Journal

Topic 1: Conception & Fetal Development1

Prenatal Stages of Development2

Conception Stage2

Embryonic Stage3

Fetal Development3

Topic 2: Pregnancy & Birth3

Description of the Diagram4

Pregnancy4

First Trimester5

Second Trimester5

Third trimester6

Birth6

Topic 3: The Newborn & 1st Month6

Breast Feeding7

Communication7

Growth and Development in the First Month of Infancy8

Topic 4: Human Sexuality8

References11

Journal

Topic 1: Conception & Fetal Development

Prenatal development is the process of gestation through which an embryo undergoes beginning from the stage of fertilization to the stage of giving birth to a child. The time frame included in the process of prenatal development exhibits systematical division into a number of categories for the simplification of the study of growth and health of a child. In addition to this, it is also very essential to ensure that there are no significant dangers and everything is healthy in the entire process. The method of prenatal development is also known as embryology and or the antenatal growth. It is very common for everyone to know that a child takes 40 weeks or 9 months to reach the stage of birth, and a number of changes do happen to the mother's body as well as the child's body during this process (Bukatko, 2012). There are three vital steps involved in the prenatal development have been analyzed and discussed with the help of the flowchart shown above regarding the process of prenatal development.

Prenatal Stages of Development

Figure 1: Prenatal Developmental Stages

The aforementioned flowchart shows the stages in the prenatal development. These stages are discussed as follows.

Conception Stage

The conception stage in the prenatal development is referred to first two weeks of pregnancy, and this stage implies that the body of the mother is preparing itself for pregnancy. It has been observed that the process of conception takes about two weeks, and at the completion of this time span, the egg reaches the uterus where it begins to grow. In simple words, the conception stage could be referred to a sort of preliminary and preparatory process that makes the body of the mother ready for the procedure of pregnancy.

Embryonic Stage

The second stage, which is the embryonic stage, begins when the egg reaches the uterus. This is considered to be the most significant time during the entire process and continues to the 11th week of pregnancy. The development of the basis of the embryo begins during this embryonic stage, and it is very essential to take necessary precautions during this stage. It has been seen that the cellular division comes in full flow by the 4th week, and the divisions are prepared between the cells that will continue to produce the baby. Further, the child begins the development of the all the major organs, various joints in the body, the central nervous system and the irises in the eyes by the time of the end of the embryonic stage (Martin, 2009).

Fetal Development

This stage is known as the fetal stage because the child after the 11th week of pregnancy is termed as a fetus. This stage primarily culminates the birth of the child and the child develops nails, hair, genitals, ...