PREGNANCY AND LABOUR
6TH GRADE-UNIT 3-C.B 54-55
PREGNANCY
-It is the period of time
between the fertilisation
of an egg and the birth of a baby.
-During this time, a baby grows
inside its mother’s
expanding uterus.
During PREGNANCY, a small ball of cells
develops into a fetus
in the mother’s uterus.
A fetus can’t eat, drink
or breathe by itself.
The mother’s body
gives it everything it
needs.
During pregnancy, two special
organs form inside the
uterus:
-the PLACENTA
and the
-AMNIOTIC SAC.
PLACENTA
It provides the fetus with
OXYGEN and NUTRIENTS.
It takes away waste that the
fetus produces.
The fetus is connected to the
placenta by the
UMBILICAL CORD.
AMNIOTIC SAC
It is a thin bag that contains
the AMNIOTIC FLUID,
which supports and protects the fetus.
FROM FERTILISED EGG TO A NEWBORN BABY
1- An egg (from the ovaries) is fertilised by
a sperm(from the testicles)
2- The egg divides again and again and
becomes attached to the wall of the uterus.
3- An embryo develops.
4-At six weeks old, it’s about the size
of a small seed.
5- At nine weeks old, the embryo
is about the size of an olive.
It has arms and legs and it
starts to have a face.
6-At three months, the embryo
is called a foetus.
It’s about the size of a lemon.
It begins to look more like a baby.
The organs can be identified.
7-At nine months, it is about
50 cm long and it weighs about 3 kg.
It is ready to be born.
1 MONTH
4 MONTHS
8 MONTHS
Nutrients and oxygen travel from the mother to the embryo
along the umbilical cord.
-During these nine months, a woman’s body experiences changes:
.Women who are pregnant
stop having periods.
.The breasts grow and prepare
to feed the future baby.
.The abdomen enlarges because
the growing foetus takes up more
space.
LABOUR AND BIRTH
1-DILATION
The neck of the uterus dilates and the wall of the uterus contracts
to push the foetus into the vagina.
2-BIRTH
The uterus and the mother’s muscles of the abdomen make the baby come out.
The cervix gets wider to enable the baby to come out the uterus.
The amniotic sac breaks and the
contractions push the baby into
the vagina canal.
Little by little, the baby moves head first
down the vagina and comes out into the world.
The baby starts to breathe for itself.
3-AFTERBIRTH
After the baby is born, the placenta is expelled from the uterus, along with the
remains of the umbilical cord.
The umbilical cord is cut
and becomes the belly
button and the baby
breathes on its own
and gets nutrients
from its mother’s milk.
LACTATION AND BREASTFEEDING
-Lactation is the process of making human milk.
-It occurs naturally after giving birth.
-Feeding babies directly
from the mother’s breasts
is called breastfeeding.
-Breast milk contains the
nutrients a baby needs.
-It also contains substances that
protect the baby against many
diseases.
-Babies can also be fed with
formula milk with a baby bottle.
-Human milk or formula milk
is the only food babies need
in the first months of their life.
HEALTHCARE DURING PREGNANCY
-Specialist doctors and nurses check the mother and fetus.
-They analyse blood and urine samples to detect infections.
-Ultrasound scans are used to check the development of the fetus: the
developing organs and bones of the fetus.
AMNIOCENTESIS
It is a procedure that helps doctors to detect abnormalities in the fetus.
A small amount of amniotic fluid is removed from the amniotic sac and it is analysed .
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