This paper aims to research all of the pregnancy stages month-by-month. Moreover, it includes describing a scenario specific to different stages of a woman’s lifespan during these periods: right before and right after prenatal development.
Before Pregnancy
There are several essential steps women need to make before getting pregnant to lower the risks and improve their health. First of all, a woman must revise nutrition, start eating well and take multivitamins. Folic acid is the most important as it prevents congenital disabilities like neural tube defects. Secondly, a woman must get a health checkup and genetic consulting to become aware of the risks and ways to avoid them. Thirdly, Liou et al. (2016) state that “prenatal visits incorporate psychological assessment for early detection and management to prevent possible adverse birth outcomes”. Mental health must be checked due to the high stress to come with the pregnancy. Lastly, there is a must in limiting or getting rid of bad habits like smoking or drinking alcohol and coffee.
Different Conditions of a Woman’s Life-span at the before-pregnancy period
A woman’s lifespan can affect the pregnancy; that’s why the conditions of a specific period of life should be considered before getting pregnant. When a woman is in any life crisis, there might be stress-related issues with her menstrual cycles, and the need for additional medical consultancy regarding hormones might appear. At the aging stage of life, a woman risks delivering an ill baby or to have a difficult pregnancy. Steps before getting pregnant, such as health checkups and multivitamins, should be carefully made.
Women who discover a failure to launch syndrome need to get psychological assistance before getting pregnant as their self-esteem and expectations are on a lower level at this life stage. The other stressful periods are marriage or divorce, as women might doubt their choices or be overwhelmed by the events. Getting pregnant in these conditions might severely affect women’s mental and physical health, and reliable medical and psychological support is recommended.
Modern medicine allows one to get pregnant even when there are grown children and empty nest life. A woman might think that a newborn would be the solution to loneliness or improve the family’s relationship. However, she still has to remember that pregnancy seriously affects the health of an aging woman. If the pregnancy is not the first one, a woman might be a part of the sandwich generation that simultaneously cares about parents and young children. Getting pregnant in this stage requires insurance in someone else’s support, as taking everything on her own might seriously affect the pregnancy.
Prenatal Development
The average length of prenatal development is 38 weeks from the conception date. A zygote consistently develops throughout this period until becoming a ready-to-born baby. Brewer et al. (2019) state that “from the moment of conception, hormonal changes in the mother’s pregnancy and adapt to the future needs of the embryo” (p. 78). There are three main stages of pregnancy: the germinal stage, the embryonic stage, and the fetal stage.
The First Month: Germinal and Embryonic Stages, the First Trimester
The conception is the beginning of the germinal stage of prenatal development; it happens when egg cell and sperm unite into a zygote in a fallopian tube. The cells start diviving and get functions that will determine their type once after reaching the the eight-cell point. Then, cells separate into two groups: outer cells turn into the placenta, and inner cells become the embryo. If the implantation passes successfully, it provoke hormonal changes that stop the menstrual cycle.
The cells grow, and by the third week form a human-looking embryo. It is how the embryonic stage begins, the most important period for brain development. The embryo divides into three different layers that will form body systems, and, during the week, neural tube forms that then becomes the central nervous system and brain. On the fourth week, the cardiovascular system grows, and develops heart that starts to pulse.
The Second Month: Embryonic Stage
The buds forming the arms and legs appear, and the systems continue developing at the first week of this stage. The embryonic period ends after the previous month, and the basic structures of central nervous system establish. When the nerves reach proper location, the connection with other neutral cells forms and creates rudimentary neural networks.
The Third Month: Fetal Stage
The embryo grows into a fetus when the cell differentiation is complete. The fetal period is the longest, and ends on the birth day. The reflexes begin to arise that lets the fetus make reflectively move his limbs. Moreover, the sex organs start differentiating during the month, and, by its ending, the whole range of body parts will establish.
The Fourth Month: The Beginning of the Second Trimester
The second trimester lasts from the fourth to the sixth month, the fetus’s size increases six times, body system develops, and nails, hair, brows, lashes form. Specifically, during the fourth month, the fetus grows to 6 inches in length. Lanugo, hair layer of the body, begins to form from the head. Muscles, bones, lungs continue to develop, and the fetus makes the first swallow and sucking motions.
