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They are divided into 3 categories
1. Internal Factors
They include
a) Hereditary/heredity
Heredity involves what is transferred to the offspring from it immediate parent e.g. Height, Weight, Colour of eyes, Skin characteristics, X-tics of the hair, Physical structure, Nervous system.
b) Biological
An individual constitutional make up structure, Physique and body chemistry do influence his/her growth and depth throughout his life time.
c) Intelligence
The individual ability to learn adjust and take right decisions has a significant role in his growth and development. Therefore intelligence controls the individuals’ emotional, social and language development
d) Emotional
The individuals emotional adjustment/ adjustability and maturity affects his growth and development e.g. negative emotions like fear, anxiety do affect the individuals physical, psychosocial and mental development
e) Social nature
An individual’s socialization helps him/her in achieving adjustment and advancement in other aspects of his growth and development.
2 External factors
a) The events in the womb of an expectant mother
b) The event available after birth
Conditions within the womb of the mother that major affect the child are
c) Maternal Emotional state e.g. worries, stress. Excessive stress in the 7th month of pregnancy may result to cleft palate (lip).
d) The age of the mothers under the age of 18 yrs and over 40 yrs tend to have high proportion of mentally retarded children.
e) Drugs taken by expectant mothers e.g. Antihuman drugs diabetic drugs and other drugs are likely to harm the fetus
Narcotics e.g. Heroine cocaine may lead to baby withdraw premature birth miscarriages
Excessive alcohol leads to fetal alcoholic syndrome that is x-terised by facial abnornomalities, limbs defects and affects mental development of a child
Thalidomide (treats morning sickness) in excess affects the limbs of the foetus.
f) Poor nutrition especially for the mother leads to still birth and low birth weight.
g) Cases of maternal diseases
German measles can cause mental, visual and heart abnormalities
Maternal syphilis and gonorrhea affects nervous system causing genital weakness still birth blindness.
h) Exposure to radiation e.g. x-rays damages the genes in the cell of the fetus hence leading to mental retardation, heart diseases, leukemia, malformation of eyes and abortion.
i) Incompatible Rhesus factor between the father and mother’s blood may cause a second or child born baby to Jaundice (blue babies) e.g. when a rhesus negative woman marries rhesus positive man the baby is likely to be rhesus positive hence his blood and that of the mother is likely to be in compatible
The mother’s leading blood produces antibodies that fight the baby’s white cells leading to premature birth or still birth
In situations where first born are not affected then serum called Rhogen can be induced in the other
marto answered the question on April 23, 2019 at 08:12