the possible beneficial or adverse effects of maternal behavior on fetal development

1. Possible Effects of Maternal
Behavior on Fetal Development
Submitted To:
Dr.Saima Naz
Submitted By:
Shaista Saleem
Roll no.20

2. Fetus
• A fetus or foetus (plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or
foeti) is the unborn offspring of an animal that
develops from an embryo.
• In human prenatal development, fetal
development begins from the ninth week after
fertilization (or eleventh week gestational age)
and continues until birth.
• a fetus is characterized by the presence of all the
major body organs, though they will not yet be
fully developed and functional and some not yet
situated in their final anatomical location.
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3. Stages of fetal development
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4. Stages of Fetal Development
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5. Connection between Mother and
Fetus
• The physical connection between mother and
fetus is provided by the Placenta, an organ, built
of cells from both the mother and fetus, which
serves as a conduit for the exchange of nutrients,
gasses, and wastes. Cells may migrate through
the placenta between the mother and the fetus,
taking up residence in many organs of the body
including the lung, thyroid, muscle, liver, heart,
kidney and skin. These may have a broad range of
impacts, from tissue repair and cancer prevention
to sparking immune disorders.
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6. Maternal Behaviour
• Maternal behavior is defined as the collection of behaviors by the
mother that can increase offspring survival.
• Maternal behavior in mammals is characterized by the display of
increased attention toward offspring together with heightened
protection of the young or maternal aggression. These altered
responses are stimulated by the physiological events of pregnancy
and lactation, notably hormonal secretions. The endocrine and
neuroendocrine states of pregnancy act upon a basic
maternal neural network to alter the chemical state of the maternal
brain, rendering the brain more sensitive to stimulatory chemical
signals, most importantly estrogen, prolactin and oxytocin, and
sensory inputs. Moreover, prior reproductive experience produces
long-term changes in neuroendocrine and behaviorial states that
mediate maternal as well as neurochemical memories.
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7. Possible Effects of Maternal Behaviour
on Fetal Development
• Nutrition is the major intrauterine environmental factor that alters
expression of the fetal genome and may have lifelong consequences.
Namely, alterations in fetal nutrition and endocrine status may result in
developmental adaptations that permanently change the structure,
physiology, and metabolism of the offspring, thereby predisposing
individuals to metabolic, endocrine, and cardiovascular diseases in adult
life. Animal studies show that both maternal under nutrition and over
nutrition reduce placental-fetal blood flows and stunt fetal growth.
Impaired placental syntheses of nitric oxide (a major vasodilator and
angiogenesis factor) and polyamines (key regulators of DNA and protein
synthesis) may provide a unified explanation for intrauterine growth
retardation in response to the 2 extremes of nutritional problems with the
same pregnancy outcome. There is growing evidence that maternal
nutritional status can alter the epigenetic state of the fetal genome.
Promoting optimal nutrition will not only ensure optimal fetal
development, but will also reduce the risk of chronic diseases in adults.
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8. Alcohol Abuse
• Drinking alcohol when you're pregnant can be very
harmful to your baby. It can cause your baby to have a
range of lifelong health conditions. Drinking alcohol
during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, preterm birth
and stillbirth.
• When you drink alcohol during pregnancy, so does your
baby. The same amount of alcohol that is in your blood
is also in your baby's blood. The alcohol in your blood
quickly passes through the placenta and to your baby
through the umbilical cord.
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9. Alcohol can also cause your baby to:
• Have birth defects (heart, brain and other organs)
• Vision or hearing problems
• Be born too soon (preterm)
• Be born at low birth weight
• Have intellectual disabilities
• Have learning and behavior problems
• Have sleeping and sucking problems
• Have speech and language delays
• Have behavioral problems
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10. Use of Illegal and Illicit Drugs
• Studies show that using drugs -- legal or illegal -- during pregnancy has a
direct impact on the fetus. If you smoke, drink alcohol, or ingest caffeine,
so does the fetus. If you use marijuana or crystal meth, your fetus also
feels the impact of these dangerous drugs. And if you are addicted to
cocaine -- also called coke, snow, or blow -- you're not only putting your
own life on the line, but you are risking the health of your unborn baby.
The consequences of using cocaine include heart attacks, respiratory
failure, strokes, and seizures. And these life-threatening health problems
can also be passed to an unborn baby. Taking drugs during pregnancy also
increases the chance of birth defects, premature babies, underweight
babies, and stillborn births. Exposure to drugs such as marijuana -- also
called weed, ganja, dope, or pot -- and alcohol before birth has been
proven to cause behavior problems in early childhood. These drugs can
also affect the child's memory and attentiveness. In addition, some
findings show that babies born to women who use cocaine, alcohol, or
tobacco when they are pregnant may have brain structure changes that
persist into early adolescence.
