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Fetal programming, also known as prenatal programming, is the theory that environmental cues experienced during fetal development play a seminal role in determining health trajectories across the lifespan. Three main forms of programming that occur due to changes in the maternal environment are:
The fetal adrenal cortex can be identified within four weeks of pregnancy. [2] The adrenal cortex originates from the thickening of the intermediate mesoderm . [ 3 ] At five to six weeks of gestation, the mesonephros differentiates into a tissue known as the gonadal ridge.
Even with adrenal suppression, many of these children will have already had central precocious puberty triggered by the prolonged exposure of the hypothalamus to the adrenal androgens and estrogens. If this has begun, it may be advantageous to suppress puberty with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist such as leuprolide to slow continuing ...
One theory is that high progesterone levels act as an antagonist to the cortisol. The adrenal gland also produces more aldosterone , leading to an eight-fold increase in aldosterone. [ 5 ] Women do not show signs of hyperaldosterone, such as hypokalemia, hypernatremia, or high blood pressure.
The thrifty phenotype hypothesis is the idea that if an organism suffers from inadequate nutrition in fetal development it will subsequently be predisposed to certain genetic outcomes as an adult. A study done examining glucose tolerance of individuals born during a famine in the Netherlands in 1944-1945 favors the “thrifty phenotype ...
Levels rise towards the end of pregnancy just before birth and current theory suggests three roles of CRH in parturition: [27] Increases levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) directly by action on the fetal adrenal gland, and indirectly via the mother's pituitary gland. DHEA has a role in preparing for and stimulating cervical contractions.
The fetal origins hypothesis (differentiated from the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis, which emphasizes environmental conditions both before and immediately after birth) proposes that the period of gestation has significant impacts on the developmental health and wellbeing outcomes for an individual ranging from infancy to adulthood.
The fetal adrenal cortex is different from its adult counterpart, as it is composed of two distinct zones: the inner "fetal" zone, which carries most of the hormone-producing activity, and the outer "definitive" zone, which is in a proliferative phase.