The Fifth Month
The mother might notice the first movements in the stomach during the fifth month of pregnancy because it is the period when the fetus becomes active. It reaches 8 inches in length, and fat starts developing under the skin that is almost covered by lanugo. Fingernails, eyebrows, lashes also begin forming during this month.
The Sixth Month
Weeks of this month are when the eyes finish developing, and a startle reflex appears. Eyebrows, eyelashes form altogether, the hair on the head keeps growing longer. Hair grows longer on the head, and the eyebrows and eyelashes finish developing.
The Seventh Month: The Beginning of the Third Trimester
It is the period of brain and nervous system development. The fetus’s brain starts controlling such movements as opening and closing eyelids.
The Eighth Month
In the eighth month of prenatal development, the fetus learns to make breathing movements, yet the lungs are still immature. Moreover, the bones become completely developed but not hardened, and fat deposits grow above them.
The Ninth Month
The fetus grows in length and weight during this month of prenatal development. It becomes approximately 16–19 inches in length and weighs 5 lb. 12 oz. to 6 lb. 12 oz. It happens because of the body fat increase. The fetus’s brain start reaches the point when it fully controls all of the body functions.
The Tenth Month
During the last month, the fetus reaches its full-term conditions. A baby’s hair and nails grow, and if the fetus is healthy, all of the organ systems function well. The birth time depends on how a fetus developed during pregnancy. Shiota (2018) observed that “considerably large variability in the developmental stage among human embryos with the same gestational age” (p. 956). The exact time of a child to born cannot be predicted.
Childbirth
Generally, labor is divided into three stages. At the first stage, cervical dictation appears and keeps expanding until the active phase of labor. During the second stage, a woman pushes the baby through the birth canal with the intense contractions. The third stage is followed by the delivery of the placenta and called the afterbirth. After the placenta is out of the body, the midwife cuts the cord. Childbirth is a normal human experience, yet each labor is a unique process, so women perceive risks to life, and accompany it with intense fear and helplessness (Muzik & Rosenblum, 2017, p. 13). It is essential to provide a woman with psychological support during childbirth.
After Pregnancy
After giving birth, there are essential steps women must make for her and a baby’s health. At first, a woman must visit her postpartum checkups to prevent any health problems from appearing. Moreover, she must keep eating healthily and take vitamins to be able to breastfeed a child properly. A new mother must get baby care recommendations from a trusted consultant and follow them strictly during the first month of a child’s life.
Different Conditions of a Woman’s Life-span at the after-pregnancy period
Factors related to the pregnancy, such as type of birth, a pre-term newborn, health problems, negatively impact women’s quality of life (Martínez-Galiano et al., 2019). A woman’s life-span specifically impacts the after pregnancy period: a mother’s and a child’s health and wellness might be affected by life conditions. During crises, as well as stressful milestones like marriage or divorce, the after-pregnancy time might become a relief that distracts from harmful events. However, psychological assistance or family support might be required. A woman in such life-span conditions as aging has to get intense medical help during the after-pregnancy period as her health weakens after the stress of giving birth.
A woman with failure to launch syndrome is likely to get rid of it because of the new chance to change a life successfully. Such a scenario might also be applied to a woman’s life during the empty nest period as the newborn gives many responsibilities and activities. Women in these life-span stages have to get enough support from their friends and family to go through the after-pregnancy period successfully. Sandwich generation representatives might discover difficulties during the first months of a child’s life as even more people require care from a woman. A mother needs to set the priorities right and watch her mental health to avoid depression and overwhelming.
References
Shiota, K. (2018). Study of normal and abnormal prenatal development using the Kyoto Collection of Human Embryos. The Anatomical Record, 301(6), 955-959. Web.
Brewer, S., Bhattacharya, S., Preston, P., Davies, J., & Sheena, M. (2019). The science of pregnancy: The complete illustrated guide from conception to birth. D.K. Publishing.
Liou, S. R., Wang, P., & Cheng, C. Y. (2016). Effects of prenatal maternal mental distress on birth outcomes. Women and Birth, 29(4), 376-380. Web.
Martínez-Galiano, J. M., Hernández-Martínez, A., Rodríguez-Almagro, J., & Delgado-Rodríguez, M. (2019). Quality of life of women after giving birth: Associated factors related with the birth process. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(3), 324. Web.
Muzik, M. & Rosenblum, K. L. (Eds.). (2017). Motherhood in the face of trauma: Pathways towards healing and growth. Springer.