The Article describes how endocrine disruptors can produce childhood social impairment and more specifically the effects of bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates exposure during pregnancy produces autistic-like social behaviors in children. The specific social behaviors that occur from phthalates and BPA exposure are difficult interpersonal and social awareness skills. Phthalates and BPA, the independent variable, are endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). The EDCs interfere with the body’s hormones which are critical to brain development (Braun, 2011). Changes to hormone levels during pregnancy can lead to brain change that can alter childhood behavior. BPA and phthalates are consumer products used in plastics, food can linings, food packaging, cosmetics, personal care products and vinyl plastics. Other studies have found that animals exposed to BPA and phthalates before birth have altered behavior; also, collaborating research shows that same effect in humans (Miodovnik, 2011). Additional studies also show a connection between these chemicals and hormonal signaling. According to this article 137 mothers and their children were observed over a span of nine years by Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City (Braun, 2011). These mothers came from varying ethnic backgrounds and came from a lower income area of New York City. These women also were of lower education although a majority of them increased their education levels by the end of this study. The ages of the women were fairly evenly distributed from 20- 30 years of age for the majority of the participants (Miodovnik, 2011). This sampling of woman is representative of their target population because of the varying ages and ethnicities that were used and also those ... ... middle of paper ... ...per it would have given more credence to the research without adding any length to the article. If I had to add anything else to this article I would have liked to have seen some of the supporting research added to the content of the article; because, whenever you support your writing with other people’s work it always adds credence to what you are stating, it is the staple of peer review. Also this media article did not include any type of graphics and it would have been nice to see the scatter point graph included in this article as it does a good job of showing the natural increase in atypical behaviors as the levels of EDC’s increased. Works Cited Braun. (2011, april 06). Enviromental Health News. Retrieved from www.enviromentalhealthnews.org. Miodovnik, A. E. (2011). Endocrine disruptors and childhood social impairment. NueroToxicology, 261-267.
Cook, Selig, Wedge, and Gohn-Baube (1999) stated that an essential part of the country’s public health agenda is to improve access to prenatal care, particularly for economically disadvantaged women. I agree with this statement because access to care is very important for the outcome of a healthy mother and child. Improving access to prenatal care for disadvantaged women will not only save lives but also lighten the high financial, social, and emotional costs of caring for low weight babies. Some of the barriers that these women face are mainly structural where the availability of care is limited; the cost of care is a financial burden; and the time to seek care is problematic due to being single mothers working more than one job (Lia-Hoagberb, 1990). Additionally, there is the issue of prenatal care being delivered differently depending on one’s race. A study found that White mothers delivering ve...
Neurobehavioral and developmental deficits occur in newborns and through school-aged children who had in utero exposure to PCBs.
To put a definition plainly, teratogens are agents responsible for countless birth defects. Research found suggests over eight hundred known teratogens. In this paper, you will find interesting facts based on research, the relationship between teratogens and developmental psychology and some personal views based on the information and research found for this piece.
There are many factors that affect development. Some of those are factor, which have a direct bearing on prenatal life, later on manifest postnatal. The human body is a highly organized system with trillion of cells communicating with each other to ensure proper functioning. However those functions, can be enhance or impaired by endogenous or exogenous agent, which act in concert to produce effects during prenatal life. These effects might have consequences on emotional and cognitive development of a child postnatal. Deena Palenchar (2005) stated that there are environmental agents, which can adversely affect the prenatal development. These agents are known as teratogen. When exposed to these environmental agents, genetic materials interact with them producing effects that can have direct bearing o the rearing of the child. On the other hand, there is stress. Stress is a normal occurrence in everyone’s life, and it management depends on each individual (Sleigh, 2005). Just like teratogen, stress can affect the fetus development with mild or serious consequences during childhood and adulthood. Both teratogen in this case smoking and stress can adversely affect the fetus by producing Nicotinic Acetylcholine receptors and cortisol respectively, which have a great impact on the prenatal and postnatal development.
