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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.
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 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.
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).
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.
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.
Shniderman, Nancy, and Sue Hurwitz. Drugs and Birth Defects. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 1993. Print.
The internal female anatomy that allows for reproduction is extremely particular. Starting in the ovary, otherwise known as the female gamete, eggs or oocytes are produced. These eggs, once fertilized can complete the process of meiosis, where daughter cells are formed. These daughter cells supply the embryo with its chromosomes in order to fully develop. Problems can also arise once sperm fertilizes an egg. Birth defects that follow patterns throughout a family line would be considered genetic or inherited. Teratogens are classified as any substance that may cause negative effects upon a developing fetus or embryo. For instance, substances such as alcohol and tobacco during pregnancy have been widely known to cause birth defects and can even lead to miscarriages. My focus is a study by Alan S. Brown, which proposes that alongside teratogens and genetic makeup, certain prenatal infections are leading to a birth defect that does not appear right at birth, but emerges as an adult: schizophrenia.
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....
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.
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.
The environment can influence a lot during prenatal development. Broderick & Blewitt (2010) state “genes can do nothing without environmental input—and that environmental effects are shaped by genetic constraints” (p. 34). Teratogens and disease can cause birth defects during prenatal development. Pregnant mothers should avoid things like drugs, radiation, and stay away from people or places that could be infested with viruses. These can result in a defect in th...