Eric Wieschaus studied how genes cause fruit fly larvae to develop in the US and Europe during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, Wieschaus and colleague Christiane Nusslein-Volhard described genes and gene products that help form the fruit fly body plan and establish the larval segments during embryogenesis. This work earned Wieschaus and Nüsslein-Volhard the 1995 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Into the early decades of the twenty-first century, Wieschaus continued his thirty year tenure as a professor at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.

Jérôme Lejeune was a French physician and researcher who studied genetics and developmental disorders. According to the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, in 1958, Lejeune discovered that the existence of an extra twenty-first chromosome, a condition called Trisomy 21, causes Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome is a condition present in an individual since birth and is characterized by physical and developmental anomalies such as small ears, a short neck, heart defects, and short height as children and adults. Throughout his career, Lejeune also discovered that other developmental disorders, such as cri du chat (cry of the cat) syndrome, were caused by chromosomal abnormalities. Lejeune also used his influence in the scientific community to promote pro-life beliefs, and often met with Pope John Paul II to discuss ethical dilemmas such as abortion of fetuses after detection of chromosomal abnormalities. Lejeune was one of the first researchers to link chromosomal abnormalities to developmental disorders with his discovery of Trisomy 21, leading future researchers to identify more links between the two.

In 2014, Big Belli, a media and social networking brand, released a documentary called 40 Weeks online. The documentary, directed by Christopher Henze, followed multiple women during their pregnancies. The film predominantly features three women, though it includes the stories of many. Throughout the film, women detail their accounts of the physical and emotional changes that occur during pregnancy. 40 Weeks provides viewers with information about different aspects of pregnancy including the importance of nutrition and hydration, knowledge about safe medications, and the possible complications that can affect a pregnant woman and her fetus.