Periods of Development- Prenatal

Physical Developmental Milestones:

Children/Fetus undergo several stages and areas of physical development during their prenatal
development milestones. This is the beginning point of life. As early as three weeks fetuss
hearts begin to beat, and after that the beat continues to grow and get stronger. By 4 weeks, the
heart typically beats between 105 and 121 times per minute
(EHD, 2015). As the weeks turn into months, developments
continue to become exposed and fetuss grown larger,
detailed, and closer to completion in the creation of human
life. As early as 12 weeks, sex determination tests are able to
be conducted and the sex of fetus can be determined.
Sonographic fetal sex determination in the late second
trimester is based on direct visualization of the external
genitalia, whereas in the late first and early second trimester,
it is based mainly on the direction of the genital tubercle (the
"sagittal sign"): downward direction of the genital tubercle
indicates a female fetus and upward direction a male fetus
(Odeh, 2009).
Language Developmental Milestones:
During the prenatal development milestones, fetuses are nowhere near able to speaking their first
words or in that matter, their first cries however language does impact them, even as early as 3
days. Prenatal experience with native languages gain in utero, it influences how newborn brains
respond to language across brain regions sensitive to speech processing (Lillian, 2011).
Therefore, just because fetuses are unable to participate in language development, they are still
impacted by it.
Cognitive Developmental Milestones:
As early as ten weeks only, fetuses begin to develop their brains. Their fresh brains can be
impacted by their maternal mothers actions and even their
emotional stages. Maternal beings can greatly impact
fetuses and their cognitive development during prenatal
development. Maternal stress during pregnancy can
influence the developing fetus, resulting in delay of motor
and cognitive development and impaired adaptation to
stressful situations (Buitelaar, 2003).
Signs of Atypical Development:
Atypical development can be caused by a number of things
during the prenatal development milestones. Some major

causes are due to: drug abuse, smoking, alcohol and even medications. By measuring growth and
observing milestone times and expectations, doctors are able to search for signs of atypical
development. For example, the sedative drug thalidomide, which was found to have drastic
effects in that it produced gross malformations of the embryo's developing arms and legs (CMS,
2014). Where it is not as easy to study atypical development as it would be with children
outside the womb, certain tests and observations can help explore how some substances can
cause damaging effect.
Influencing Learning:
There are no strategies that parents are able to influence their childrens learning and
development this early into their development.

ReferencesBuitelaar, J. (2003). Prenatal Stress and Cognitive Development and temperament in Infants.
Retrieved From: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12829109
CMS. (2014). Infant Toddler Development Training. Retrieved from:
http://www.floridahealth.gov/alternatesites/cmskids/providers/early_steps/training/itds/module1/lesson3_3.html
EDH. (2015). Prenatal Form and Function The Making of an Earth Suit. Retrieved from:
http://www.ehd.org/dev_article_unit4.php
Lillian, M. (2011). Language and the Newborn Brain. Retrieved from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3177294/
Odeh, M. (2009). Sonography Fetal Sex Determination. Retrieved from:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19099612