My Own Development From Perinatal Conception

* M1 Discuss the principal psychological perspectives applied to the understanding of the development of individuals

Physical development of the human begins at conception when the egg is fertilized by the sperm. Once the ovum is fertilized, the process of mitosis begins, allowing the cells to split and form the human being. Through this process, each parent contributes 23 chromosomes, which are present in every cell of our bodies, and are made up of DNA and genes (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). The genes that we inherit from our parents determine our physical features, such as hair and eye color, and height. Furthermore, the combination of various genes within the body at the time of conception may result in the individual carrying unexpected traits and illnesses (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

There are three main stages to prenatal development; the germinal stage, embryonic stage and fetal stage. This process is largely determined by genetics and is usually fairly similar for the majority of human beings. Perinatal development is the period just before and just after birth.

As humans, building relationships between others is a form of connecting and communicating. It is a social situation that is experienced every day through the course of a lifetime. The initial relationship that is made is between the mother and the child. This bond that connects two people is known to be called attachment. The theory of attachment begins at birth, and from that, continuing on to other relationships in family, friends, and romance. Attachment is taught through social experiences, however the relationship with the mother and her temperament are the key factors in shaping the infants attachment type, which

While reading the third chapter of Development of Children and Adolescents, I gained insight into the cold hard facts of prenatal development. I found this section of the reading to be important for a several reasons. As a young woman, I hope to one day settle down and have a family. By becoming better educated on the topic, I now have a grasp on how an unborn child is conceived, the stages in which they develop, and the environmental factors a mother contributes to health risks.

Development is the methodical changes and continuities in an individual that occur between conception and death (Sigelman, Rider & De George-Walker, 2013). There are seven domains of development: physical/biological, psychosocial, cognitive/learning, social, emotional, behavioural and moral/spiritual (AIHW, 2011). Development of these domains occurs in stages, where each stage gives rise to behaviour that is suitable for that stage (Schmidt Neven, 2010). These foreseeable changes are known as milestones.

When asked about the biggest physical milestones in her baby’s first year of life. She said, “able to hold head up…trying to hold her bottle’. This baby seems to be well ahead of schedule one might think, however, each baby has their own speed of development. When an infant excels in one development he might regress in another, “There’s a fairly wide ‘window’ for when its normal for a baby to reach a particular developmental stage” ( Growth and

Infant-mother attachment was first proposed by Bowlby (1958) and was further explored by Ainsworth and Bell (1970) in a Strange Situation study where they categorized infant-mother attachment into three which are secure, avoidant and ambivalent. In this context, attachment can be defined as an interaction between a child and a mother which implies affections that is observable through the act of the child to seek for proximity or contact with the mother (Dallaire & Weinraub, 2005). Nevertheless, this attachment study did not end after this finding. Instead, many researchers replicate this measures, trying to figure out whether attachment change after the first year of life and the differences of infants and adults attachment styles.

Throughout life, we go through many changes, most of which are unnoticed until we truly stop and reflect. As we grow, we are continually developing and changing. According to modern theorists, we change physically, cognitively, and socioemotionally. We change physically as our bodies grow, cognitively as we age and become wiser and we change socioemotionally, by the interactions we have with others, and how we are affective by those interactions. These changes are lifelong, starting at birth and continue until death. Just as these changes are steady and constant, development is a lifelong process.

The third trimester is usually the period between the 27-40th week of pregnancy. During this period there are many developmental changes in both the fetus and the expectant mother (Nilsson & Lemberger 2009). As the fetus grows and covers the abdominal cavity of the mother, the mother has a feeling of discomfort as she is anxious for the expected child. On the hand the fetus during this period the lungs mature and begin to positions its head-down. It can see and hear as the brain is also developing.

Everyday we are developing no matter our age, but it is how we develop children that will tell a tremendous amount an individual. How a child developments is fundamentally important at a young age as it affects all aspect of their lives once the child matures. Throughout the class, we looked at many theorists during the course of the semester as well as looked at many articles pertaining to the concepts of the development of children. The theorists and articles opened up our minds to a world that we have never seen before and concepts about child development we have never been taught but have seen in the practical work we do every week. What makes humans unique is the ability that we have to interpret the language being used, as Lois Bloom

Developmental Psychology has widened my perspective and knowledge of the nature of development from humans’ infancy to adolescence and emerging adulthood. Although I have learned about biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes and periods of development, I am especially interested in socioemotional development in infancy because it is the foundation for a child’s future development. That is to say, if children have a healthy socioemotional development from infancy, they will have a healthy life later on. By understanding the developmental process in infancy, I will be fully prepared when I have children or when my family’s members do.

Thornton, S. (2008). Understanding Human Development: Biological, Social and Psychological Processes from Conception to Adult Life: Palgrave Macmillan.

In chapter 3, I was very fascinated with the formation of a newborn. From the prenatal development that is divided into three periods-the germinal period which is after conception, the period of very rapid cell division and initial cell differentiation lasting for approximately 2 weeks. The embryonic period, is the second prenatal period, which last from implantation to the end of the second month after conception; all major structures and organs are formed. The final stage which is the fetal period, last from the end of the second month after conception until birth. I really love babies and I once wanted to be an OBGYN but I am very dramatic and emotional so I had to explore other options that revolved around my interest which led me to my

Prenatal environment focuses on how important the environment of the womb is and how the behaviour and development of a baby could be influenced by environmental factors. The brain of a person is utmost intricate and the most delicate structure and organ in the body to develop in the womb and is subject to means of abuses from the prenatal environment. Even though it is not true, it is normal for people to assume that development is influenced by genes right from conception and that the development from the moment of birth is influenced by the environment. The environment of the womb influence development in many ways. The organ that directly links the bloodstream of the foetus and the mother is called the placenta and permits the exchanging