PRENATAL ENVIRONMENTAL

INFLUENCES

•Teratogen: any environmental agent that causes damage during prenatal period. Harmful cases lead to babies with major developmental issues.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TERATOGENS

• Dose: larger dose over longer time periods usually have more negative effects.

• Heredity: genetic makeup of mother and the developing organism plays an important role.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TERATOGENS

• Other negative influences: poor nutrition, lack of medical care

• Age of the prenatal organism (Graph of development)

TYPES OF TERATOGENS:

• Prescription/ Nonprescription Drugs: any drug taken by the mother can enter the embryonic/fetal bloodstream. • Aspirin: low birth weight,

death around the time of birth, poor motor development, and lower intelligence test scores in early childhood.

TYPES OF TERATOGENS:

• Caffeine: (coffee) heavy caffeine intake (more than 3 cups of coffee per day) is associated with low birth weight, premature, miscarriage, newborn withdrawals- irritability and vomiting

TYPES OF TERATOGENS:

• Illegal Drugs: use of highly addictive mood-altering drugs like cocaine and heroin. Effects on child: low motor development, jittery, difficult to calm down, cuddling, feeding and language skills.

TYPES OF TERATOGENS:

•Tobacco: most common effect is low birth weight, placenta sometimes grows abnormally, carbon monoxide displaces oxygen from red blood cells and damages central nervous system.

TYPES OF TERATOGENS:

• Alcohol: no amount of alcohol is advised while pregnant. • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: result of

mother drinking while pregnant, includes mental retardation, slow physical growth and facial abnormalities.• Fetal Alcohol Effects: condition of

children who display some but not all symptoms. Usually mother did not drink as much during pregnancy.

FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME

PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS:

• Sonogram: ultrasound images, uses high-frequency sound waves to produce a picture of the fetus. Can reveal problems such as an abnormally small head or other body malformations.

PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS:

• Amniocentesis: about half an ounce of fluid surrounding the fetus, inside the placenta, is withdrawn through the mothers abdominal wall with a syringe.

PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS:

• Chorionic Villi Sampling: a sample of placental tissue that surround the fetus obtained and analyzed, advantage is that it can be performed as early as the sixth week of pregnancy.