Prenatal Development

Prenatal Viability: Weeks of gestation

24 weeks

Less than 24 weeks was 15.5% and with completed 2 weeks was 71.6% respectively

Viability: Birth Weight

Survival was higher when birth weight was > 500 g compared to ≤ 500g

Prenatal Development: Physical

• The heart is considered fully formed by about 8 weeks in Utero

• The upper limbs are fully formed by about 12 weeks in utero

• Sexual differentiation becomes visible at about 12 weeks

• The lower limbs are fully developed somewhere between 13 & 16 weeks

• The lungs are not fully developed until about 36 weeks (but continue to mature until birth)

Prenatal Development: Sensory - Auditory

• All Structures in place between 23-25 weeks

• Perceived & React to Auditory Stimulation by 25 weeks

Prenatal Development: Sensory - Proprioception

Whole body moving by 9 weeks

Prenatal Development: Sensory - Smell

• Olfactory nerves connect to brain at 13 weeks

• Can respond to odors in amniotic fluid by 28 weeks

Prenatal Development: Sensory - Tactile

• Develops sensitivity to tactile stimulation at 8 weeks

• By 20 weeks, receptors are developed all over body

Prenatal Development: Sensory - Taste

• Taste buds begin to detect taste at 14-16 weeks

• By 20 weeks, receptors are developed all over the body

Teratogens that Effect Development: Medications/Drugs

Limb defects, hearing loss, neural tube defects, dysmorphic features, heart defects

Teratogens that Effect Development: Maternal Infections

Hydrocephalus, intellectual disability, microcephaly, limb defects

Teratogens that Effect Development: Chemicals

Cerebral atrophy, spasticity, LBW

Teratogens that Effect Development: Maternal Disorders

Congenital heart defects, limb defects, neural tube defects, dysmorphism, microcephaly

Teratogens that Effect Development: Reproductive Toxins

Pregnancy loss, LBW, neural tube defect, microcephaly, craniofacial dysmorphism