The use of medication by pregnant women has increased over the past thirty years. This is a surprising statistic given the fact that medication is known to cause birth defects. Researchers have recently published a study describing medication use during pregnancy in the United States from 1976-2008. Data from their study revealed that the majority of pregnant women took at least one prescription drug during pregnancy. 50% of women in the study reported taking at least one prescription medication while 70-80% reported taking at least one over the counter medication. Also, during the first trimester of pregnancy the use of prescription medications have increased by more than 60% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). This study emphasizes the need for further education and research on the safety of medication used during pregnancy. According to the Center for Disease Control, “taking certain medications during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Consumption of medications, such as Thalidomide, during pregnancy may result in negative effects to the unborn child.
Taken during pregnancy, thalidomide was said to ease morning sickness. Manufactured by Chemie Grunenthal of Germany in 1957, thalidomide was sold over the counter by prescription (Burkholz). According to James Jones of the Health WorldNet, “Thalidomide was used in over fifty countries and was the cause of uncountable miscarriages, still births, and over twelve thousand ‘flipper babies’ “ (James Linder Jones). According to Frederick Dove of BBC News, many women took thalidomide and were “utterly unaware its effects on the unborn child” (Dove). In 1961 a connection between the use of thalidomide and an increase of se...
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...that relax the uterus and stop contractions. These “tocolytic” medications allow the baby to remain inside the uterus and mature which reduce the risk of long-term mental and physical disabilities (Mayo Clinic) (Edmund F. Funai).
A pregnant woman needs to be careful taking medicine, especially known tocolytics such as thalidomide, because they may result in negative effects to the unborn child. Category X, D, and C drugs pose a substantial risk to an unborn child and should not be used during pregnancy. Category B and A drugs can be used relatively safely under the direction of a physician. There are even a few situations where medications may actually help an unborn child. The question of taking medications during pregnancy is something important to discuss with a doctor. Taking medications during pregnancy is a controversial topic and further research is needed.
Mary Zimmerman framed that women have not had ultimate control over their own bodies and health as a fundamental assumption underlying women’s health movement. Men control and dominate a huge portion of the of decision making roles in the healthcare field, such as health related research, health policy etc. Whereas women are more seen in social positions. According to the article “The Women’s Health Movement” by Mary K. Zimmerman, the concept of medicalization is the “increasing tendency to apply medical definitions and control to phenomena not previously thought of as medical problems (Zola, 1972; Conrad and Schneider, 1980). In the 1950’s a drug called Thalidomide was created by a German company, claiming that it was safe for pregnant women. Although many women were still using this drug during this time, in 1961, reports began to surface that this drug was causing several birth defects and other health problems. The author presented the Thalidomide case as an example of medicalization by showing us the potential consequences of a style medical
Drug and alcohol use in pregnancy poses a threat to the neonate’s development and the obstetric provider has an obligation to screen for substance use. Substance use in pregnancy can place the developing fetus at risk for in-utero opioid dependence, fetal-alcohol syndrome, preterm labor, and other consequences of maternal alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use.(6) Within the past three years La Crosse County has seen a marked increase in the amount of heroin use.(7)
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.
Jacobson, S.J., Jones, K., Ceolin, L., Kaur, P., Sahn, D., Donnerfeld, A.E., Rieder, M., Santelli, R., Smythe, J., Patuszuk, A., Einarson, T., and Koren, G., (1992). Prospective multicenter study of pregnancy outcome after lithium exposure during the first trimester. Laricet. 339: 530-533.
Watkins, E. (2012). How the pill became a lifestyle drug: the pharmaceutical industry and birth
That’s not the only rebuttal to that argument. A journal says “while children exposed to immunosuppressive drugs during pregnancy are more likely to have premature birth and low birth weight, they do not appear to be elevated risk for physical malformation or the serious side effects” (Orentlicher). Cleary, there has been research done on the risks not only these drugs can have, but other possible risks related to uterus
The ways in which a woman could have an abortion were high in numbers. According to Knight (1977), woman could purchase medicines and drugs at a chemist to acquire an abortion, drugs such as quinine. There was also a number of cases of lead poisoning, as a doctor had seen 100 cases of it from 18...
