Discuss the critical thinking exercises. Exercise 1 continues the theme of applying the issues from "The Nature of Development'' in chapter 1. Review these as necessary; again, you may want to work with a few examples from topics in chapter 4.

Exercise 2 provides a review of previously learned material. Students do not usually have to remember the major research methods and time sampling techniques of developmental psychology; our experience is that they do not remember them long after the first unit. When possible, then, it is a good idea to apply that information to material that they are studying. You may find that they want to review the definitions of correlational and experimental strategies, and of cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. Note also the study by Field and others will give them trouble because it is not really a longitudinal study. The problem that will stump students is the time frame, not the formal definition of the technique. This is a good opportunity to talk about appropriate time frames for different studies that use the longitudinal strategy.

Exercise 3 continues to provide practice in identifying inferences, assumptions, and observations. A good discussion prior to this exercise would involve asking students whether they are beginning to develop their own criteria or procedures for discriminating these different sorts of propositions. They may find the material for this exercise difficult because it is largely descriptive; have people be on the lookout for the sorts of conditional statements and qualifications that mark inferences. A key to identifying the assumption in this passage is that it is the belief that seems to underlie most prepared or natural childbirth techniques.

Discuss the students' research projects as suggested below.

Hand out copies of the following questions about fetal alcohol syndrome and have your class answer them. After providing them with the correct answers, discuss (a) whether students under- or overestimated FAS; (b) their misconceptions about the risks of FAS; and (c) strategies for reducing the number of babies affected by FAS.

1. About ____________ American babies are born each year with alcohol-related defects.

2. Of babies affected by alcohol, ____________ are severely enough affected to be called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) babies.

3. FAS is responsible for ____________ percent of all cases of mental retardation in this country.

4. Which group has the biggest risk for having a child with FAS?

5. Drinking during the first trimester does not lead to FAS.

6. Motor development can be impaired for breast-feeding babies whose mothers drink alcohol.

7. Some studies suggest that some injuries to the fetus from alcohol may be corrected in the womb if a mother gives up alcohol before her third trimester.

8. Barbiturates, opiates, and alcohol have similar effects on developing fetuses.

Answers:

1. E. Actually, this is a conservative number.

2. C. Damage includes facial deformities, mental retardation, and heart abnormalities.

3. D. FAS is the primary threat to children's mental health, much greater than either Down syndrome or spina bifida.

4. C. The risk for Blacks is 6.7 times that of whites; for Native Americans it is 33 times more likely than the Caucasians.

5. B. Although risk may be minimal during the first two weeks, during the rest of the first trimester the organs are developing and much damage can be caused

6. A. Alcohol can be ingested in the breast milk.

7. A. Scandinavian, Boston, and Atlanta studies all indicate that some correction may occur. At least size and healthiness improves, but there is no evidence that intelligence is repaired.

8. B. Barbiturates and opiates affect the nervous system; alcohol can affect any cell.

Source: Simons, J. A. 1989. Quiz on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: A Classroom Quiz. West Des Moines, IA: Central Iowa Psychological Services; Dorfman, A. 1989 (August 28). Alcohol's youngest victims. Time, 60.

Just asking the question "When does life begin?'' can generate lots of emotional responses from the class. We suggest you read the article, and ideally the book, listed below before generating this discussion, because Clifford Grobstein presents a well-balanced and scientifically based presentation on the issue. His idea that there are six individualities (genetic, developmental, functional, behavioral, psychic, and social) that develop at different rates is one that deserves mention in a discussion or as a lecture topic. Presented here are a few of Grobstein's ideas taken from the Psychology Today article:

Genetic individuality begins at conception, but developmental individuality does not begin until implantation two weeks after conception. Until this time, Grobstein uses pre-embryo. Pregnancy does not begin until implantation occurs. (Note: Under this idea, IUDs and "morning-after'' pills like RU 486 do not cause an abortion but prevent a pregnancy.)

At least two-thirds of all fertilized eggs do not go through full pregnancy. Behavioral individuality begins when movement occurs, six weeks or later. This early movement is reflexive only because the rudimentary brain does not yet have neurons.

From 8 to 20 weeks the central nervous system is extremely immature and probably indicates that there is no awareness, a criterion for psychic individuality. Until about 30 weeks after conception you don't see brain wave patterns that are characteristic of EEGs in persons. Between 20 and 30 weeks is the "iffy'' time period for when awareness begins. Social individuality begins after birth.