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11. Cigarette Smoking
• Smoking during pregnancy affects you and your baby’s before, during, and
after your baby is born. The nicotine (the addictive substance in
cigarettes), carbon monoxide, and numerous other poisons you inhale
from a cigarette are carried through your bloodstream and go directly to
your baby. Smoking while pregnant will:
• Lower the amount of oxygen available to you and your growing baby.
• Increase your baby's heart rate.
• Increase the chances of miscarriage and stillbirth.
• Increase the risk that your baby is born prematurely and/or born with
low birth weight.
• Increase your baby's risk of developing respiratory (lung) problems.
• Increases risks of birth defects.
• Increases risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
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12. • The more cigarettes you smoke per day, the greater your
baby's chances of developing these and other health
problems. There is no "safe" level of smoking while
pregnant.
• Carbon monoxide combines with haemoglobin (Hb) in the
fetus red blood cells. If the Hb is combined with carbon
monoxide then it cannot combine with oxygen. So when a
mother smokes, she reduces the amount of oxygen being
carried in her own bloods and also the baby’s blood.
• Nicotine reduces the diameter of the foetus’ blood vessels.
This reduces the volume of blood that can flow through
them. This, too, reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the
foetus’ developing tissues. Nicotine also appears to affect
the development of the nervous system.
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13. Birth Control
• Birth control methods include hormonal contraceptives, such as
pills, shots and patches. Each method and brand has a unique
mixture of estrogen and progestin and delivery molecules that can
potentially affect a fetus. In most cases, taking birth control during
the first four to eight weeks of a pregnancy will have no ill side-
effects on a fetus. Regardless of any potential risk factors or lack
thereof, stop taking birth control and consult a physician if
pregnancy is likely. The possibility of birth defects concerns many
women who become pregnant while taking birth control pills.
However, there is no scientific evidence that taking birth control
pills during early pregnancy affects the rate of birth defects. The risk
of miscarriage due to birth control is possible; however, no
statistical data in humans has been compiled.
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14. Stress
• Given the animal and human research suggesting
effects of stress during pregnancy on offspring
outcomes, recent research has explored the possible
influences of other prenatal emotional states, such as
anxiety and depression, on infant development. In an
“intervention” study Field and her associates randomly
assigned anxious, first-time pregnant women to
supportive feedback during ultrasound versus
traditional ultrasound. They found that women in the
support group had less anxiety and their newborns
were less active and irritable, suggesting that anxiety
during pregnancy may be associated with more active
and irritable neonatal behavior.
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15. • Babies born to mothers who report depressive symptoms
at the time of the child’s birth have lower motor tone and
endurance, are less active, less robust, and more irritable
on a neurobehavioral exam. These babies also exhibit fewer
facial expressions in response to models of happy and
surprise faces and have indeterminate sleep patterns.
• Comprehensively, levels of stress, anxiety, and depression
during pregnancy are associated with altered infant
neurobehavioral development and, by extension, that
these alterations arose and can be detected in the fetal
period. The findings point to the possibility that women’s
emotional states during pregnancy influence fetal
development, which affects the later behavior of the child.
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16. • A balanced maternal diet is essential for proper
fetal development, and the consumption of a
nutritionally inadequate diet during intrauterine
development and early childhood is associated
with a significantly increased risk of metabolic
and brain disorders in offspring.
• The maternal high-fat diet during pregnancy or
lactation has effects on metabolic changes,
molecular alterations in the brain, and behavioral
disorders in offspring.
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17. • Offspring exposed to a maternal high-fat diet during
pregnancy and lactation manifest increased depressive
like and aggressive behaviors, reduced cognitive
development, and symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
Recently, epigenetic and molecular studies have shown
that maternal nutrition during pregnancy and the
suckling period modifies the development of
neurotransmitter circuits and many other factors
important to central nervous system development. This
finding confirms the importance of a balanced
maternal diet for the health of offspring.
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18. Classification of Birth Defects
• Malformations present at birth
• May also be known as congenital
malformations
• Inborn errors of metabolism
• Disorders of the blood
• Chromosomal abnormalities
• Perinatal injuries
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20. • Hence, according to previous discussion the
psychological environment, dietary habits and
any sort of addictions of mother has severe
impacts on developing fetus.
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21. References
• https://www.google.com/search?q=fetus+definiti
on&oq=fetus+de&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j0l9.9074j
1j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
• Biological Science: Third Edition By, N. P. O. Green
(Author), G. W. Stout (Author), D. J. Taylor
(Author), R. Soper (Editor)
• Exploring Biology By, Ella Thea Smith
• NCERT Text Book
• Tell Me Why
• Encyclopaedia Britannica
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