A 13-year-old mother delivers a low-birth-weight neonate, and the neonate is transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. The mother reports receiving occasional prenatal care and has a history of excessive alcohol consumption. The growth and development of this neonate has been influenced by which of the following?
Fetal development can be altered by prenatal factors such as maternal age (with risk greater in those younger than 15 years of age or older than 35 years of age), maternal substance abuse, inadequate prenatal care, and inadequate maternal nutrition.