Children’s health ! Paediatrics -1. Growth and development

Hello friends,

I’m vinay, a medico in india. Today i will share you about the growth and development of a child from the fetus stage and What are the factors that effect their growth and development.

First of all wHAT IS GROWTH??

Growth is increase in the size and mass of the tissue. It is mostly attributed to increase in the number of cell and increase in intracellular contents.

WHAT IS DEVELOPMENT??

Development is maturation of functions. It is maturation and myelination of nervous system. It is indicated by acquisition of skills required for optimal functioning of individual.

FACTORS AFFECTING GROWTH

1. Fetal factors
2. Placental factors
3. Maternal factors

FETAL FACTORS
1) Fetal hormones : Thyroxine - helpfull in accretion and development of tissues.
Glucocorticoids- prepartum maturation of liver, lungs and gastrointestinal tract.
2) Fetal growth factors:
Growth promoting- platelet derived growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, insulin like growth factor
Growth inhibiting- inhibin proteins, Mullerian inhibitory substance.

PLACENTAL FACTORS: placenta undergo various changes in order to meet the needs of the growing fetus.
They are

1. Increase in villous surface area
2. Decrease resistance in the fetoplacental vasculature
3. Dilation of fetal capillaries.

MATERNAL FACTORS

1. Alcohol abuse- retards the growth of the fetus.
   

2. Smoking : tobacco in any form serious effects the growth of fetus.
   

3. Systemic diseases: Chronic renal failure , chronic heart failure can also effect the growth of the fetus.

Thats it for today guys, i hope this will help many pregnant ladies who are eagerly waiting for their baby. So stop smoking ladies especially when you are pregnant.

I thank my friends of steemit, who are supporting me and i sincerely thank @nairadaddy and @thelovejunkie who are my inspiration. Their awesome posts motivated me to do this.