3. Chandra A; Martinez GM, Mosher WD, Abma JC, Jones J (November 2005). Fertility, Family Planning, and Reproductive Health of U.S.Women: Data From the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth. Hyattsville, Maryland: US Department of Health and Human Services. pp. 17, 90. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
Infant mortality is considered a worldwide indicator of a nation’s health status. The United States still ranks 24th in infant mortality compared with other industrialized nations, even though infant mortality has declined steadily over the past several decades. Compared with the national average in 1996 of 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births, the largest disparity is among blacks with a death rate of 14.2 per 1,000 in 1996 which is almost 2½ times that of white infants (6 deaths per 1,000 in 1996). American Indians as a whole have an infant death rate of 9 deaths per 1,000 in 1995, but some Indian communities have an infant mortality rate almost twice that of the national rate. The same applies to the Hispanic community, whose rate of 7.6 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995 doesn’t reflect the Puerto Rican community, whose rate was 8.9 deaths per 1,000 births in 1995.
The amount of babies born from unplanned teenage pregnancies or out of wedlock is astounding. “If you are a boy,” you are “twice as likely to end up in prison as the sons of mothers aged 20 and 21. If you are a girl, you are three times as likely to become a teen mother yourself compared to mothers who had a child at age 20 or 21.” (Marcus, Ruth). “Statistics for teenage mothers themselves are similarly daunting. Only half obtain a high school diploma by age 22 compared to 89 percent of women who did not give birth as teenagers. Less than 2 percent of mothers who give birth before age 18 obtain college degrees by age 30. Half live below the poverty line -- and as their children grow older, the family 's chances of living in poverty increase” (Marcus,
Meadows, S. O. (2008). "Stability and Change in Family Structure and Maternal Health Trajectories.". American Sociological Review 73.2 , 314-34.
“Ninety percent of single-parent families are headed by females. Not surprisingly, single mothers with dependent children have the highest rate of poverty across all demographic groups” (Olson & Banyard, 1993, p. 50-56). “Approximately 60 percent of U.S. children living in mother-only families are impoverished, compared with only 11 percent of two-parent families. The rate of poverty is even higher in African-American single-parent families, in which two out of every three children are poor” (Kirby, n.d., Single-parent Families in Poverty section, para.2).
Many studies have shown that teenage mothers and their child have a high risk of living in poverty, due to not completing high school, being a single parent and their lack of knowledge and readiness to raise a child because of unplanned pregnancies. Children born of teenage mothers are at a higher risk maltreatment and poor performance in school. In addition, many studies have also shown that teenage pregnancies and poverty have an effect on their child’s development.
Their ethnographic study included about 162 women. The sample was limited to mothers making less than $16,000 per year, placing them under the federal poverty line. All the women lived in neighborhoods where at least twenty percent were poor. Each had at least one child under eighteen living at home. They also were classified single mothers, though few actually maintained their own household. They ranged in age from fifteen to fifty-six, with an average of twenty five years of age. Forty-five percent had no high school diploma, but fifteen percent had a GED. Of these women, forty percent worked low income service jobs. The authors had informal interactions with the wome...
Worobey, A. R. and J.L. (1988) Single Motherhood and Children’s Health, Journal of Health and Social Behavior
Mental illness has been a reality not only for Yates but for millions of women throughout the country. Depression tends to be one of the most prevalent consequences of childbearing as 50% of new mothers report slight bouts of depression, 10% have manic depression and .2% suffer from psychosis(2). Yonkers et. al, further investigated postpartum depression rates for minority women in comparison to their Caucasian counterparts. After conducting a postpartum three trial screening which included the Structured Clinical Interview, it was found that depression rates for Latino, Blacks and White racial groups was between 6.5% to 8.5% (3). Regardless of race, all groups of women were susceptible to similar rates of PPD at 3-5 weeks postpartum. Other studies have found that depressive disorders begin even before giving birth...
One of the most common arguments is that aged parents are more likely to have a stable living and financial situation. The main reason is they want to educate their children with high class education. When parents are working in a well-established career, they can concentrate more on their children. In many cases, they have already committed to each other, and they could be cooperating to give proper guidance to their children. However, studies have shown that there are greater risks of health complications on mothers who wait longer to have children; it is possible to increase the chance of a delivering preterm or a low birth weight babies. For instance, after age 40, the rate of the physical complications is higher to carry an unborn baby, including diabetes and high blood pressure. Moreover, psychologists are worried about the possibility of another factor that could be ignored; the characteristic making bette...
This journal was useful for me because it gave me the background details on why women are opting for delayed motherhood by the age of 30 or 40. Accordingly, I was able to build up my points on how it will affect the health conditions of both baby and mother and also the risk of taking that challenge.