Unnecessary prenatal stimulation.

Although there are commercial

devices that claim to provide extra beneficial stimulation to the
developing child while in utero, there is no scientific support for this
practice. Everyday sounds in the mother’s environment provide all the
stimulation that is necessary.
©iStockphoto.com/skynesher
Although the fetus is protected from extreme stimulation within its
uterine environment, it is not isolated from the sensory world. The
cutaneous senses (or “skin senses” such as touch and pain) and the
proprioceptive senses (the ones that detect motion or the position of the
body) are the first to develop. The cutaneous senses are followed by the
chemical senses such as smell and taste and the vestibular senses (the
sense of equilibrium and balance). The last to develop are the auditory
and visual senses (Lecanuet, Graniere-Deferre, & DeCasper, 2005). The
intrauterine environment provides at least some stimulation for all these
senses and by the time the baby is born, all the senses are functional to
some extent (Hopkins & Johnson, 2005). For instance, sounds from the
world outside the womb travel through the mother’s abdomen to provide
auditory stimulation. Amniotic fluid contains chemosensory molecules
that stimulate the smell and taste receptors, and movement of the fetus
stimulates the vestibular senses (Lecanuet et al., 2005). What we see
throughout the prenatal period is a great deal of continuity as systems
develop and later become functional. This prepares the newborn to begin
interacting with—and responding to—the environment almost
immediately after birth.
We now even have evidence that some simple forms of learning can
occur before birth. For instance, recent research has found newborns
respond differently to vowel sounds that were part of the native language
they were exposed to in utero than to sounds that they were not exposed
to (Moon, Lagercrantz, & Kuhl, 2013). These are all signs of an intact
and functional central nervous system, but we should not presume that
prenatal differences in stimulation are related to later differences in
cognitive functioning (Lecanuet et al., 2005). Research that has
documented prenatal sensory capabilities has led to the development and
marketing of a variety of gadgets that make claims about their ability to
stimulate neural growth or facilitate learning, memory, thinking, and
even social interaction. However, this shows a lack of understanding of
what this research really means. Stimulation that goes beyond what is
normally provided to the developing fetus is not necessarily better
and could even be harmful. The normal prenatal environment
provides enough stimulation at this point in development (Lecanuet
et al., 2005).
There are many other common beliefs about pregnancy that have been
handed down from generation to generation. Test yourself by answering
the questions in Active Learning: Old Wives’ Tale or Scientific Fact?
to see which of these ideas have a scientific basis and which do not.
T □ F □ Research has shown that exposing a fetus to extra stimulation (for example,
playing music near the woman’s stomach) can stimulate advanced cognitive
development. False
Active Learning
Old Wives’ Tale or Scientific Fact?
Throughout this book we ask you to test your common sense or intuitive knowledge of
development against what we know about it scientifically. There are probably more old
wives’ tales about pregnancy than about any other period in development. Which of the
following statements about pregnancy are true, and which are false?
1. T □ F □: If your belly is pointy, you are having a boy, but if it spreads out from
side to side, you are having a girl.
2. T □ F □: If you raise your arms above your head, the umbilical cord could strangle
your baby.
3. T □ F □: A pregnant woman shouldn’t get a flu shot.
4. T □ F □: When you are pregnant, you are eating for two.
5. T □ F □: You shouldn’t dye your hair while you are pregnant.
6. T □ F □: For each baby, you will lose a tooth.
7. T □ F □: Having sex while you are pregnant will hurt the baby.
8. T □ F □: Women may have difficulty concentrating in the first 3 months of a
pregnancy.
9. T □ F □: Pregnant women have a special glow.
10. T □ F □: Your hair will fall out after your pregnancy.
SOURCES: Alcañiz (1997-2016); Gardephe & Ettlinger (1993); Kam (2014); KidsHealth
(2008).
Answers:
1. False. The shape of a pregnant woman’s belly is not related to the gender of her
baby. It depends more upon the woman’s body build.
2. False. A woman’s movements do not affect the movement of the umbilical cord. If
a baby is born with the cord wrapped around his or her neck, it is because of the
fetus’ prenatal movement in the uterus, not the mother’s movements during her
pregnancy.
3. False. Being pregnant suppresses a woman’s immune system, giving her a higher
risk of becoming severely ill or even dying if she gets the flu. A flu shot protects
her and her unborn baby during the pregnancy, and helps protect the newborn from
the flu after birth.
4. True. A pregnant woman does eat for two, but the second person she is eating for
probably weighs 8 pounds or less. That means that an additional 300 calories a day
on average are all the extra calories she will need.
5. False. The chemicals in hair dye are absorbed into the skin in only minimal
amounts and are not harmful to the pregnancy, although the strong smell of some
products could make some women feel nauseated. Women who are concerned can
avoid coloring their hair in their first trimester or using dyes that contain ammonia.
6. False. You need 50% more calcium in your diet while you are pregnant, but if your
dietary intake is not adequate, it will come from your bones, not your teeth.
7. False. The baby is protected within the amniotic sac, so sexual activity should not
affect it. However, because membranes can rupture later in a pregnancy, using a
condom near the end of a pregnancy to guard against infection is a good
precaution.
8. True. Fatigue, morning sickness, and preoccupation with the pregnancy itself can
make a woman forgetful early in her pregnancy.
9. True. The woman’s body produces a great volume of blood to support the
pregnancy, which results in more blood flow in the vessels and an increase in oil
gland secretions. This could be responsible for the “glow” that we associate with
pregnancy.
10. True. Hormones secreted during a pregnancy cause hair to grow faster and fall out
less, but the hormonal changes that follow the birth of the baby can cause a
significant amount of hair to fall out as the body readjusts.
Check Your Understanding:
1. What occurs in each of the three stages of prenatal development?
2. What is an ultrasound and why is it used?
3. Why can a mother and her infant have different blood types?
4. What sensory experiences does a fetus have before birth?

