ENVIRONMENTAL TERATOGENS

Teratogen: An environmental hazard to prenatal development

The embryonic period is the most vulnerable to the effect of teratogen as compared to
germinal and fetal stage because the brain and the nervous system and the other major
organs are formed, so the teratogens in this period can be particularly destructive and
dangerous for both mother and baby health .
There is a little effect in the germinal period while the fetal period are the less sever than
embryonic period.
Most of the teratogens related to the maternal condition or behavior including nutritional
insufficiency, stress, alcohol intake, smoking, and caffeine usage.
Environmental factors such radiation (Kalter, 2003; Brent and
Fawcett, 2007).
Malnutrition
Many nutrition essential for healthy prenatal development.
Folic acid
It is essential for producing the genetic materials (DNA) which is
responsible for formation of new cells including neuron and blood
cells.
Lack of folic acid causes
Neural tube defects
Delayed skeletal development, impaired reflexes, and cognitive deficits
(Galler & Tonkiss, 1998; Lukas & Campbell, 2000)
Behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, and certain forms of mental
illness have been linked to prenatal malnutrition (Morgane et al., 1993;
Neugebauer, Hoek, & Susser 1999; Tanner & Finn-Stevenson, 2002)
Iron deficiency
The iron deficiency is the another nutritional disorder
Approximately 20--25% babies worldwide suffer in iron deficiency
anemia.
Iron deficiency causes lower motor and cognitive development.
Fatigue and fearfulness
Uses of iron help in myelination in brain
The lack of iron effect the hippocampus of brain which is responsible for
memory and recognition.
Maternal drugs
Sometimes legal drugs can be equal or greater effect than illegal drugs in
regard to developing child.
Even the caffeine in a few cups of coffee a day may have harmful effects such
as poor growth and high excitability in the infant (Scheutze and Zeskind, 1997),
Some of the prescribed drugs such sedative thalidomide that produce major
limbs deformation in developing embryo (Moore and Persaud, 2003
The legal drugs alcohol and nicotine effect on both
body and brain while the illegal drugs such heroin or
cocaine which lead low birth weight and poor sleep
pattern(Friedman and Polifka, 1998).
Nicotine.
Women who smoke are at greater risk for
miscarriages, stillbirths, preterm deliveries, low-birth-
weight babies, and infant mortality. Children born to
mothers who smoke are at increased risk for
developing asthma. Neurological examinations of
babies exposed to nicotine during the prenatal
period showed decreased levels of arousal and
responsiveness at 9 and 30 days after birth
Alcohol
Pre-natal exposure to alcohol disrupt brain development
and modify production of neurotransmitter (Sokol, Delaney-
Black, & Nordsstrom, 2003).
The complex impact of alcohol on fetal development has
been given the name fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). Fetal
alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) is an umbrella term for
the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose
mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects
include physical, mental, behavioral, and learning
disabilities with possible lifelong implications. Fetal exposure
to alcohol disrupts verbal and visual learning.
Caffeine.
Caffeine freely crosses the placenta. It is commonly consumed in
coffee, certain sodas, and tea. An estimated 200 foods and food
products contain caffeine. Caffeine raises the heart rate and acts
as a diuretic, resulting in loss of fluids and the possibility of
dehydration. Heavy caffeine consumption—defined in one study
as more than 300 milligrams, or roughly three cups of coffee per
day—is associated with an increased risk of low birth weight, and
there is a modest relationship to prematurity. Babies exposed to
high doses of caffeine have been found to have a higher heart
rate, more startles and tremors, and are more difficult to soothe
(Howell, 2005).
NARCOTICS.
THE USE OF NARCOTICS, ESPECIALLY HEROIN
AND COCAINE, AS WELL AS METHADONE (A
DRUG USED IN THE TREATMENT OF HEROIN
ADDICTION), HAS BEEN LINKED TO
INCREASED RISKS OF BIRTH DEFECTS, LOW
BIRTH WEIGHT, AND HIGHER RATES OF INFANT
MORTALITY (HOWELL, HEISER, &
HARRINGTON, 1999)
 MATERNAL DISEASE
Maternal disease is also another risk factor in prenatal
development. There are a number of teratogenic viruses.
Rubella is especially destructive in the first few months of
prenatal life, when it can cause damage to the developing
eyes and ears, heart and brain, resulting in visual and
auditory impairments and heart and brain abnormalities
(Moore and Persaud, 2003; Reece and Hobbins, 2006).
 MATERNAL PSYCHOLOGICAL
STATE
It is not only maternal physical state that can affect
prenatal development. Maternal psychological or
emotional state also appears to have an impact. Maternal
stress or anxiety produces high levels of cortisol linked to
growth problems and postnatal cognitive problems
(Bergman et al., 2007). For example, extreme maternal
anxiety in pregnancy is linked to brain activity reflecting
poor cognitive control in the offspring in adolescence
(Mennes et al., 2009).
Research with animals has demonstrated that mothers’
exposure to stress during pregnancy does have long-
term negative consequences for learning, motor
development, and adaptive behavior in offspring
(Kaiser &
Sachser, 2009). A review of existing literature suggests
that among humans, prenatal stress is associated with
higher rates of spontaneous abortion, preterm labor
and delivery, and growth delay among babies (Mulder
et al., 2002)
 MOTHER’S AGE
The capacity for childbearing begins about 1 to 1½ years after menarche
(the beginning of regular menstrual periods) and normally ends at the
climacteric, or menopause (the ending of regular menstrual periods). Thus, a
woman is potentially fertile for about 35 years of her life. Pregnancy and
childbirth can occur at various times during this period 2003). Women
between the ages of 16 and 35 tend to provide a better uterine environment
for the developing fetus and to give birth with fewer complications than do
women under 16 or over 35. Particularly when it is their frst pregnancy,
women over 35 are likely to have a longer labor than younger women, and
the labor is more likely to result in the death of either the infant or the
mother. As expected, the two groups with the highest probability of giving
birth to premature babies are women over 35 and those under 16 (Behrman
& Butler, 2007). Mothers under 16 tend to receive less adequate prenatal
care and to be less biologically mature. Young mothers are likely to engage
in other high-risk behaviors including alcohol and drug use that have
negative consequences for fetal
development (Cornelius, 1996; Cornelius, Goldshmidt, Taylor, & Day, 1999).
Pollutants and toxins in the natural environment may also
impact on the prenatal infant, although the evidence in
this regard is sometimes controversial (Kalter, 2003).

One of the confirmed cases of environmental teratogens

occurred in Minimata in Japan in the 1950s, when
industrial mercury waste was released into the food chain
and water supply, causing prenatal brain damage that
resulted in physical and cognitive impairments (Clarkson
et al.,
GENETIC FACTORS THAT IMPAIR
PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT