q.2 Differentiate between maturation and development. Identify several factors that can be harmful to the developing foetus.


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Maturation : ability of a cell, tissue, organ or organ system to reach its maximum potential is called maturation. The fields of examination of maturation includes
• sexual maturation: the ability of a body to reach sexual maturity with the onset of puberty
• intellectual maturation: thinking developed on the basis of logic and reasoning
• emotional maturation : ability to respond to new situations and absorb and express accordingly.

Development: lifelong process of change
Or
It the study of physical, psychological and cognitive change throughout life span

Development is an ongoing process or a continous process. It includes
• Physical development : this includes the development of both motor skills and sensory abilities
• Psychological development : generally psychological development is studied by freud’s psycosexual theory or by adler’s individual psychology
• Social development: erik erikson has divided the social development of individuals into 8 stages.
• Cognitive development : cognitive development includes both linguistic development and mental ability development.

Ways / methods/ principles of development
• Continous process : development is an ongoing process starting from the conception and ending on death.
• General to specific: development follows a certain patern i.e from general development to specific development of tissues and organs.

• Simple to complex: cells divide and multiply and form more cells. Group of cells form tissues which then form organs and organ systems
• Proximodistal : development occurs from centre towards periphery
• Cephalocordal : development occurs in head to tail direction.

Factors affecting fetus

The substances and chemicals that can adversely affect a fetus are known as teratogens. These include drugs, alcohol, toxins, ionizing radiations, etc.

a) Maternal health : it is an important determinant of fetal health. Researches conducted have shown that many children inherit disesases from their mother while still in the womb. Particularly, during first three months of pregnancy, rubella and german measles are very dangerous for the fetus.

b) medicines : use of certain medicines can be harmful for the developing fetus. Studies conducted showed that medicines given to pregnant ladies to control vomiting can lead to developmental abnormalities in the fetus. Even certain analgesics have shown similar adverse affects.

c) Drugs : use of drugs, alcohol and even smoking can be very injurious for the developing fetus. Studies conducted showed that children of heavily drinking mothers develop acute fetal syndrome with learning and memory abnormalities.

d) Toxins: nutrition of mother is a significant factor in the development of the fetus. If the mother consumes toxin, it can adversely affect the developing fetus, sometimes leading to abortion and still births.

e) Age : researches conducted showed that 22-30 is the ideal age for a woman to bear children. Under age or elderly mothers have more chances of producing children with deformaties. Studies conducted have shown that, generally women between the age of 18 and 38 are less likely to produce down’s syndrome children.

f) Stress: if a mother is under stress due to any reason, problems at work, or domestic issues relating to husband or in-laws, this can also affect the development of the child. Studies have confirmed that mothers with anxiety disorders tend to produce children with similar abnormalities.

g) Socio-economic conditions: the socioeconomic condition of a mother are also an important factor in the development of fetus. It is a matter of general knowledge, that women from poor families have more children and early births. These children may suffer from nutritional deficiencies, stunting their physical and mental development.

Conclusion: development is an ongoing process which continues from conception till death. Maturation is the ability to attain maximum potential. There are many factors that affect the development of a fetus such as mother’s age, socioeconomic condition, mental stress, nutritional health, medical heath etc. in addition, unhealthy habits of women such as consumption of alcohol or smoking can also affect the child adversely.