Most women are unaware of the risks associated with taking prescription medications while pregnant. Usually the fear is that of alcohol or drug use, but there is rarely any mention of prescription medications. Prescription medicine can actually be quite harmful to a fetus during pregnancy. Over the counter and pharmacy products, as well as medications prescribed by a physician previous to the pregnancy, may not always indicate potential hazards. It is important to check with a physician whether the products are safe for the baby, as well as the mother. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rates both over-the-counter drugs as well as medications your health care provider may prescribe. The FDA system ranks drugs as follows: Categories A through D give specific instructions on whether a specific medication is safe during pregnancy or not. The medications are distinguished by whether the benefits outweigh the risks. Category X is drugs researched and proven to cause birth defects and should never be taken during pregnancy.” (Berger, n.d.). Taking vitamins, drinking caffeine and taking other herbal supplements may...
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.
Just as drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, and crystal meth affect the mother, it also affects the child. Babies that are born to drug using mothers are called “drug babies” and just like their mother they become addicted to the drugs causing behavior problems during their childhood. They can also have birth defects, premature birth, and are usually underweight. Babies that are born to cocaine using mothers are called “crack babies” and they face the risk of a stroke leading to brain damage. Teratogenic medications such as some antibiotics, cancer fighting medicines, blood thinners, and acne fighting medicines such as Accutane can all cause birth
We are exposed to many harmful substances in our daily lives. Some of these substances are especially harmful for a developing zygote, embryo, or fetus. When a woman makes the decision to become pregnant, or if she finds herself pregnant, she can also make some decisions of what kind of precautions she will make during her pregnancy. While some substances such as pollution are mostly unavoidable for pregnant women in today’s society, other harmful substances can be easily avoided to ensure the proper healthy development of her unborn child.
The unborn child must be protected from and must endure certain teratogens, depending on the lifestyle of the mother, to be successfully born as a healthy baby.
Development is a never ending cycle in life. Each person begins to develop from conception until passing away. Now, while most people think that development starts after birth that is incorrect. Development starts as soon as the baby is conceived. Everything that a woman carrying a baby does or takes place in will translate into the baby. The baby shares a blood flow with the mother. Drugs, even legal drugs, will go into the mother’s blood stream which will then go into the baby’s blood stream. The “maternal blood flows through the uterine arteries to the spaces housing the placenta, and it returns through the uterine vein to the maternal circulation” (Santrock, 2012, p. 80). This means that anything that enters into the blood stream will also affect the baby. Each type of drug is under a certain category. Psychoactive drugs are drugs that are constantly being studier. According to Santrock (2012), psychoactive drugs are drugs that act on the nervous system to alter states of consciousness, modify perception, and change moods. (p.83). They come in three categories: stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens. Stimulants include caffeine, cocaine, methamphetamine and nicotine. Some people say that pregnant woman do not know what taking these into their system is doing to their baby. Stimulants are becoming more popular and there effects need to be studied and known. Each stimulant affects the baby in short-term and long-term.
During the time period abortions were illegalized, it’s estimated that thousands of women died or suffered serious debilitating medical problems after attempting to self-induce their abortions or going to untrained practitioners through back-alley abortions who used primitive methods as well as unsanitary conditions. Once an abortion attempt was made, the hospital had to treat these women. However many of them were treated with distain. Some women are not fit to be mothers and some were just unprepared. Whatever the reason it’s the woman’s concern.
Over the years birthing methods have changed a great deal. When technology wasn’t so advanced there was only one method of giving birth, vaginally non-medicated. However, in today’s society there are now more than one method of giving birth. In fact, there are three methods: Non-medicated vaginal delivery, medicated vaginal delivery and cesarean delivery, also known as c-section. In the cesarean delivery there is not much to prepare for before the operation, except maybe the procedure of the operation. A few things that will be discussed are: the process of cesarean delivery, reasons for this birthing method and a few reasons for why this birthing method is used. Also a question that many women have is whether or not they can vaginally deliver after a cesarean delivery, as well as the risks and benefits if it. Delivering a child by a c-section also has a few advantages and disadvantages for both the mother and child; this will also be discussed in more depth a bit later.