Teratogens are mainly drugs, infections, and chemicals that can lead to the abnormal development of the fetus. Exposure to such elements can result in the child being born with certain defects such as the undergrowth of some body organs. Teratogens have been proved to affect the development of fetus who is between 10-14 days after the conception. Most pregnant women come in contact with teratogens in their daily lives and avoiding such exposure require one to limit taking medications as well as avoiding alcohol, smoking, and excess radiation.
Compared to the impacts of hereditary on the development of the fetus, teratogens are usually environmental factors that the mother come in contact with during pregnancy that can lead to defects in the devilment of the fetus. Hereditary factors, on the other hand, are not from the environment but are inherited from the parent to the child. Teratogens involve the mother coming exposed to environmental elements such as excess heat, chemicals, drugs and radiation which then affect the fetus and can lead to the mother giving birth to a baby with certain defects. Hereditary factors on the other had involved elements that a child inherit from the parents through the transfer of genes and which can affect the development of the child.
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Aminopterin is a medication that is taken by the people who have cancer tumor. The effect of this medication is that it blocks the folic acid. Folic acid is used in the manufacturing of the DNA and the growth of the cells. When pregnant mothers take this medication, they are more likely to give birth to a child with brain and spinal cord underdevelopment. Smoking and alcohol consumption can also lead to the restriction in the development of the brain, respiratory system, arms, and legs. This leads to mothers giving birth to children with such defects.
According to Behnke, Smith & Committee on Substance Abuse (2013), “a teratogen is an agent, which can cause a congenital disability. It is usually something in the environment that the mother may be exposed to during her pregnancy. It could be a prescribed medication, a street drug, alcohol use, or disease present in the mother, which could increase the chance for the baby to be born with a birth defect.” This means that a teratogen is something that the mother gets exposed to from her external environment and which can have growth effects on the fetus. These can include drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and chemicals such as mercury. Fetal alcohol syndrome can result when alcohol causes physical and mental damage in a child while in the womb. The prenatal exposure to these chemicals can have adverse effects on the fetus, and this affects the baby after birth. Some are born with underdeveloped arms, legs, and even brain.
As a nurse, I would like adverse a client who is pregnant to avoid situations that can expose her to teratogens. I can advise her to avoid alcohol, tobacco, mercury, radioactive iodine and other chemical or drugs that can expose the fetus to risks of teratogens. Minimizing medications as much as possible is also necessary to stop the pregnant mothers from exposing their fetus to teratogens.
The exposure of the mother to teratogens can have effects to the fetus in a variety of ways including the exposure duration, the amount of the substance and fetus development stage. Recent research updates on the topic have shown that lithium medication can have decreased estimate of risks amongst the pregnant mothers compared to other medications. Also, genotypes and cigarette smoking are the key contributors to clubfoot amongst the fetus ( Tsai et al., 2014 ). Studies have identified certain medications that may be taken in small quantity but with an increased risk of the child being affected as a result of teratogens.
References
Behnke, M., Smith, V. C., & Committee on Substance Abuse. (2013).Prenatal substance abuse: short-and long-term effects on the exposed fetus. Pediatrics , peds-2012.
Tsai, P. C., Bake, S., Balaraman, S., Rawlings, J., Holgate, R. R., Dubois, D., & Miranda, R. C. (2014). MiR-153 targets the nuclear factor-1 family and protects against teratogenic effects of ethanol exposure in fetal neural stem cells. Biology open , 3 (8), 741-758.
