Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

FIGURE 3
A variety of environmental factors can play a role in prenatal development.
Environmental Factor 
Possible Eff ect on Prenatal Development
Rubella (German 
Blindness, deafness, heart abnormalities, stillbirth
measles)
Syphilis 
Mental retardation, physical deformities, maternal miscarriage
Addictive drugs 
Low birth weight, addiction of infant to drug, with possible 
death after birth from withdrawal
Nicotine 
Premature birth, low birth weight and length
Alcohol 
Mental retardation, lower-than-average birth weight, small 
head, limb deformities
Radiation from X-rays 
Physical deformities, mental retardation
Inadequate diet 
Reduction in growth of brain, smaller-than-average weight 
and length at birth
Mother’s age—younger Premature birth, increased incidence of Down syndrome
than 18 at birth of child
Mother’s age—older 
Increased incidence of Down syndrome
than 35 at birth of child
DES (diethylstilbestrol) 
Reproductive diffi
culties and increased incidence of genital 
cancer in children of mothers who were given DES during 
pregnancy to prevent miscarriage
AIDS 
Possible spread of AIDS virus to infant; facial deformities; 
growth failure
Accutane 
Mental retardation and physical deformities
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392 Chapter 
12 
Development
In other cases, it is due to the advanced age of the parents, use of drugs, or previous 
cases of sexually transmitted disease. 
Scientists have devised several remedies to overcome infertility. One option is in 
vitro fertilization ( IVF ). IVF is a procedure in which a woman’s eggs are removed from 
her ovaries, and a man’s sperm is used to fertilize the eggs in a laboratory. A fertil-
ized egg is then implanted in a woman’s uterus. Similarly, gamete intrafallopian trans-
fer (GIFT) and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) are procedures in which an egg and 
sperm or fertilized egg are implanted in a woman’s fallopian tubes. In IVF, GIFT, 
and ZIFT, the fertilized egg typically is implanted in the woman who provided the 
eggs. In some cases, eggs are implanted in a surrogate mother, a woman who agrees 
to carry the child to term.