Source: Hall, E. 1989 (September). When does life begin? Psychology Today, 42-46; Grobstein, C. 1988. Science and the unborn, New York: Basic Books.

In August 1989, 23-year-old Jennifer Johnson was found guilty of delivering a controlled substance to a minor; the minor was her baby who was born a cocaine addict. She could have received a 30-year sentence, but she was sentenced to a year of house arrest in a drug rehabilitation center and 14 years of probation.

Do you think that mothers who use drugs during pregnancy should face criminal prosecution? Might this policy keep some pregnant women from getting good prenatal care and delivering the baby in a hospital setting? Is fetal abuse the equivalent of child abuse? What alternative solutions can you suggest?

How far should the prosecution go? Research, for example, suggests that mothers who smoke tobacco during pregnancy and up to the time their children are 5 years old increase the risk of their offspring getting asthma. Should smoking mothers also be prosecuted?

How responsible is a drug-using male in infertility and newborn health problem situations? Cocaine usage also lowers sperm count, increases abnormally shaped sperm, and decreases sperm mobility. Infertility problems may last more than 2 years after a man quits using cocaine. Do you think a wife should be able to sue her husband for infertility problems caused by use of cocaine?

In your discussion, inform students of typical effects of cocaine in personality and physical aspects of offspring. For example, babies whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy had significantly lower cardiac output, lower stroke volume, and higher mean arterial blood pressure with a higher heart rate Van de Bor et al., 1990).

Sources: Cocaine babies: The littlest victims. 1989 (October 2). Newsweek, 55. Van Pelt, D. 1990 (April 30). Smokers' offspring more prone to asthma. Insight, 47; Van Pelt, D. 1990 (May 7). Sperm abnormalities among cocaine users. Insight, 50; Van de Bor, M. et al. 1990 (Jan). Decreased cardiac output in infants of mothers who abused cocaine. Pediatrics, 85. 30-32.

Pro-choice legislator in West Virginia Charlotte Pruitt introduced some bills restricting male reproductive rights to illustrate how abortion restrictions amount to unequal treatment of women and men in reproductive matters. She said, "If women's rights and bodies are going to be violated, then men's should be too.''

Her proposed bills would require that:

(1) Men who failed to keep up with child support payments be sterilized;

(2) A husband must get his wife's permission before undergoing a vasectomy;

(3) Husbands must be counseled about vasectomy as an alternative if their wives are considering tubal ligation.

Do you think Pruitt has made her point? Why or why not? Do you approve of any of her proposals that she herself labels "absolutely outrageous''? Source: Powell, M. 1990 (March 5). Bills take aim at double standard. Insight, 49.

Have students role-play presenting information to a hospital board advocating changes in hospital policy to facilitate bonding between mother and infant and father and infant. First, ask all students to present changes (as well as continued practices) in hospital operations that would serve to promote bonding. Then have a group of students present evidence to support bonding practices and have a second group of students present evidence to support parent-infant separation (or against making any changes to increase bonding opportunities).

A short example of positions:

Pro-bonding: Bonding is important. Both the infant and the mother need the close contact. For the infant, it facilitates attachment. For the mother, it increases involvement, reduces the artificiality of the hospital setting, and reduces the chance of postpartum blues. For the father, it makes him part of the infant's life from the first moments and increases his sense of involvement. It is good for the family.

Anti-bonding: There is no evidence for the importance of bonding. It is more important to clean up and test the neonate to assure its physical health. Attachment can certainly wait a few hours. Besides, the mother will probably drop off to sleep immediately. The inclusion of fathers increases the risk of infection. Fathers have no real biological role to play. Everyone knows they are less important to the infant than the mother.

Source: Adapted from King, M. B. & Clark, D. E. (1989). Instructor's Manual to Santrock and Yussen's Child Development: An Introduction, 4th ed. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown Publishers.

Ask class members to list reasons why couples have children (i.e., What value do children serve?). Compare their suggestions to those offered by Hoffman and Hoffman:

1. adult social status and identity

2. expansion of the self, tie to a larger entity, sense of immortality

3. morality, religion, good of the group, altruism, normality

4. primary group ties, affiliation

5. stimulation, novelty, fun

6. creativity, accomplishment, competence

7. power, effectiveness, influence

8. social comparison, competition

9. economic utility

Source: Hoffman, L. W. & Hoffman, M. L. (1973). The value of children to parents. In J. T. Fawcett (Ed.) Psychological perspectives on population (pp. 19-76), New York: Basic Books.

