PSYCH211 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Umbilical Cord, Apgar Score, Trilobite

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH211
• Professor: Kathleen Bloom

Document Summary

As pregnancy advances, the placenta releases increasing amount of corticotropin-releasing hormone (crh), a hormone involved in the stress response. High levels of crh trigger additional placental hormone adjustments that induce uterine contractions. As crh rises in the fetal bloodstream in the final prenatal weeks, it stimulates fetal production of the stress hormone cortisol, which promotes development of the lungs in preparation for breathing. An abnormal increase in maternal crh in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy is currently being evaluated as an early predictor of premature birth. At first glance, labour and delivery seem like a dangerous ordeal for the baby. However, healthy babies are equipped to withstand these traumas. The force of the contractions intensifies the (cid:271)a(cid:271)(cid:455)"s p(cid:396)odu(cid:272)tio(cid:374) of st(cid:396)ess ho(cid:396)(cid:373)o(cid:374)es. Unlike during pregnancy, when excessive stress endangers the fetus, during childbirth high levels of infant cortisol and other stress hormones are adaptive.