Abstract
Lately, a lot of questions have been raised about the impacts that prenatal care may have on the development of a child in different stages. Based on important pieces of data, it is evident that human development is contributed to by a lot of factors with prenatal care being central to such factors. This paper has extensively explored secondary data to unearth aspects natured in prenatal sessions such as nutrition, genetics, behavior and teratogens as they contribute to the eventual cognitive awareness of a child. Notably, the paper is strategic in its choice for childhood cognitive development as it is during this stage of development that numerous cases of cognitive deficiencies may be exhumed. To support its assertions, the paper explores both qualitative and quantitative pieces of information in arriving at the solutions relevant to explaining how cognitive development is partly achieved in humans as a result of efficiently attended prenatal care sessions during pregnancy.
Prenatal Care and Cognitive Development in Childhood
Introduction
Adequate prenatal care is essential to the efficient delivery of newborns. However, not much has been said of the impacts that lack such care may have on the development of a child in next years after their birth (Canadian Pediatric Society, 2015). This study follows a series of studies that have depicted how at least one in 28 children are born to mothers who do not receive prenatal care- thereby putting such children at a risk of impairing their cognitive development. Based on a range of reputable secondary sources, this paper outlines the impacts that prenatal care may have on children in the efficient development of their cognitive prowess when children hit five years of their growth and development.
Variable Relationships
Rapid growth in a range of developmental measures can be seen when children hit their pre-school ages. Cognitive development in an individual begins to be evident in this period of development. In healthy children, the period between 3-5 years encompasses a developmental period in which hallmark thoughts that can be read in an individual's use of language, pretend play and understanding symbols begin to manifest. Although children at this age may show centration to thoughts, limitations to unique situations and objects may be necessary for understanding whether an individual is cognitively present or not. Just, the period between 3 years to 5 years of development in a child represent how effectively prenatal care has impacted an individual child.
Statistically, America welcomes approximately 11,000 children every single day. Being a developed nation, most mothers in America attend antenatal care sessions. Still, roughly 7 percent of children born in America depict issues with their cognitive ability when they hit pre-school ages(Marotz& Eileen, 2015). The statistics indicate bigger percentages in developing nations that have more mothers who do not attend their prenatal care sessions. Notably, children who manifest cognitive disabilities in their early ages of development as well tend to struggle with other aspects of development detailing physical growth or social life development. The same cannot be said of children who depict no deficiencies in their cognitive proficiencies. From the statistics herein, it is evident that not all children whose mothers avoid prenatal sessions exhibit problems with their cognitive abilities. However, such children are at a bigger risk of manifesting cognitive deficiencies than their counterparts whose parents attend prenatal care efficiently. Questions are then asked about the relationship between antenatal care and cognitive development in preschool children.
Marotz and Eileen(2015) assert that a lot of factors root etiology of cognitive deficiencies. Postnatal and perinatal care sessions are some of the factors that have been proven to bear little relationship to development in children. Hypoxic-ischemic injuries, traumatic brain injuries, demyelinating disorders intoxications, chronic or severe social deprivations as well as seizure disorders are known to contribute to some cognitive disorders to pre-school aged children. Nonetheless, prenatal factors are believed to be bigger contributors to cognitive disorders to children.
Nutrition is one prenatal factor that is critical to cognitive development in children. Even before conception, mothers are advised to uphold some kinds of diets that may assist them in ensuring the cognitive health of their children before and after birth. Unborn babies who are exposed to small proteins, for instance, may manifest lower IQ scores in their following areas of development. In a study BioMed Central, it was determined that children who are deprived of some species of proteins during the early stages of their development consequently manifest neuropsychological deficiencies in growth. The results are worse if such children are deprived of the necessary nutrients in their subsequent stages of development during their pre-school growth(Marotz& Eileen, 2015). Attending prenatal sessions is critical to mothers identifying the right quality and quantity of nutrients that can be necessary to the cognitive development of children in periods when it is necessary. Women who do not attend such sessions are ignorant of the nutritional desires of their children, thus cognitive disorders.
Genetics is a central aspect of cognitive development in children. Based on the genetic composition of the parents, a child's development may be hindered cognitively. Delay in intellectual development or environmental stimulation may be caused primarily by the genetic structure of a child. During prenatal care, parents are frequently made aware of the genetic composition of their children. The identified problems during the scans can be addressed before they affect the child in their early ages of development. Offsetting some of the difficulties brought about by genetic deficiencies through prenatal care could be critical to assisting children who may have portions of the challenges during the periods in which their cognitive development is highly vulnerable- the period between 3 years to 5 years after birth.
Just like genetics, teratogens are a cause for concern when it comes to development in children. Drug use and abuse lead to the massive death of children during or after birth. A few children who survive the ordeal are subject to inefficient development socially, physically or cognitively. Currently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reports that 11.3% of women use illicit drugs during their pregnancies. African Americans lead the bars in substance abuse during pregnancies at 5% followed by Hispanics at 4.6% and whites at 4.4%. Notably, more than half of women who abuse different kinds of drugs do not attend prenatal sessions(Marotz& Eileen, 2015). All these data across demographic ranges can be mitigated if the affected women are exposed to better healthcare facilities before, during and after birth. Women during their pregnancy terms are well advised, better educated and have better drug control by accessing prenatal health services. The fact that substance abuse during pregnancy may lead to underwhelming birth weights, hormonal imbalance in children and poor cognitive development in children at later stages of their development is not worth any argument. Moreover, inadequate attention to prenatal care may as well lead other forms of deformities, which, in the subsequent stages of development may result from cognitive deficiencies. A factor such as teratogens may result in improperly developed parts of the anatomy. To a child in their pre-school age, it is probable to develop social problems and eventually develop cognitive issues.
Finally, this each factor described herein contributes to retardation of cognitive development in different quantitative grids. International statistics from Canadian Pediatric Society(2015) indicate that as more than 30% of children who suffer from cognitive development deficiencies in their childhood manifest chromosomal abnormalities, malfunctions in the central nervous system contribute 10% to 15% of the cases. Multiple congenital anomalies syndrome details 4% while metabolic and nutritional dysfunctions contribute to between 3% and 5% of the cases. Acquired deficiencies contribute up to 20% of the cases as another 30% of the cognitive disorders during childhood development are caused by unknown factors. A critical analysis of this data lands one into a conclusion that most cognitive disorders that emanate in childhood are inflicted during pregnancies. Intermittently, attendance of prenatal sessions may reduce the quantity of the data significantly.
Conclusion
Cognitive development in childhood is contributed to by a range of factors. Environmental, physical and social factors all combine to ensure a holistic cognitive development. Nonetheless, as evident, prenatal factors are central to cognitive development in people during their childhood. Some factors such as hearing, vision, pattern analyses in children among other factors rely heavily on how effective a mother took care of their pregnancies through prenatal sessions. Such assertions are quantitatively supported by demographic data deviations on the utility of prenatal care as evident on the input of different studies herein.
References
Canadian Pediatric Society.(2015). Prenatal Risk Factors for Developmental Delay in Newcomer Children. Retrieved from: http://www.kidsnewtocanada.ca/mental-health/prenatal-risk
Marotz, R. L., & Eileen, K. A. (2015).Developmental Profiles: Pre-Birth through Adolescence. Cengage Learning
