Stimulants are considered as a drug and are commonly used today. The question is will use of stimulants while pregnant affect the infant. A pregnant woman can be prescribed stimulants (Antidepressants) because of them being depressed and stressed out about everything that is occurring in their life while pregnant, but what many people do not see is it going to affect the infant long-term. Most mothers want what is best for their child and they want to make sure that their child is going to have a healthy life as much as possible. Is it safe to take the antidepressants while pregnant and will there be any risk factors? There is mainly a biological and environmental that reflect a child’s senses and development.
The biological part that would affect the behavior and development in childhood would be the intake of the antidepressants by the mother during pregnancy. About fifteen to twenty percent of women have some sort of mood disorders while pregnant, but only five to thirteen percent take an antidepressant drug. It is the most commonly used and most effective. The exposure to the antidepressants while pregnant impact the growth of the cortical network function. It basically could affect a child’s speech, hearing, and site.
The study was to see if the babies’ language growth is changed by antidepressants while in the womb and the response to the mother’s moods changes. The control group was the mothers whom were not depressed that much. There were also, the mothers who were just depressed without taking any antidepressant. There were the mothers whom were treated for their depression with antidepressants and were tested while the baby was still in the womb.
Then all the infants were tested about six and tenth month of age on their...
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...t a great deal. So with that the antidepressants can be a small factor in low birth weight, but are not hard evidence to show a change the factors in the study. A pregnant woman can be prescribed stimulants (Antidepressants) because of them being depressed and stressed out about everything that is occurring in their life while pregnant and may not affect the infant long-term.
Works Cited
Ramos, É., St-André, M., & Bérard, A. (2010). Association Between Antidepressant Use During Pregnancy and Infants Born Small for Gestational Age. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry.
Weikum, W. M., Oberlander, T. F., Hensch, T. K., & Werker, J. F. (2012). Prenatal exposure to antidepressants and depressed maternal mood alter trajectory of infant speech perception. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 17221-17227. doi:10.1073/pnas.1121263109
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding the issue of children being medicated with powerful psychotropic medications. Psychological disorders, such as bipolar disorder, that were once believed only to effect adults, are now being diagnosed in children, and those children are, more often than not, now being treated with medications. The number of children being diagnosed and treated with psychotropic medications has rapidly increased in recent years. A report issued by Medco Health Solutions in 2010 states that the number of children being prescribed psychotropic medications doubled from 2001 to 2010. Psychotropic medications can be defined as "any medication capable of affecting the mind, emotions, and behavior"(medicine net). The classes of psychotropic medications are; Stimulants, such as Adderall- prescribed for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Antidepressants, such as Prozac- prescribed for depression, Anti-psychotics such as Haldol - prescribed for behavioral disorders, and Mood Stabilizers, such as Depakote - prescribed for bipolar disorders. These medications have been shown to "stunt growth, cause obsessive behaviors, suppress spontaneity, and cause children to become depressed and less social"(Breggin, 2009). This paper will discuss what research suggests about the potentially negative effects of these medications on a child’s physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. In addition, this paper will also examine the potential reasons these medications are increasingly prescribed, and alternative treatments for some of the psychological disorders that these kinds of medications are prescribed for.
The use of psychotropic medication in children and adolescents dates back to 1937 when Charles Bradley conducted a study by prescribing the stimulant amphetamine sulphate (Benzedrine) to modify the behavior of children with severe behavioral disturbance. (Adams, 1991) Since these studies were conducted, more and more children and adolescents have been prescribed stimulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers for various mental disorders, such as: depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The potential side effects that happen to children taking these medications can include: fainting, blurred vision, vomiting, extreme weight gain, and even death ("Seroquel information,” n.d.).
Postpartum depression: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (2012, September 19). In U.S National Library of Medicine. Retrieved April 8, 2014
Each second of fetal development during pregnancy is of extreme importance. This period of prenatal development is a time of change and growth with many factors affecting all areas of growth. Different stimuli having long-lasting effects on development is a process known as programming. The goal of this first article, (put the name of the article here) is to look into the idea of programming and how the influence of stress effects prenatal development. It begins with a biological approach. Looking at the role of Glucocorticoids cortisol in fetal development, the article states that they play a critical role in development and are associated with the “hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, one of the body’s major stress responsive systems.” (Davis & Sandman, 2010) This cortisol increases in mothers over the course of pregnancy and is important in brain development in the fetus. While these Glucocorticoids are important and essential to prenatal development, overexposure can lead to negative effects, including emotional disturbances in early childhood, deregulated stress responses in infa...
