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Development Of An Unborn Child: Nevertheless, it is true that if the mother's anxieties and fears are intense or prolonged, the resulting changes in the composition of her blood, glandular secretion, and metabolism can affect the unborn child. Fear and anger are not merely states of mind; they have physiological effects, and the chemicals produced can enter* the baby's bloodstream. Infants who at birth are overactive and irritable, who do not digest their food well, or who show a high fluctuation in heart rate "often have a history of such disturbing prenatal environment." (37, 1946) If a mother rejects the unborn child, resents having a baby, or dreads the ordeal of birth, these emotions may in some way influence the development of an unborn child of the fetus and the difficulty of labor.
The level of the child's neurological and physiological development of an unborn child determines the kinds of learning that can take place. Accordingly, the age at which a particular task should be taught to a child depends on the complexity of the skill, the degree of co-ordination and mental ability involved, and the rate of that particular child's development of an unborn child. A little practice at the appropriate stage of maturation is more effective than a lot when the child is too young.
Several diseases, notably syphilis and gonorrhea, which were at one time thought to be inherited, are actually transmitted to the newborn through early infection. Syphilis may be transmitted by the mother to the unborn child. A mother with gonorrhea may infect the child while it is being born. Gonorrheal blindness results in about 80 per cent of the cases that are not given the simple protection that is possible at birth. Treatment of the syphilitic mother early in her pregnancy will protect the child. Tuberculosis, too, is not directly inherited, although there is some evidence that heredity may be a contributing factor in that it may cause constitutional weakness. |
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