the
baby. There are chances that a woman have no idea that she is pregnant or not at this time.
During the 4th week of pregnancy, a ball of cells that is developed in the baby is just like a flower
seed
4-8 weeks - In the 5th week the ball of cells looks like a tadpole with a size of a peppercorn,
development of spinal cord, brain & heart builds up and the features of face starts to
develop(Fauser and et.cl,2014).The umbilical cord link the body of the mother to the baby.
8-12 weeks - BY the 9th week the baby evolved in to a fetus, till now its not possible to identify
that the bay is a girl or boy. But the woman starts to feel the foremost movement of the fetus or
the baby. Till the end of the 10 week the facial features starts to develop and at this time 90% of
the anatomical structure gets developed. All the internal organs of the baby body starts
developing and it will continue to develop till the third stage after fetus.
12-16 weeks - Babies yawn in the womb, Around now, your baby's eyes start becoming sensitive
to light
16-20 weeks – The baby starts to gain weight, and laying down some fat, which will give them
that adorable chubby newborn appearance the moment you first set eyes on them.

20-24 weeks -Now the baby starts hearing but the eyes remains closed, the parents can read or
talk to the baby so that he or she can recognise the voice of their parents. Between now and 22
weeks the mother starts feeling the quickening or baby's fluttering movements.
24-28 weeks - By the 22 week the baby develops the size of a coconut. In the 28th week the
baby begins to open the eyes, practice breathing and blinks. Till this point the baby is awake and
sleeps at very few times in the day around 30 to 90 minutes in 24 hours. Baby also gives kicks
for indicating that he or she is awake. In few weeks the bay weighs around three pounds with a
size of a melon and will continue to gain one and a half pound in every remaining weeks. In the
last week of the birth the baby is upside down in the mother's uterus.
28- 32 weeks - At week 31 the average baby will be around 40cm long, likely weighing close to
3lbs.Your baby's finger nails are fully developed and may need cutting when they're born
32-36 weeks - As baby gets bigger the movements feel different but they should still follow their
usual pattern right up to the end
36-40 weeks - Baby has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold their hand
for the first time. Your baby continues to build a layer of fat to help control their body
temperature after birth
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TASK 1.2 : Routine check ups.
Antenatal care
 Early pregnancy tests in the first trimester: - The Rh (or Rhesus) factor test looks for a
protein on the surface of the red blood cells. About 85% of the population is Rh positive
as it expresses the protein. If however, you lack the protein (Rh negative) and the father
has it, complications can occur as the baby can inherit Rh-positive blood from the father.
 Heights and Weight-The first test during the antenatal care is weighing, the woman is
weighed regularly during their pregnancy. Your height and weight are used to calculate
your BMI (body mass index). Women who are overweight for their height are at
increased risk of problems during pregnancy.
 Ultrasound scan – The second one is the ultrasound scans, which includes various types
scans such as sating scan, nuchal translucency scan and anomaly scan, these scans are

important to check the condition of the woman body during pregnancy and to work out
the risk of the baby having some abnormality.
 Urine – The urine sample is tested of the woman in order to check if there is any
infection.
 Pre-conception tests: - The first test, in fact, starts before conception with a carrier
genetic screening that is done to detect if the parent might be a carrier for potentially
serious genetic disorders. Some more common disorders screened for include cystic
fibrosis, sickle cell disease, thalassemia, and Tay-Sachs disease, but there are more than
100 others that can be tested for.
 Testing at 10-12 weeks - Immunity towards Rubella virus is important to be ascertained
during pregnancy as a baby affected by German measles may end up with multiple birth
defects, such as sight and hearing abnormalities, as well as congenital heart defects
 Blood tests – The woman undergoes various blood tests during her pregnancy period in
order to check the blood group, iron levels, infections or gestational diabetes(Newman
and Newman,2017).
 Besides checking the developing baby’s heartbeat, a fetal ultrasound test is useful for
discovering the gestational age of the baby which helps in planning pre-natal care and
predicting a delivery date. It also helps in locating the fetus to ensure that it is properly
situated in the uterus and not in the fallopian tubes, which would indicate a dangerous
condition known as an ectopic pregnancy.
 Amniocentesis is done at 16-20 weeks of pregnancy to allow for detection of
chromosomal abnormalities. This is recommended for women over the age of 35 as the
chances of chromosomal abnormality increase greatly at that age
 Blood pressure – At every antenatal visit the blood pressure of the pregnant woman is
checked in order to identify if there is any chance of pregnancy induced hypertension.
The identification of the blood pressure is very important during the pregnancy period.
Postnatal care
 The woman is asked about the feeling in order generally discussed about the well-
being and mental health.
 Asked about vaginal discharge and menstruation
 Examination of stitches

 Blood pressure check up
 Cervical screening test will be rescheduled.
Check ups during the first year of life.
There are various check up during the first year of a child such as Health of the mother,
Physical and mental, Support with breastfeeding and Weight checks of the baby. These check
ups are done at various period which are as described below -
 Check up during 1 month
 Check up during 2 months
 Check up during 4 months
 Check up during 6 months
 Check up during 9 months
 Check up during 1 year
Immunisation - All children should be offered access to the routine child immunisation
schedule. General practices and child health record departments maintain a register of children
aged under 5 years, invite families for immunisations and maintain a record of any adverse
reactions, on the GP record.
TASK : 1.3 Factors affecting the development of the baby.
There are various elements affecting the growth of a baby from the stage of development inside
the mother's body till the first year of his or her life, these factors are as described below -
 Factors affecting during Pre-conception – Weight, nutrition, diet, Vitamin
supplements, Iron deficiency, alcohol and caffeine intake. The use of alcohol and
caffeine can be harmful for a baby during the pre-conception period. The negative impact
of alcohol or caffeine can be dangerous for a baby.
 Factors affecting during each stage of pregnancy – Mental health and age, Nutrition of
mother, Lifestyle impact, Medications. At the stage of pregnancy a mother needs to take
care of herself, the eating habits, lifestyle etc needs to be monitored in order to ensure the
good health of the baby inside the womb.
 Factors affecting during first year of life – Deficiencies of Macro and Micro nutrients,
Breast feeding, behaviour of parents, Environmental factors, Care, Parenting factors such
as language, knowledge of parents and Maternal nutrition(Moore,Persaud and

Torchia,2015). During the first year of a baby it is important to take care of his or her
environment, the baby learns from the environment they grow. In order to make sure
good upbringing and well-being it is important to take care of all the factors surrounding
the baby.
CONCLUSION
The above report conclude that there are various stages of a baby from the conception to
the birth. These stages are highly affected by various factors such as mother's nutritions, eating
habits etc. The growth of the baby inside woman body develops slowly and needs various check
ups which are very important for the good health of baby.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Moore, K.L., Persaud, T.V.N. and Torchia, M.G., 2015. Before We Are Born E-Book: Essentials
of Embryology and Birth Defects With STUDENT CONSULT Online Access. Elsevier
Health Sciences.
Newman, B.M. and Newman, P.R., 2017. Development through life: A psychosocial approach.
Cengage Learning.
Fauser, B.C.J.M., Devroey, P., Diedrich, K., Balaban, B., Bonduelle, M., Delemarre-Van De
Waal, H.A., Estella, C., Ezcurra, D., Geraedts, J.P.M., Howles, C.M. and Lerner-Geva,
L., 2014. Health outcomes of children born after IVF/ICSI: a review of current expert
opinion and literature. Reproductive biomedicine online, 28(2), pp.162-182.