Teratogen: Any environmental agent that can cause damage during the prenatal period

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• Teratogen Any environmental agent that can
  cause damage during the prenatal period

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• General Principles of Teratogenic Effects
• Dose Larger doses over longer time periods
  usually have more negative effects
• Heredity The genetic makeup of the mother and
  embryo/fetus influence the effect of a teratogen

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• Timing Effects of a teratogen vary with the age
  of the organism at the time of exposure
• Sensitive Period Time during which basic
  structures are being formed
• Each major organ system or body part has its own
  sensitive period
• A system is most vulnerable to teratogens during
  its sensitive period

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• Cumulative Risk Effect of a teratogen may be
  worse if there are other risk factors present
  (e.g., poor nutrition, lack of medical care,
  other teratogens)

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• Article Brown et al. (2004)
• Hypotheses
• Cocaine-using women would differ from non-using
  women
• Users Lower socioeconomic status greater
  obstetric risk
• 2. Children prenatally exposed to cocaine would
  differ from children without exposure in social
  development but not in physical or cognitive
  development

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• Within the group of women who used cocaine
• Mothers who did not keep custody of their
  children after birth would differ from mothers
  who did keep custody
• Heavier prenatal drug use, lower SES, greater
  obstetric risk in mothers who did not have
  custody
• Their newborns would also show more birth
  complications (e.g., prematurity)

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• Within the group of children with PCE
• At 2 years of age, children in non-parental care
  would differ from children in parental care
• Non-parental care would be higher-quality than
  parental care
• Children in non-parental care would show better
  cognitive and social development than children in
  parental care

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• Findings
• 1. Cocaine-using women differed from non-using
  women
• 2. Children with prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE)
  did not differ from children without exposure in
  terms of physical, social, or cognitive
  development

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• 3. Within the group of women who used cocaine,
  mothers who retained custody differed from
  mothers who did not retain custody
• Children with PCE who were in non-parental care
• Received higher-quality care than children with
  PCE who remained with their biological parents
• Showed better social and cognitive development
  than children with PCE who remained with their
  biological parents