The Effect Of Gestational Age And Gender On Fetal And Placental Weight

The term low birth weight is used in describing infants weighing less than 5 lbs 8 ounces (2500g) whereas the average weight is 8 lbs (Stanford, 2015). An infant with a low birth weight has a significantly higher chance of neonatal and perinatal mortality (Maheswari & Behera, 2014). Babies who do persevere and survive are documented of having inadequate neurosensory, cognitive, behavioral development and limited school performance (Guyatt & Snow, 2004). Shiono and Behrman (1995) state that infants with low birth weight consist of 7% of live births, however, 35% of the cost of health care goes towards caring for low birth weight infants. Studies show that African American infants are twice more than Caucasian infants to have a low birth weight. To bring a life into this world takes more than conception; sacrifices need to be made, nurturing, and providing a safe home for the child, but many minorities struggle to fulfill these needs. Health and health care are imperative when it comes to being an expecting mother; therefore, it is important that to address what influences the birth weight of African American infants in my research paper. I hope to address how factors such as racial discrimination within the American health care system, prenatal care, stress, and the age of the mother contributes to the low birth weight (LBW) disparities between African American infants and Caucasian infants.

protein produced by the yolk sac and the liver during the fetal period. Research was done

Anything a mother consumes will affect her baby’s health, either positively or negatively. After the sperm enters into the egg, instantly, the baby begins to grow inside of the placenta, which is inside of the mothers’ uterus. “The placenta has been described as a pancake-shaped organ that attaches to the inside of the uterus and is connected to the fetus by the umbilical cord.” As the placenta produces the hormones for the baby, it also supplies the blood to the fetus from the mother. The most important element that allows the fetus to grow is the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord is composed of three blood vessels that attach to the placenta and the fetus. All of these components help the baby’s growth, but the amniotic sac, which is composed of amniotic fluid, helps protect the fetus. The amniotic fluid helps the baby maintain a regular body temperature that

The placenta is an organ that develops and attaches to the uterus during pregnancy; it is connected to the fetus by the umbilical cord. This is

The first part of the analysis will examine a complex connection between physical developments of children and living circumstance, individual’s behavior, income levels, education levels of parents and access to healthcare. AS (2012) illustrates that children living in the most deprived areas take higher risks of low birth weight, respiratory problems, poor dental health and overweight than their wealthy peers.

A mothers nutritional status, before and during her pregnancy has a powerful impact on the lifelong health for her child. It is now even believed by some researchers say that “the 9 months of pregnancy are the most consequential period of our lives, permanently influencing the wiring of the brain and the function of organs like the heart, liver and pancreas. They also suggest that the conditions we encounter in utero shape everything from our susceptibility to disease, to our appetite and metabolism, to our intelligence and temperament” (Kresser). The mother’s prenatal care, nutrition, and precautions taken all play a key role in the child’s development for later in life. Since the

However, this may not be solely due to improvements in nutrition, and more information would be required to draw such a conclusion. This may be due to a series of factors influencing the birthweight of children which should be taken into consideration.

My placenta remained connected inside my womb, which is a problem called placenta accreta ...

Placenta Previa is another negative physical disorder that is very dangerous. It occurs when the surgeon might damage the placenta (“American Pregnancy Association”). It is life treating to the mother and to any future fetus’s. Other complications that can happen from this effect are the fetus forming abnormally, or bleeding excessively during labor to the future fetus (“American Pregnancy

A new phenomenon, placentophagy, has taken the United States by storm. Placentophagy is the concept of consuming the placenta after giving birth to a child in order to receive specific health benefits. Controversy has ensued over whether or not the placenta is actually beneficial to mothers. The pro-argument states that placentophagy is in fact advantageous. An article from American Pregnancy, entitled “Placenta Encapsulation” explains that the basis of placentophagy relies heavily on anecdotes from mothers who have tried out the procedure and supported the practice. Another article from the website Placenta Benefits explains under their health and wellness tab how exactly consuming the placenta can be valuable. The page has a list of all the benefits, including related articles that go into further detail on a specific subject. Annette McDermott explains in her article that a study was done on one-hundred and eight-nine participants, and seventy-six percent said they experienced positive results when consuming placenta. Yet another article by Michele Zipp also mentions the previously mentioned study, and says that more studies will be conducted in the future. It also mentioned that mothers who had another kid would continue to consume the placenta, and in different ways, which suggests they had experienced positive effects. One last blog from whattoexpect talks about the positive effects of placenta ingestion mentions facts about the placenta, such as the fact that it

Every woman when pregnant has a 3-5% chance of having a baby born with a birth defect and these chances increase when the developing fetus/embryo is exposed to teratogens whether it’s intentional or unintentional (Bethesda (MD), 2006). Teratogens may cause severe birth defects, malformations, or terminate the pregnancy altogether (Jancárková, & Gregor, 2000). The placenta is known to be an effective barrier from any harmful pathogen that may potentially harm the fetus. The timing of exposure of any teratogen is critical to the impact of prenatal development (Bethesda (MD), 2006). The most vulnerable time of the fetus for serious damage is during early pregnancy when all the major organ and central nervous system (CNS) are

A very crucial period during pregnancy is the embryonic period of development spans from week 3 through week 8 of the pregnancy. It is during this first trimester that a mother should protect its womb and consume no alcohol. Also, during these weeks of pregnancy, “all of the baby’s organs begin to develop and function at a basic level. The developing baby undergoes very, very rapid cell differentiation during this time” (Welch, 2016).The beginning features of its eyes and ears start to develop. The heart is beating and tiny limb buds, which develop into arms and legs, appear. The central nervous system (the brain and spinal column) start forming as well. Essentially, the most dramatic changes of prenatal development occur during the first

Supportive Structures Form- When an embryo forms, supportive structures develop that are crucial for proper growth. These structures support and protect these developmental embryos. Some of these structures are the umbilical cord, amniotic sac, the placenta, yolk sac, chorionic villi, and the allantois. During the third week of embryonic development after conception, chorionic villi connect to the uterine wall, which provide maximum contact with maternal blood. They sprout from chorion, are an essential element in pregnancy and a product of conception. Branches of the umbilical arteries carry embryonic blood to the villi. Although the mother’s blood is in contact with the embryo’s villi, the systems

From the moment a newborn is birthed into the world they begin their physical development at a larger rate than any other period of their life. The first year of life is full of rapid physical growth in all aspects such as weight, height, limb lengths and even the physical growth of internal organs. On average, the birth weight of a newborn will double by the time they reach six months old and triple at the end of their first year of life. While weight is steadily increasing there is also an expansion of the babies head and chest as internal organs such as the brain, heart, and lungs develop as well. (Infancy, 2016)

Fetal circulation is the pathway of blood circulation in the fetus (Anderson, 2002). The placenta has an amniotic filled sac attached to it called the amniotic sac. The placenta starts growing in the third week that a woman is pregnant. It starts functioning at four weeks of pregnancy. The normal growth and development of the fetus is the responsibility of an organ of pregnancy called the placenta. The umbilical cord secures the fetus to the placenta. Two arteries and one vein make up the umbilical cord. The placenta links the fetus to the uterine wall of the mother so that the mother and fetus can exchange nutrition and oxygen, as well as eliminating carbon dioxide and other waste products.