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 harmful substances that a woman is exposed to during pregnancy are called teratogens and can “increase the risk of prenatal abnormalities” (Berger, 2010). Within the last month, although not pregnant, I have been exposed to the following teratogens: caffeine, alcohol, PCB’s in my canned foods, cleaning compounds, mercury in my fish, and possibly toxoplasmosis in my cat’s feces. If I were to avoid the substances, alcohol, toxoplasmosis, and mercury for the remainder of the semester, these three would be easy to avoid. It would be a personal choice to not consume alcohol or fish seeing as though these are not an important or required part of my diet so are therefore easily avoidable. Also easily avoidable is toxoplasmosis as I have a husband who cleans the cat’s litter box. Cleaning supplies would be mildly challenging as I am exposed to these chemicals on a daily basis. With two toddlers in the house I seem to be cleaning something constantly. I could, however, switch to a more natural cleaning product to avoid the harsh chemical compounds. The last two, caffeine and PCB’s in my cans of food would be a bit more difficult to avoid. While I don’t eat from canned food sources on ... ... middle of paper ... ...rs, or in the field of youth work we can education these women to make the best possible choice for themselves and the health of their unborn child. Works Cited Berger, K. S. (2010). Invitation to the Life Span. New York: Worth Publishers. Weng, X., Odouli, R., & Li, D.-K. (2008, March). Maternal caffeine consumption during pregnancy and the risk of miscarriage: a prospective cohort study. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 279e1 - 279.e8. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(07)02025-X/fulltext You, W. B., Grobman, W., Davis, T., Curtis, L. M., Cooper Bailey, S., & Wolf, M. (2011, April). Improving Pregnancy drug warnings to promote patient comprehension. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 204(4), 318.e1-318.e5. Retrieved January 25, 2012, from http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(10)02525-1/fulltext
Why is caffeine dangerous during pregnancy? Caffeine is dangerous during pregnancy, because it can cause miscarriages; it stresses the immature metabolism of the fetus, and increases the blood flow in the placenta. Through this research I have witnessed that caffeine can be very dangerous. These three points are some of the main dangers of caffeine during pregnancy.
Childbirth is nothing short of a miracle. The placenta—the organ connecting a developing fetus to the uterine wall and allowing for waste elimination, nutrient uptake and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply—filters most harmful substances that threaten an embryo, though some may still pass on to the fetus. These harmful substances, called “teratogens,” range from environmental chemicals to the transmission of maternal diseases, and can negatively impact the normal developmental cycle of a fetus. The title “teratogen,” however, refers to any substance or chemical exposure with the potential to cause birth defects in prenatal development. Exposure to teratogens can result in a broad spectrum of physiological and psychological issues in later life, including malformations of the body.
Although there are many factors that affect the development of the fetus, research on the specific effects of prenatal maternal stress and the resulting negative outcomes for the development of the fetus will be reviewed. While there is knowledge of these harmful effects in scientific and medical communities, researchers are still in the midst of discovering the results of these negative effects on human development. An overall review of the literature suggests that this topic is still relatively new in research as most of the articles make note that despite the amount of current research studies, there are still many unanswered questions.
1.1 Describe, in-depth, stages of development from conception to birth in groups of 4 weeks i.e. 0-4, 4-8, 8-12...36-40 weeks.
In this essay I will be going to consider the lifespan development process and describe the following changes in an infant from content supported in my text. Infants are one of the most amazing transformations I think the world sees. To think we all came from infancy and developed into grown adults who do amazing things everyday. I’ll be talking about the physical change in an infant,as well as the mental changes they experience,and the sensory changes they go through that we all went through and eventually brought us to adulthood.
There are tons upon tons of babies born every day. Among those babies there is bound to be some suffering from birth defects. Things such as severe genetic abnormalities or exposure to environmental toxins. These things can come from parents abusing drugs or alcohol while pregnant. The people involved need to take more responsibility to make sure these things don’t happen during pregnancy. As it stands though these things do happen. When they happen people have to make the choice if they will keep or abort the baby due to these genetic abnormalities or problems because of environmental toxins.
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.
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.
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.
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!” A child has most likely heard that phrase at some point in their life. Although, it is not ethical or legal for a mother to “take her kid out of this world”, it does bring up a good point that it was through her body, that the child was born. One of the most important responsibilities in this world is a mother carrying a child in the womb. There are many divine processes that take place during gestation, but there are also many contributing factors from the mother that can affect the developing human. These factors may include what a woman ingests and exposes her embryo or fetus to. Sadly, alcohol use during pregnancy is an ongoing problem that can have detrimental affects on the fetus, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Choosing to drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy is a choice, a risky choice. Unfortunately some women don’t even know they are making a risky choice by consuming alcohol because it is in the early stages of pregnancy. It is common for a female to not find out they are pregnant until at least the fifth or sixth week after fertilization. In 2006, 49% of all pregnancies in the United States were reported unintended on a national survey.1 The highest rate of preventable birth defects and mental retardation is due to alcohol use.2 In this paper, I will further discuss FAS, the potential effects of binge drinking during the embryonic stage of gestation, and what actions need to be taken in order to reduce the incidences of alcohol related birth defects.
It is wrong to believe that one glass of wine or some other alcoholic beverage will not be harmful to the baby if its organs are developed. Alcohol is harmful to the baby in every stage of the pregnancy. The fact is that the first three months are especially sensitive because organs are getting shaped and...
Baby’s take an average of 38-40 weeks to fully develop and prepare for birth. This time period of approximately nine months is broken down into 3 periods in which the baby spends growing from a tiny mass of cells into a functional, healthy, bouncing baby. If all goes smoothly the birth of a baby, including labor time could take between 4-8 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less. There are many factors that can affect the baby’s growth and development, called teratogens, but overall baby will slowly grow and develop until he or she is prepared to enter into the world.
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.
From preschool into early elementary school, children have begun to develop their gross motor skills. They have developed a “mature pattern of walking” and are ready to test their physical abilities to the limits. Also fine motor skills have begun to develop, however more slowly. Along with motor skills children are developing their visual, tactile, and kinesthetic senses. A child’s sensory skills are helpful in learning language.
The distinction between nature versus nurture or even environment versus heredity leads to the question of: does the direct environment or the nature surrounding an adolescent directly influence acts of delinquency, later progressing further into more radical crimes such as murder or psychotic manifestation, or is it directly linked to the hereditary traits and genes passed down from that individual adolescent’s biological parents? To answer this question one must first understand the difference between nature, nurture, environment, and heredity. Nurture, broken down further into environment, is defined as various external or environmental factors one is exposed to which can be more specifically broken down into social and physical aspects. Nature, itself broken down into heredity, is defined as the genetics and the individual characteristics in one’s personality or even human nature.