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.
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...
The disparities may be attributed to the amount of prenatal care that pregnant women of different ethnicities receive. In 1996, 81.8% of all women in the nation received prenatal care in the first trimester--the m...
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...
...hs in this article. Statistical findings are something that most people can easily read and understand. In addition another strength was in which the author went into such detail as to the methods, measures and clearly stated the variables within her study. On the other hand, a weakness of the article was the language used to explain the results could become confusing. Another weakness would have to be the over repetition of many of facts. As I read the article and summarized it I found many time the explanations of types of violence and commitments were re-addressed in depth over and over, which made for a longer reading and writing process.
The manner in which a teratogen impacts the developing human may vary, though nicotine, caffine and medication consumption are all directly related to physical development. These are examples of habitual teratogens, each contributing to low birth weight and behavioral problems in adolescents. The level of influence of any given teratogen depends on many factors; the first, called the “threshold effect,” occurs when a relatively harmless teratogen in small quantity becomes toxic at a spe...
Humans are among the many terrestrial mammals affected by the endocrine-disrupting capabilities of bisphenol A. The majority of human exposure comes from consumption of BPA from food products packaged in polycarbonate plastics (Crain et al., 2007). Laboratory studies done on mice indicate that exposure to high concentrations of BPA can cause pregnancy complications, reproductive organ defects, obesity, early puberty, and cancer (reviewed by Flint et al., 2012).
Sorensen, J., & Abbott, E. (2004). The Maternity and Infancy Revolution. Maternal & Child Health Jounal, 8(3), 107-110. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=14089739&site=ehost-live
Compared to women 20-21 children born to this age group live in environments that lack stimulation with minimal support; experience cognitive development delays and have trouble academically; are maltreated; live in poverty and receive welfare assistance; often become teen parents themselves; exhibit more behavioral problems and have higher rates of incarceration. Parenting teens, especially those 15-17 years of age, opposed to non-parenting teens typically drop out of high school and experience parental related stress that are common indicators of maternal depression (Huang, Costeines, Kaufman & Ayala, 2014). Teen birth rates are higher among Hispanic and non-Hispanic blacks, with 52 % of Hispanic teens...
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.
During recent years, numerous newspaper and magazine articles have suggested that humans may be at risk because small amounts of well known environmental contaminants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, can affect hormone levels. Hormones are produced by the endocrine system as regulators of biological function in target organs. Because hormones play a critical role in early development, toxicological effects on the endocrine system often have an impact on the reproductive system. The term endocrine disruptor is used to describe chemicals that can mimic hormones and may either enhance or counteract their effects. It has been suggested that these hormone changes can, in turn, lead to a variety of health problems including cancer, decreased fertility, and abnormalities in newborns.
With a wide variety of studies and research, it has been shown that socioeconomic status can affect a child’s health even before they are born. This theory comes from a study by Hackman, Farah and Meaney (2010) in which researchers identified three classes of mechanism that SES effects on cognitive development. The first class that they recognized is the prenatal influences. If a low- SES mother does...
Meadows, S. O. (2008). "Stability and Change in Family Structure and Maternal Health Trajectories.". American Sociological Review 73.2 , 314-34.
Most individuals are exposed through diet via BPA leaching from food containers, food packaging or plastic bottles, while there is still risk from air, dust, and water (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2013). There are many reason why there needs to be stricter guidance and regulations on the release of BPA in household items such as baby bottles, plastic food containers, and canned goods to name a few. Some reasons why these countries are banning BPA are due to its ill effect on people. BPA is considered to be an endocrine-disruptive chemical, which have been linked through laboratory testing to developmental issues, diabetes, cancer and other ailments (Bardelline, 2011). Canada, most of the European Union, China, South Africa and Malaysia have all collectively banned BPA usage in different forms.
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.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical compound used to create polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Polycarbonate plastics are found in a wide range of products, but food and drink containers are the most concerning. Most people fear that BPA will have negative effect...