Health and Risks in Pregnancy

5.2 What are some health issues and risks that can affect a pregnancy?
In this section, we describe some of the things that a woman can do to
help ensure her health and the well-being of her baby during a
pregnancy. In addition to getting early and continuing prenatal care and
being careful about her diet and exercise, a woman needs to avoid a
number of potentially harmful substances, such as tobacco and alcohol.
We discuss the ways in which these substances are particularly
damaging to the developing fetus during critical periods of development.
Three Trimesters of Pregnancy
The three stages of prenatal development that we just described tell us
what is happening to the developing infant during the 9 months of the
pregnancy. However, from the point of view of the pregnant woman,
those 9 months are divided in a different way, into 3-month periods
called trimesters, each of which has its own characteristics.
During the first trimester it may not be apparent to other people that the
woman is pregnant, but changes in the level of her hormones may cause
certain effects, including fatigue, breast tenderness, and morning
sickness, a nausea that often subsides as the day progresses. In the
second trimester, most women start to feel better and the pregnancy
begins to become apparent as the fetus grows larger. The woman now is
able to feel the fetus moving inside of her. These first fetal movements
are called the quickening. In the third trimester, the fetus continues to
grow, and the woman becomes more tired and uncomfortable (Chye,
Teng, Hao, & Seng, 2008). At the end of this time, she will experience
the fetus dropping lower within her, as it begins to get into position to
begin the birth process.
Miscarriage (or spontaneous abortion) The natural loss of a pregnancy before the fetus
reaches a gestational age of 20 weeks.
Miscarriage
It is not an uncommon occurrence for a pregnancy to result in a
miscarriage or spontaneous abortion, which is the natural loss of a
pregnancy before 20 weeks gestational age of the fetus (U.S. National
Library of Medicine, 2016b). It is estimated that 50% to 80% of
miscarriages that occur in the first trimester of a pregnancy are caused
by chromosomal abnormalities and not by anything the woman has done
(Simpson, 2007), but in many cases the cause is unknown. However,
when medical professionals are able to identify a cause, it is easier for
women to come to terms with the loss and knowing the cause relieves
some of the initial distress (Nikčević & Nicolaides, 2014).
With early miscarriages, the woman may not realize that she has been
pregnant, but for women who know the

Goldberg, C. (Oct, 2010) The Brain--from Womb to Tomb: From IQ to Mental Illness, How
Prenatal Life Affects the Brain. Scientific American, 12.

Levine, L. E., & Munsch, J. (2018). Child development from infancy to adolescence : an active
learning approach. Sage.

Paul, A. (Sept, 2010). How the First Nine Months Shape the Rest of Your Life. Time Magazine,
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