Prenatal Environmental Influences

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Prenatal Environmental Influences

• Prenatal Development

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A. Teratogens

• Drugs Just about any drug the mother takes will
  enter the fetal bloodstream.
• Rule-of-thumb-dont take anything you dont have
  to.

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1.Thalidomide

• Given to women in the 60s to alleviate morning
  sickness (Europe, Canada, South America).
• Babies were born with deformed legs arms,
  damage to the ears, heart, kidneys, and genitals.

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2. Aspirin

• Low birth weight
• Still born infants
• Poor motor development
• Lower intelligence test scores in childhood.

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3. Caffeine

• (3 cups a day or more) may lead to
• low birth weight
• Miscarriage
• Newborn withdrawal symptoms (irritability,
  vomiting)

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4. Tobacco

• Low birth weight
• Increased chance of miscarriage
• SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
• Behavioral problems (ADHD)
• Short attention spans
• Poor scores on mental tasks.
• Second-hand smoke also damaging, pregnant women
  should avoid smoke at all costs.

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5. Alcohol

• Extreme alcohol use or even one binge drinking
  episode during pregnancy made cause the infant to
  develop Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
• FAS deficits include
• Mental retardation
• Impaired motor coordination
• Poor attention, memory, language abilities
• Facial abnormalities (widely spaced eyes, short
  eyelid openings, thin lips)

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Study of infants with FAS over a 20-year span
(percentage of impairments)

• 98 are under normal height and weight 84
  Microcephalic89 Mental and Motor
  Retardation80 Speech impediments20 Hearing
  problems20 Swallowing/Feeding problems72
  Hyperactive58 Slack muscles20
  Autism/Aggressive/Social Problems95 Facial
  anomalies29 Heart defects10 Kidney
  defects46 Genital deformities25 Eye
  problems16 Bent crooked little finger51
  Shortened and bent little finger13
  Underdeveloped fingers9 Hip deformaties16
  Small teeth

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Brain of normal FAS 6-week-old infant
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The face of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

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6. Bacterial infections

• a. Listeriosis- is a bacterial infection that
  can cause
• a variety of serious illnesses, including
  pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis, a severe,
  generalized blood-borne infection.
• Signs of infection include
• Fever, difficulty breathing, poor feeding,
  vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, irritability.
• Source of infection--deli meats, cold cuts,
  soft-ripened cheese, milk, undercooked chicken,
  uncooked hot dogs, shellfish, coleslaw made
  from contaminated cabbage.
• Listeriosis (soft cheeses not pasteurized),
  pre-packed lunchmeat, unpasteurized juices
• Causes miscarriage, fetal damage
• Toxoplasmosis Gondii- Found in cat feces
  undercooked meat.

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b. Toxoplasmosis Gondii

• bacterial parasite that is often found in cat
  feces and undercooked meat.
• It may be asymptomtic can have the following
  effects
• miscarriage
• Infant death upon delivery (still born)
• Blindness
• Severe mental physical deficits

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B. Maternal factors

• 1. Rubella (German measles)- causes heart
  defects, eye cataracts, deafness, mental
  retardation, organ deformities.
• 2. HIVinfected mothers may pass it to their
  unborn babies-resulting in the the babys death
  shortly after birth.

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3. Maternal Age

• Very young (early teens) or women in the mid-to
  late 30s more likely to have babies born with
  birth defects.
• 35 marks increased incidence of Downs Syndrome
  neural tube defects.

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4. Fathers age drug-taking behavior

• Men 36 and older are more likely to sire children
  with birth defects. This is not as striking for
  men as it is with maternal age.
• Men who spoke large amounts of marijuana show a
  25 increase in likelihood of producing a baby
  with Downs Syndrome.