Prenatal Development and Birth

Vocabulary flashcards covering prenatal development, motivations for parenthood, childbirth methods, and neonatal health classifications based on the lecture transcript.

Teratogens

Any environmental agent, such as drugs, radiation, pollution, or infectious diseases, that causes harm to a developing fetus, resulting in birth defects or other developmental issues.

Child-free Adults (Michigan, 2022)

A demographic group representing $21.6\%$ of the population in Michigan, where $36.7\%$ of women under age $40$ plan to have children and $30\%$ report not wanting them.

Natural or prepared childbirth

A movement emphasizing family-centered and homelike birth centers, involving classes on labor biology, relaxation techniques, and the reduction of medical interventions.

Doula

A labor coach who assists expectant parents with relaxation and breathing techniques during the childbirth process.

Cesarean delivery (C-section)

A surgical birth where a doctor makes an incision in the mother’s abdomen and lifts the baby out of the uterus, accounting for $32.3\%$ of US births in $2023/2024$.

Rh incompatibility

A medical emergency condition that can warrant a cesarean delivery to ensure the safety of the mother and infant.

Breech position

An infant position during labor that is considered a medical emergency and is a reason for performing a cesarean delivery.

Preterm infants

Babies who are born before $37\,weeks$ of pregnancy have been completed.

Low-birth-weight infants

Babies who weigh less than $5.5\,pounds$ ($2500\,g$) at the time of birth.

Small-for-date infants

Infants who are below their expected weight considering the actual length of the pregnancy, often due to inadequate nutrition or placenta malfunction.

Golden/sacred hour

The precious moment immediately after birth focused on bonding and establishing the human parent-infant relationship.

Rooming in

An arrangement where the infant stays in the mother’s hospital room for all or most of the time following birth.

Maternal Emotional Stress

A prenatal factor where stress hormones cross the placenta, increasing fetal heart rate and activity, which can predict anxiety or short attention spans in children.

Global Cesarean Rate

A statistic indicating that worldwide C-section rates have risen from about $7\%$ in $1990$ to approximately $21\%$ by $2021$.

Certified nurse-midwives

Professionals who assist with home deliveries, which are popular in countries like England, the Netherlands, and Sweden for healthy women.