From the book material or from their personal experiences, have students list and describe medical technology that is part of modern childbirthing. Have them discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this medical technology. Share the results of the following study:

Semmelweis Clinic in Vienna has emphasized nonintervention or "low-tech'' childbirthing (e.g., little fetal monitoring and cesarean section). Other maternity clinics in Vienna are interventionist, "high-tech'' birth centers. In the 1970s and 1980s, Semmelweis has had a cesarean-section rate of only 1.3 percent and a forceps rate of 3.1 percent. Semmelweis's maternal death rate is 0.5 per 10,000 births; in the other Vienna clinics the rate is 1.1 per 10,000 births. In the 1980s, Semmelweis had a significantly lower postneonatal mortality rate compared to the other clinics. Source: Rockenschaub, A. (1990, April). Technology-free obstetrics at the Semmelweis Clinic. Lancet, 335, 977-978.

Ask students about their preferences for daughters or sons, and the reasons for their preferences. Are there differences in preferences between (a) parents and non-parents; (b) young, middle, or older adults; (c) females and males; (d) different ethnic or racial groups? If differences do exist, how might they be explained?

Enhance the discussion with examples of gender preferences in other cultures. For example, Bumiller (1990) writes about the Indian blessing "May you be the mother of a hundred sons.'' India is a culture that puts much pressure on women to produce sons instead of daughters. Daughters represent huge financial problems for families, as there will be a need to go into debt for a dowry. Girls receive less education, less medical care, and less food than do boys. Women's work includes fieldwork, housework, cooking, tending cows, making cow-dung cakes for fuel, and hauling water. Girls are often married before their adolescence, and beatings are a fairly routine aspect of marriage.

Source: Bumiller, E. 1990. May you be the mother of a hundred sons. New York: Random House; Shapiro, L. 1990 (June 25). Millions of daughters. Newsweek, 57.

Americans love their VCRs and some like to record every important event in their lives. What is your opinion about an imminent father taping the birth of his child? How about taping a wedding (or, in some cases, after the real wedding shooting a camera-version of the wedding)? Is it appropriate to tape Granny's funeral?

Use the humor-based source below as part of your discussion. Source: Slattery, D. P. 1989 (November 13). An Orwellian Wedding. Newsweek, 10.

The text presents a great deal of information on the effects of potential teratogens on prenatal development. Divide the class into small groups and have them compose a letter to a pregnant friend advising her on what she should do (or not do) during her pregnancy. The students should provide evidence to justify their advice. (To shorten this project, assign one type of teratogens per group, for example, medicines, illegal drugs, diseases, environmental hazards.) Tell her how risks vary from early through late pregnancy.

Based on the information provided in the text, the advice to the pregnant friend would include: no alcohol (fetal alcohol syndrome); no illegal drugs (cocaine babies, addictions); no unnecessary medicines (thalidomide-type risks); no cigarettes (lower birth weight, higher risk of death); avoid diseases such as rubella and sexually transmitted diseases; avoid radiation including X-rays; eat a balanced diet.

During the embryonic period when organogenesis is in progress, teratogens are the most likely cause of anatomical defects. During the fetal period, teratogens are more likely to affect organ functioning or stunt growth than they are to cause anatomical defects.

Source: Adapted from King, M. B. & Clark, D. E. 1989. Instructor's Manual to Santrock and Yussen's Child Development: An Introduction, 4th ed. Dubuque, IA: Wm. C. Brown.

Have the class discuss the future prospects of doing surgery for birth defects on the fetus. Should fetal surgery be done only in cases in which otherwise the fetus would die, or should it be an option to help minimize severe disabilities?

For example, animal research is being done to learn how to successfully cover exposed spinal cord with a skinlike material. In the future, spina bifida may use a similar fetal surgery technique to minimize damage.

Actual successful surgery on 24-week-old fetuses has been performed since 1990 on fetuses who have an opening in the diaphragm, which separates the abdomen and chest. This condition, which affects 1 in 2,500 fetuses, is fatal 75 percent of the time, because the opening allows the stomach, intestines, and so on to move into the chest and keep the lungs from growing properly. In the fetal surgery, surgeons open up the uterus, remove the amniotic fluid, cut into the fetus, and move the abdominal organs into their proper place. Then, they close the chest with a Gore-Tex patch, enlarge the fetus's abdomen with more Gore-Tex, and finally return the amniotic fluid.

Sources: Van Pelt, D. 1990 (June 25). Fetal surgery tested for spina bifida. Insight, 51; Begley, S. 1990 (June 11). The tiniest patients. Newsweek, 56-57.