Essay On Teratogens

The fetus is not the only one harmed by alcohol consumption during pregnancy, but the mother is as well. In fact, many doctors urge women who think they are pregnant or are trying to get pregnant to stop drinking (“Fetal Alcohol”). “One percent of all mothers consume fourteen or more drinks per week during the three months before pregnancy” (Walsh 3). To the average person one percent is not too large of a proportion. However, the volume of alcohol consumed is high during

The quality of life for these children is unfortunately not the best. They can have limb, facial, and organ defects, and will have stunted physical growth throughout young adult life. Prenatal exposure can also have a negative effect on motor skills, especially fine motor tasks such as writing and balancing. The disabilities depend on the mother and her drinking habits. The children of heavy drinkers while pregnant, have many more developmental problems than of those whose mother was a light drinker. The most common problems among these children with alcohol exposure are with balance, coordination, and how they are able to play and handle a ball.

In the article “Fetal Alcohol Syndrome- A Birth Defect Recognized Worldwide,” by Kerstin Stromland used strong clinical evidence supported by various studies to bring attention to the fact that alcohol consumed during pregnancy severely damages the neurological and physiological development of the child.

Alcohol is not the solution; it’s proven that those who consume alcohol have a greater risk to have a baby with fetal alcohol syndrome. Signs and symptoms are different on most babies but may include different physical defects as intellectual or cognitive disabilities and problems coping and functioning with daily life. Distinctive facial features, deformity of joins, vision and hearing problems, poor coordination and valance, poor memory, poor social skills and difficulty planning or working towards a goal are just some of those problems.

A pregnant woman’s lifestyle ultimately affects the development of her baby. Drinking alcohol when you are pregnant has been shown to cause harm towards the unborn baby as it develops in the mother’s womb. Mothers who drink alcohol while pregnant have a higher risk of their baby having long-term

As stated earlier, alcohol has its greatest effect on the developing embryo during the first trimester of pregnancy with its teratogenic effect causing mental retardation as well as characteristic craniofacial abnormalities that are characteristic of the disease. It has also been demonstrated with experimental animal models that there is a clear "dose-response" effect between the amount of alcohol consumed by the mother and the risk that is associated with developing FAS symptoms (Walpole, p. 875). It has been proposed by Walpole and associates that there are various degrees to which the fetus An be effected. Walpole uses the term "fetal alcohol syndrome" to refer to serious effects due to heavy maternal drinking and "fetal alcohol effect" to refer to those effects thought to occur with lower maternal alcohol intake (Walpole, p. 875). Regardless of the degree to which

A pregnant woman's lifestyle ultimately affects the development of her baby. Excessive exposure to alcohol during pregnancy can inflict serious, permanent physical and mental damage on her child. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol she is making her child drink also. In knowing how Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can be prevented, what the symptoms are, and who and what make up the risk factors fetal alcohol syndrome can be better understood.

The results of drinking alcohol with a baby in the womb can be very serious. There are a range of effects that can occur to the child exposed. The most serious result of drinking during pregnancy is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Some of the effects of FAS are hyperactivity, short attention span, learning problems, behavioral issues, delayed development, and abnormal facial features. The abundance of problems the child will have all depends on the amount of alcohol consumed by the mother during pregnancy.

Fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by the consumption of alcoholic beverages during the 9 months of pregnancy. It used to be believed that a small amount of alcohol during pregnancy was safe, and maybe even healthy, but now researchers are starting to find that no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy. Even though researchers now know that even small amounts of alcohol could harm fetuses, doctors are still telling women that it’s ok to drink during pregnancy. It’s estimated that each year in the U.S., 1 in every 750 infants is born with fetal alcohol syndrome.

After the zygote is completely inside of the uterine wall it is now considered an embryo. As the baby is in my stomach for a couple weeks and it is now in the embryo stage which is where the body structures and internal organs start to develop. There are a few problem that can go wrong during the pregnancy such as teratogens. Teratogens is a problem that causes abnormal prenatal development. Also nutrition is a major problem for most births such as I need to be able to eat enough for me and my baby. Although I am not aloud to consume any drugs or alcohol because this will cause many problems with the baby. Most diseases such as colds or small things like that are not very harmful to the baby, but chicken pox and any kind vaginal disease can

Even though there are many studies that highlight the damaging effects of maternal alcohol use on a fetus in utero, there are a multitude of other substances that are used by pregnant mothers that have similar and even, in some cases, more extreme repercussions such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. When speaking about pregnancy and drug use, the most common drug that comes to mind is alcohol. During 12 years of schooling, most people are exposed, at one point or another, to the idea of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the detrimental effects of alcohol on a fetus in utero. The effects of maternal use of the aforementioned illicit drugs is less studied, partially because they are used less frequently. It is important, however, that as a population, we become more educated about these drugs and the potentially life threatening outcomes for babies in utero.

Many women that become pregnant are unaware of the consequences of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and the damaging effects it has on the fetus. When a woman who is pregnant drinks alcohol, the baby is also drinking alcohol. Furthermore, the amount of alcohol that is consumed by the mother is the same amount the baby receives through the mother's placenta. Many doctors advise that it is okay for the mother to have an occasional drink, however, some women cannot stop at one drink, and they continue to drink in excess throughout their pregnancy. Still, even moderate consumption of alcohol is not wise, because it is still unknown how much alcohol the fetus is able to tolerate without potential harm. Consequently, a fetus that has been

Teratogens are agents that can cause abnormalities and such agents include; drugs, chemical, infections, alcohol, and tobacco in different types of cigarette, pollutants, maternal health states, as well as maternal age and nutrition. The teratogenic agents can be disastrous to the developing human being from the moment of conception to birth and through life. Teratogens can be present in the women’s body before conception take place and it can affect the unborn baby at birth delivery or manifest later in the life of the individual child.

If the mother drinks a lot of alcohol during each time she is pregnant, at least one child or none at all with had FASD (Santrock). When the mother drinks a heavy or light amount of alcohol, it can cause many negative effects to the fetus such as miscarriages and stillbirths. It can also range of lifelong physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities (“Alcohol”). Studies show that drinking 1 or 2 servings of alcohol a week will damage the fetus’s development of the brain. Although, drinking small servings a week will not cause FASD. According to the National Institutes of Care and Health Excellence in Great Britain, they have concluded that, “It is safe to consume one to two drinks not more than twice a week during pregnancy”. The U.S. Surgeon General disagrees with that statement because they said, “We recommend that no alcohol be consumed during pregnancy”

Drink during pregnancy is one of the major causes of birth defect. Use of alcohol is one of the major public health issues and much focus has been placed on educating women about alcohol consumption during pregnancy and the deleterious effects it can have on a child development. It is estimated that nearly 20 percent of women drink during pregnancy which has a significant impact of children cognitive ability. Data show that drinking effects specific cognitive and behavioral pattern some of which include: verbal learning, visual-spatial learning, attention, reaction time and executive function. Despite the current evidence alcohol consumption continues to be a serious issues (Russell, Czarneck & Cowan, 1991).