Environmental and genetic influences work hand in hand in fetal development. In reality it is difficult to account for what impact these influences may have but one thing is for sure, they work hand in hand in order for the fetus to develop well. There are many of these factors that influence a healthy fetal development. Some of the environmental influences are nutrition and health whereas genetic influences are hormones and folic acid among others (Burger 2000). These influences in one way or another have a huge role that they play in order to ensure that the fetus develops well without any complications.
When an expectant mother feeds well as she is supposed to, she will be in a position to supply her developing child with the necessary nutrients which will ensure proper growth in the womb. Good nutrition goes a long way in ensuring that the fetus will get everything that will sustain it to full maturity at birth (Burger 2000). It is the nutrition that will necessitate that a mother takes a balanced diet. Part of this diet is taking in foods rich in folic acid which will ensure proper fetal development. Folic acid, as an environmental influence has to go hand in hand with proper nutrition for fetal development and lack of it will lead to the abnormal development of the fetus.
On the other hand, an expectant mother should enjoy good health just to be sure that the fetus is also developing well as expected. When a mother’s health is good, hormones will also function at their optimum which will then translate to good fetal development (Burger 2000). These two work hand in hand and failure for one to function well will lead to the failure of the other and the effects can be very adverse to the fetus. A good hormonal balance is a clear sign that the body is well and when it is an expectant mother who is in question, then it goes without saying that the fetus will develop well.
References
Berger, K. S. (2000). The developing person: Through childhood and adolescence. New York: Worth Publishers.
