Biology

Pregnancy and Childbirth

964 Questions

This hub covers essential biology questions on pregnancy, fetal development, and childbirth. Topics include the placenta, maternal physiology, and the stages of labor. These concepts are frequently tested in general science sections of various competitive examinations.

Placenta and fetal nutritionStages of laborMaternal immune systemPregnancy complications

Pregnancy and Childbirth Questions

Multiple choice

The eyes begin to develop at the end of ______.

  1. 4th week of pregnancy

  2. 8th week of pregnancy

  3. 12th week of pregnancy

  4. 24th week of pregnancy

  5. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The eye begins to develop as a pair of optic vesicles on each side of the forebrain at the end of the 4th week of pregnancy.

Multiple choice

Which of the following factors is/are responsible for increase in the likelihood of dizygotic twin pregnancies in woman? (i) She is of West African descent (especially Yoruba). (ii) She is between the age of 30 and 40 years. (iii) She is greater than average height and weight. (iv) She has had several previous pregnancies.

  1. She is of West African descent

  2. She is between the age of 30 and 40 years

  3. She is greater than average height and weight

  4. She has had several previous pregnancies.

  5. All of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Yes, it is correct.

Multiple choice

Mental retardation caused by birth injuries or fetal damage is called __________ retardation.

  1. organic

  2. familial

  3. incidental

  4. medical
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Organic mental retardation results from physical brain damage or disruption, whether from birth injuries, fetal damage, infections, or other biological causes. This distinguishes it from familial retardation, which has genetic or environmental causes without specific physical damage to brain tissue.

Multiple choice

A chorion is

  1. a bag like structure within a pregnant woman's uterus containing the amniotic fluid that surrounds a fetus

  2. a membrane that originates around an embryo and contributes to the formation of the placenta

  3. a bag like structure in the uterus that is connected to a fetus by the umbilical cord

  4. another term used for umblical cord
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The chorion develops around the embryo early in a pregnancy. Later, as a fetus develops from the embryo, the chorion fuses with the amnion.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is correct about a test tube baby?

  1. Fertilisation inside the female genital tract and growth in a test tube

  2. Rearing the prematurely born baby in an incubator

  3. Fertilisation outside and gestation inside the womb of a mother

  4. Both fertilisation and development affected outside the female genital tract
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

A test tube baby is fertilised outside the body, but grows in a mother's womb.

Multiple choice

In which of the following can erythroblastosis foetalis occur?

  1. Man Rh+ and Woman Rh+

  2. Man Rh- and Woman Rh-

  3. Man Rh+ and Woman Rh-

  4. Man Rh- and Woman Rh+
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Erythroblastosis foetalis are the conditions where newborn infants suffer from anaemia, jaundice, enlarged spleen or liver and in severe cases, stillbirth or death soon after birth.

Multiple choice

Which of the following diseases in the newborn is not a indication of maternal IgG antibody, crossing the placenta?

  1. Myaesthenia gravis

  2. Malar rash

  3. HIV infection

  4. Thyrotoxicosis

  5. Haemolytic disease of the newborn (rhesus)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

HIV infection is due to transmission of the HIV virus, not the antibody. However, the presence of maternal anti-HIV IgG can lead to diagnostic difficulty. It is therefore, necessary to confirm HIV infection in the newborn by the presence of viral DNA or RNA, using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

Multiple choice

During pregnancy which among the following changes happens in a female?

  1. Plasma hCG level is at the height between weeks 10 and 14 of gestation.

  2. The secretion of placental progesterone is maximum in the first 8 weeks of gestation.

  3. Blood flow in kidneys remain unchanged.

  4. Maternal respiratory rate gets increased.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Respiratory rate is normally unchanged during gestation.

Multiple choice

Pick out the correct statement regarding the fetal circulation in human.

  1. The fetal heart rate is about double that of a healthy adult.

  2. All the blood circulating in the umbilical vein enters the right atrium.

  3. The three embryo shunts normally close immediately after birth.

  4. Fetal blood pressure is similar to that of an adult.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

It is true that the fetal heart rate is about double that of a healthy adult. By the starting of the 9th week of pregnancy, the normal embryo heart rate is an average of 175 BPM. At this point it begins a rapid decline to the normal embryo heart rate for the middle of the pregnancy of about 120-180 BPM.

Multiple choice

Select the true statement regarding the functions of the placenta.

  1. It nourishes the developing embryo by establishing a dialysis pattern for exchange between the maternal and fetal circulations.

  2. The placental wall is highly lean, thin & is freely permeable to glucose and amino acids.

  3. The PO2 of the blood of the umbilical vein is similar as that in the maternal arterial blood.

  4. The estrogens released by the placenta tend to inhibit uterine excitability during pregnancy.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The conduction of the intervillous spaces of the placenta with maternal blood allows the conduction of nutrients and oxygen from the mother to the fetus. Nutrient transfer to the developing embryo takes place through both active and passive transport.

Multiple choice

Pick out the true statement regarding the respiration in the fetus and a newborn.

  1. The peripheral chemoreceptors are active in the developing embryo.

  2. Oxygenated blood is delivered to the fetus through the placenta.

  3. Lack of surfactant in the neonate does not effect respiration.

  4. The first breath is achieved by large changes in the intrathoracic pressure.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

It is true that in a neonate, large intrathoracic pressures are generated during the first few breaths.