Prenatal Developmental Stages

Physical Developments: Conception through Birth

During this period in which a one celled organism transforms or develops into a human baby,
periods of development will form from conception to birth (Berk, 2013). The prenatal stages are
broken down by weeks into what are called trimesters as the baby grows and physically changes
throughout each of the periods of time. The first trimester being weeks 1-12; the Zygote stage
and the fetal stage and changes are occurring at a rapid pace.
Once conception is achieved the zygote will begin to form into what is call a blastocyst. This
blastocyst will attach itself to the mothers uterine wall where organisms will begin to form.
These organisms will help to feed and protect what will become the embryo between weeks 3-8
and grow to about one inch in size. A fetus will grow to approximately three inches in length,
weeks 9-12 are the fetus stage of the first trimester. During this time the nervous system, organs,
and muscles will begin to develop.
Physical development will continue at fast rate between the fetal stage 9-12 weeks and the
third trimester when the child is ready to be born. The size of the baby between weeks 25-38 is
approximately 20 inches in length and weighs between five and eight pounds.

Language development in prenatal stages

Prenatal language development would be more of the fetus hearing and responding to things
such as their mothers voice while talking, reading, singing. Although the baby cannot talk in the
prenatal stages they do respond through movement within the womb. According to Dirix et al,
(2009); at 30 weeks into the pregnancy a fetus presented with repeated auditory stimulus against
the mothers abdomen will react with initial heart increases and movement.
Prenatal cognitive development
Rhawn, (2002) explains that; Fetal brain behavior and cognitive development of the fetus
can be seen as early as the 7th-9th week of gestation. Although the baby is typically in the
embryotic stage at this point there are signs of cognitive development, as the baby can and does
display spontaneous movements. Around the 10th week the fetus will learn to breath and
throughout the 25th week the fetus demonstrates stimulus induced heart rate accelerations. This
is also comparative to the language skills as it shows how the child will react to new sounds or
sounds that are soothing or frightening to the fetus from within the womb. The abilities for the
fetus to move and react would be considered fetal cognitive skills in reaction to what they are
hearing.
Atypical Development for the prenatal stages:
During the prenatal stages regular checkups for heart rates, fetal movement and visual
sonograms are suggested to be sure the baby is developing and growing as needed to be healthy
at birth. If there is minimal movement at some stages this could be concerning as to the

development of the child. Making sure the fetus is getting proper oxygen, prenatal vitamins and
proper diet assist in the typical development of the fetus. Often times if there are abnormal
growth patterns of the fetus or signs of stress to the fetus tests such as amniocentesis or blood
work can be performed to indicate if there are concerns for abnormalities. I would however
emphasize that these test are only guidelines to keep track of and are not always accurate in the
diagnoses of abnormalities. These merely assist the doctors in helping the fetus grow to its best
potential.
Influencing a Childs Development for the prenatal stages
There are many suggestions that can be made for a pregnant woman to encourage healthy,
normal development for their unborn child. First to mention nourishment, it is suggested by
Pollitt (1996) that; in addition to being ill more often, poorly nourished children as time goes on
in life tend to have lower than average intelligence and serious learning problems. Along with
eating properly and having regular checkups; the mother should also avoid some medications,
alcohol, and tobacco. All of the things can detour a healthy fetus from growing and developing
properly.