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Teratogen exposure effect postnatal development
Teratogens And Their Effects
Teratogens and their effect on the developing brain and fetus
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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.
Teratogens are easily classified in three different groups, these being drugs, disease and environmental. These three classifications are very broad. To be slightly more specific some commonly heard of agents classified as teratogens are given as examples. Agents classified as drugs, include prescription, non-prescription and illegal. Some frequently heard of conditions requiring prescription drugs that are known teratogens are diabetes, hypertension, and Anxiety. Other commonly heard of non-prescription and illegal teratogens are cocaine, nicotine, caffeine, and marijuana. Environmental teratogens are agents that are man made or a product of industry. Some well-known teratogens are Lead, mercury, PCB’s, radiation and arsenic. Lastly, we have teratogens due to disease. Some diseases known to cause prenatal complications are HIV, herpes, Rubella, and Syphilis. This information is very common and is all provided within the college text book and from research found by the University Hospital School of Iowa.
The affects teratogens can have on the developing fetus can vary greatly. Research provided from the University of Iowa’s on teratogens explains some of the possible outcome to exposure to certain teratogens. Listed birth defects resulting from exposure to teratogens, range from prenatal death, to physical and mental abnormalities.
Exposure to medications or drugs during pregnancy can result in abnormalities such as withdrawal symptom, respiratory problems, growth retardation, developmental retardation, congenital heart defects, caudal deficiency and CNS defects. Known prenatal birth defects resulting from environmental toxins such as Lead, mercury or PCB’s are miscarriage, CNS damage, spasticity, mental retardation, skin discoloration and low birth weight.
There are many factors that are integrated into the successful development of a child from Prenatal growth into toddlerhood. Teratogens (outside factors) have a great impact on the babies’ inutero development. Some outside factors like second-hand smoke, smog, or fumes from cleaning chemicals can cause negative effects on the child inside the womb. A few major affects from teratogens could result in low birth weight, head circumference, slow physical growth as well as an effect on mental, behavioral and motor skills (Berk, 2003). The environment around the mother provides many of these outside factors affecting the baby’s growth. But the main link to teratogens during the gestation period is most likely the mother. Daniel S. Messinger and the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that 2.8% of pregnant women admitted to using illicit drugs during their pregnancy (1996). Through illicit drug use, tobacco use and alcohol use, the mother disrupts her baby’s growth with possibly permanent damage.
The effects on caffeine during pregnancy were explained and detailed. I explained the causes and effects on caffeine and the major dangers that affect the offspring. Caffeine is the most dangerous cause of danger in pregnancy and their offspring. It can infect the metabolism, the fetal, and can cause miscarriages. The blood flow can easily be decreased by having to much caffeine and can in danger the baby.
Environmental Hormone Mimics and Their Serious Health Threats Chemicals affecting human health have been a problem for the past years and have still been a growing problem for our society. Issue 10 is concerned about this problem. It is pointing out the major harms and the reasons for this problem. First, it is talking about the argument that is against these chemicals. After this, an argument that says these specific chemicals do not necessarily have an affect in human health is discussed.
The prenatal period is susceptible in terms of embryonic development, and some exposures to teratogens can have adverse and lifelong effects on a baby. Although physical outcomes resulting from teratogen exposure cannot be reversed, with hope, some of the behavioral effects of teratogens may have a decreased impact on the life of the child, though all mothers should pay special attention to the health of their child throughout their pregnancy.
Chemical pollution into the environment can cause both genotypic and phenotypic changes in many organisms, including humans. More specifically, environmental pollutants like BPA can act as xenoestrogens (estrogen imitators), ultimately affecting hormonal activity and production in an organism. This alteration in activity and production can be termed as endocrine disruption. The endocrine system regulates a variety of processes responsible for growth and development, including gonadal formation and function, digestion, metabolism, sex differentiation, and embryonic development (reviewed by Flint et al., 2012). Chemicals that interfere with the function or structure of the endocrine system can be defined as endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) (US Environmental Protection Agency, 2007).
It has provided us with many tools in order to help us live, but it has caused lots of health related incidents. People who have been exposed to lead products within their environment risk the chance of having developmental problems, along with causing organs within the body to become infected. Young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of lead because they absorb as much as 5 times more ingested lead than adults. They can suffer “profound and permanent adverse health effects” that can affect the development of their brains and nervous system.
Shniderman, Nancy, and Sue Hurwitz. Drugs and Birth Defects. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1993. Print.
Neurobehavioral and developmental deficits occur in newborns and through school-aged children who had in utero exposure to PCBs.
Dr. Mercola (2014) stated that in a survey of over 2,500 obstetricians 78 percent said they could reduce the risk of exposure to environmental toxins by consoling their patients. Dr. Mercola (2014) also noted that 50 percent of these doctors rarely take an environmental health history and less than 20 percent said they routinely ask about environmental exposures common to pregnant women. These numbers indicate to me that the doctors also have to take more of a responsivity of asking and preparing women for dealing with these toxins and risks it can have on the baby. We have to come together as citizens and doctors to do our best to limit birth defects especially birth defects by way of exposure to these toxins. This seems to be an issue a lot of doctors and patients don’t put a ton of spotlight on. Dr. Mercola (2014) also noted that the lead author of this research Naomi Stotland said “Providers were saying, if I bring this up with patients… it’s going to raise anxiety and questions that I don’t know how to deal with… There’s a sense that, yes, these things may be harmful, but I don’t how to tell her how to reduce the risk. “Reading this quote I was a bit in awe that for all the schooling that doctors go through they don’t how to deal with this important subject. More research needs to go into this so doctors can be more educated on how to deal with this so they
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.
Symptoms of lead poisoning include loss of appetite, weakness, anemia, vomiting, and convulsions, sometimes leading to permanent brain damage or death. Children who ingest chips of old, lead-containing paint or are exposed to dust from the deterioration of such paint may exhibit symptoms. Levels of environmental lead considered nontoxic may also be involved in increased hypertension in a significant number of persons, according to studies released in the mid-1980s. As a result, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control in recent years have been revising downward the levels of environmental lead that it would consider safe.
Jancárková, N., & Gregor, V. (2000). [Teratogens during pregnancy]. Ceska gynekologie/Ceska lekarska spolecnost J. Ev. Purkyne, 65(3), 188-194.
Contamination of Water and Air. Urbanization enhances the proliferation of industries, automobiles, and agricultural practices. Most toxic air contaminants are produced as we endeavor to fuel our homes, automobiles, factories, energy production facilities, and might also be discovered in indoor cleansing mixtures, and construction supplies. Furthermore, pollutants found in gasoline, dry cleaning services, and paint thinners and strippers; some concentrations are presumed to cause cancers, or elevate other serious health risks. As a consequence these noxious air contaminants can be deposited in soils and water sources allowing them to be taken in by plants or swallowed by animals....
In recent years it has become clear that some environmental chemicals can cause risks to the developing embryo and fetus. Evaluating the developmental toxicity of environmental chemicals is now a prominent public health concern. The suspected association between TCE and congenital cardiac malformations warrants special attention because TCE is a common drinking water contaminant that is detected in water supplies throughout the U.S. and the world. There is a lot of concern about the clean up of toxic pollutants from the environment.