In order to fully understand how certain drugs’ cause birth defects it is important to understand how environmental factors affect a developing fetus. When a baby is in the fetal period of development a placenta surrounds the fetus, providing nourishment and also protecting the fetus from harmful substances. This permeable barrier allows for some substances to enter based on a molecule's size, charge and solubility, it is also important to understand that a normal dose of medication for an adult does not affect a fetus in a similar way. Gideon Koren shares many factors that illustrate how and why a drug would affect a fetus more powerfully “…Second, the fetus’s detoxification and immune systems are still immature, unable to clear drugs and other chemicals from its system as effectively as the body of an adult. And third, the fetus is developing so rapidly that even a small disruption induced by a chemical can have far-reaching effects.” These factors help prescribers understand how medications can affect a
"Maternal Depression Can Undermine the Development of Young Children." Center on the Developing Child. Harvard University, 2009. Web. 04 Apr. 2014.
Nakhai-Pour, Hamid Reza, MD, PhD, Perrine Broy, BSc,, and Anick Bérard, PhD. "Use of Antidepressants during Pregnancy and the Risk of Spontaneous Abortion." ProQuest.com. Canadian Medical Association. Journal, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
The article, Occurrence of depression during the postpartum period and risk factors that affect the development of the depression, is about a study conducted by Demet Aktas and Fusun Terzioğlu in November 20, 2007 until January 30, 2008. This study involved 330 women who recently gave birth at the Women’s Health Education and Research Hospital in Ankara. The goal of this study was to determine the experiences of depression for these women and the risk factor involved that develop into postpartum depression.
Head size is often smaller in infants exposed to narcotics. While growth erases some of the physical differences, there may be subtle, long-term deficits in mental or neurological functioning in infants exposed to drugs in the womb. Scientists are just beginning to explore how various drugs may affect the development of physical coordination, language, and emotional interactions.
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...
Drug abuse can be harmful due to the fact that the placenta connect the mother to the child. Therefore, everything the mother take in her body will be shared with the growing child. If the mother uses a drug the child will be affected by it. At this stage, the baby (fetus) is very delicate to drugs and cannot remove drugs successfully as the mother is able to. Consequently, all the chemical can pile up to very extreme levels in the child’s system and can also cause damages that will last a lifetime. The effect of perinatal drugs use are influenced by the stage of development of the ...
Although a pregnant adolescent faces many stressors, which can translate into sundry psychological quandaries such as melancholy, the most consequential effects may pertain to the child. According to Steinberg (2011) children of adolescent mothers “are at a more preponderant risk of developing a variety of psychological and gregarious problems”; largely, due to being raised in a poor environment and/or a single parent household (p. 363). Psychological issues can additionally arise due to puerile parents interacting with their infant less often, which have a consequential effect on the child’s development (Steinberg, 2011).
Chen, Wei-Jung A., and Susan E. Maier. "Combination Drug Use and Risk for Fetal Harm." GALE. Government Printing Office, n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
Chambers, C. D., Polifka, J. E., & Friedman, J. M. (2008). Drug safety in pregnant women and their babies: ignorance not bliss. Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 83(1), 181-183.
The fetus relies on the its mother for nutrition which is why it is important that a mother maintains a healthy diet and nutrition. Mothers who fail to intake the necessary proteins, vitamins, and minerals during pregnancy is subjected to the malformation of their child. Maternal age is as well associated with the unpleasant pregnancy outcomes. For example, in adolescence the mortality rate of an infant is higher than to mothers of older age. When women of age 35 years or older has become pregnant the risk that the child will have Down syndrome increases. Emotional states and stress during pregnancy can have long term consequences such as having a child with emotional or cognitive problems, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and language delay. It is concluded that mothers who suffer from depression during pregnancy can be linked to preterm birth, low weight at birth in full-term infant, and an increase risk that depression will develope in the adolescence. Not only does maternal characteristics influence the prenatal development of the offspring but so does the paternal. A father who smokes around the pregnant mother leads to a risk of early pregnancy loss and leukemia may also arise from second hand smoking. The father who is of age 40 or older is at risk of