How Does Prenatal Care Affect The Unborn Child

Prenatal care is essential in the holistic development of the child because it will determine the child’s health after birth. Good prenatal care gives less a chance for birth defects, this is why the mother has to be as careful as she can with everything she does. There are many ways in which a mother can achieve a healthy pregnancy. These steps must be carried out carefully.

Healthy eating and fitness
In order for a child to be healthy prenatally, a mother must make sure she gets the right nutrition and exercise. There are certain foods a mother can’t eat while pregnant as it may affect the unborn child negatively.
These foods include;
• Some cheese (mould, ripened or soft cheese)
• Pâté
• Undercooked meat and eggs e.g. chicken
• Liver
products
• Supplements containing vitamin A
• Unpasteurised milk
A mother must also have a healthy lifestyle as it will increase the chances of a healthier child.
Taking Folic acid 14 weeks prior to pregnancy will prevent spina bifida.
It is also massively important that a mother gets treatment for sexual disease before birth of the child. These diseases may include AIDs, BV and Yeast infections.

Smoking, Alcohol and Drugs
Smoking during pregnancy is highly dangerous as it puts the child at risk.
A lot of pregnant mothers who smoke believe their child is not being harmed. These babies have a greater chance of being born premature (http://www.upmc.com/patients-visitors/education/pregnancy/Pages/smoking-alcohol-and-drugs-can-harm-your-baby.aspx). The chemicals such as nicotine and carbon monoxide harm the child. Nicotine causes the blood vessels to tighten, so less oxygen and nutrients can reach the child. Carbon monoxide lessens the oxygen levels for the baby. This causes the baby to struggle with breathing problems such as asthma.
Alcohol is another major problem during pregnancy. It may cause birth defects and developmental disabilities. There is a wide range of physical, behavioural and learning disabilities that may happen due to alcohol. These disabilities will cause the child to having a hard future. Even a small the amount of alcohol is still bad for the unborn child. This is because the child is eating and drinking everything the mother eats and drinks.
Anything the mother consumes affects her unborn child, this means that drugs also affect the unborn child. Any drug used during pregnancy can cause a lot of harm for the unborn child. The risks
include:
• Prematurity
• Small and light
• Birth defect
• Still birth
• Miscarriage
Different drugs may cause different effects so there are multiple things that could happen to the unborn child.

Avoidance of work hazards
This is also important as problems may occur at work such as stress. Brain development problems may occur for the unborn child due to chronic stress. If brain development problems occur survival may be compromised. Fetuses who survive with this condition are born without cerebral hemispheres, which govern thinking and coordination of movement. These babies usually don't live past infancy.(http://livehealthy.chron.com/disorders-fetal-brain-development-1545.html)

Conclusion
As previously stated in this essay it is essential for an early year’s practitioner to have knowledge of child development. Knowledge of child development could change a child’s future. A practitioner should also know what could cause a child to have development problems. This means a practitioner must look also at the prenatal stage and how the mother treats it. A mother must try to take all aspects of the prenatal stage in mind and try doing her best for the unborn child. This includes not drinking, smoking or doing drugs which could cause major problems for the child. This is why prenatal care is essential in holistic development.