Many changes happen from conception to birth. A single-celled zygote multiplies

Question

Many changes happen from conception to birth. A single-celled zygote multiplies and grows over approximately 9 months into a living, breathing human being composed of trillions of cells. That’s quite an amazing feat! With such rapid growth occurring, it is not surprising that the developing fetus is vulnerable to a number of different environmental influences.

For this Assignment: Write a 2- to 3-page paper and include the following:

1. Explain the environmental factors presented in the Case Study, as well as others that may be present but not specifically identified in the Case Study that might affect Sam’s development.

2. With the environmental factors you explained, further explain what you think the best case scenario and the worst case scenario might be for Sam’s short-term developmental outcomes and explain why.

3. Be specific, provide examples, and justify your response with citations from the Learning Resources/literature.

4. Examine an infant case study below to determine short-term developmental outcomes.

CASE STUDY

An infant male, Sam, was born to Jane and Roberto. Jane works in the city as a medical transcriptionist, but requested 12 weeks of family leave effective immediately upon Sam’s birth.

Sam was born 6 weeks premature, by Cesarean delivery. His Apgar score at 1 minute was 5; after receiving oxygen, his Apgar score at 5 minutes was 8. Apart from the first few minutes after birth, Sam has not required oxygen or respiratory assistance. Because of his prematurity, Sam stayed in the hospital for 72 hours before he was discharged.

Jane drank occasionally throughout the pregnancy, but reported drinking most heavily during the last trimester of her pregnancy, which was about the time Roberto got laid off from his job. There is suspicion, although not confirmed, that Sam has Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Sam is a fussy eater, requiring short and frequent feedings. He has been home for 2 weeks and wakes up hungry every 2 hours. He does not sleep through the night.

Roberto and Jane live in a house in a rural area. They do not have a network of friends and family who live nearby who can help, but Jane’s mother has offered to move in with them temporarily. Roberto and Jane’s mother get along very well. Jane is debating whether she should reduce her family leave and go back to work earlier than she had planned.

Many of the details in the above case study have purposely been left ambiguous (e.g., ethnicity, geographic location, etc.) so that you can make some conjectures of your own and relate that to Sam’s short-term and long-term prognosis.

Explanation / Answer

Environmental factors play a very important role in prenatal development. Anything ingested by the mother directly affects the child in the womb through the placenta. Jane consumed alcohol occasionally during the first trimester which caused enough harm to Sam and towards the beginning of the third trimester she drank heavily which is one of the major reasons for Sam being born a premature baby. Other environmental factors like poor living conditions like unclean water and unhygienic food also contributed to Sam's development and resulted in him being born premature.

Sam is already a hyperactive child as he does not sleep a lot and always wakes up hungry. Hyperactivity is a symptom of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Sam could possibly develop intellectual disability, delayed learning, lack of focus, speech impairment, visual and hearing disabilities. Alcohol consumed by a mother during pregnancy is the most dangerous for the child. The effect of alcohol in adults and infants vary. Alcohol is very concentrated when it reaches the child in the womb through placenta. The above developmental problems are a possible outcomes of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in infants and in the above case, Sam.

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