3.14: Putting It Together- Prenatal Development
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As you can see, what may seem like a simple process is in fact a beautiful and delicate journey. Each pregnancy and birth story is unique and comes with surprises and sometimes challenges. As medical technology has rapidly improved, women are empowered with more information and more choices when it comes to their pregnancy and birth. However, just because interventions are available does not mean that this is the path for all mothers. As we learned in the case with Serena Williams, even in the U.S. sometimes medical care can go awry. Each mother needs to be an active advocate for herself and her baby during her pregnancy and delivery.
Where do you think we are headed with how medical advances are used in pregnancy and delivery? More women are able to get pregnant with reproductive assistance, oftentimes past the age that they would naturally conceive. At the beginning of the module, the topic of “designer babies” was introduced. After completing this module, do you think that we are headed towards this in the near future? What are the ethical ramifications?
Read this Scientific American article, “The Need to Regulate Designer Babies” and consider your own thoughts and feelings about the future of reproductive technologies.