Teratogens by Juleana Schulte

Alcohol

schuljul1 — 2024-09-25 18:30:03 UTC

Alcohol is a distilled or fermented drink that can make you drunk.

Alcohol affects the fetus during pregnancy by disrupting the development of the brain, critical functions, and sometimes abnormal facial features.

Alcohol can be fatal because it increases the risk of miscarriage and premature birth.

Even small amounts of alcohol can lead to problems during a pregnancy.

Women are most vulnerable to this teratogen in the first three months of their pregnancy.

Alcohol is extracted from grains, fruits, and vegetables. Then is goes through a process called fermentation.

schuljul1 — 2024-09-25 18:47:53 UTC

Drugs are substances that change a person's mental or physical state.

Drugs can affect the fetus by infant withdrawal from substances, low birth weight, premature birth, miscarriage and stillbirth.

Using drugs while pregnant is fatal because it can cause miscarriage or preterm labor.

Any amount of drug usage has possibly of affecting the fetus.

The fetus is most vulnerable during the first trimester to drugs.

Drugs are extracted from parts of plants and microorganisms. Sourced from India and China.

schuljul1 — 2024-09-26 14:23:57 UTC

Radiation is energy that moves from one place to another in a form that can be described as waves or particles.

Radiation can cause growth restriction, malformations, impaired brain function, and cancer.

Radiation is rarely fatal to the fetus.

Small doses of 40 mGy to 100 mGy is regarded inconclusive in terms of impact of the fetus.

The first 2 weeks of the pregnancy is when exposure to radiation is most dangerous for the fetus.

Radiation is energy. It comes from the composition of the earth's crust or can even be produced by machines.

schuljul1 — 2024-09-26 14:24:32 UTC

A teratogen is an agent or factor that causes malformation of an embryo

schuljul1 — 2024-09-26 18:02:07 UTC

Infections and viruses are illnesses you get from tiny organisms that use your cells to make more copies of themselves(viruses)

The impacts of having infections and viruses during pregnancy is hearing loss, visual impairment, blindness, learning difficulties and epilepsy.

Having infections and viruses are rarely fatal to the fetus, but can cause problems.

Common infections won't have much effect on the fetus but more dangerous infections are HIV, Herpes, chickenpox and Syphilis.

It's most dangerous to have an infection or virus during the early stages of your pregnancy. The infection will likely spread to your baby.

Infections are spread from person to person or transmitted by insects or other animals.

schuljul1 — 2024-09-26 18:42:42 UTC

Toxoplasma is an infection cased by a single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii.

The infection can damage the baby's eyes, nervous system, skin, and ears.

If the fetus catches the infection from the women, there is a chance the fetus will die.

Any amount of Toxoplasma is dangerous to the fetus's survival.

The exposure of Toxoplasma is most dangerous during the third trimester.

Toxoplasma is found in raw and undercooked meat, unwashed fruits and vegetables, cat litter boxes and cat feces.