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(Bendersky, Alessandri, Gilbert & Lewis, 1996)
Many teratogens, however, have much more subtle effects that may not be noticeable at birth. Sometimes months or even years, pass before the damage is recognized. For example, prenatal infection with the parasite Toxoplasma can lead to subtle visual impairment and/or learning disabilities that may not be detected until school age. A pregnant woman may have no noticeable symptoms from toxoplasma infection or just have nonspecific flu-like symptoms. Since the diagnosis of congenital infection with toxoplasmosis can only be confirmed in the newborn period, it is impossible to make a diagnosis in a school-aged child. Therefore, many children who have suffered brain damage from prenatal exposure to damaging agents will remain undiagnosed. (Strom, 1990, p. 71) Annually, about four percent of all live births in the United States involve babies with significant structural birth defects (more than 150,000 babies). Next to accidents, birth defects are the leading cause of death in children; they account for half of all pediatric hospitalizations. ("Developmental Mechanisms of Human Structural Birth Defects," 2004) Consequently, other teratogens including cigarette smoking by pregnant women resulted in lower infant birth weights and higher prenatal mortality. (Golden, 1999, p. 269)
Drugs (or teratogens) produce the greatest danger to prenatal development if they are consumed prior to the 45th day after conception, when cell specialization and organ development are accomplished. Drugs that interfere with these processes can have disastrous consequences by altering the normal processes of development and by producing structural defects (congenital malformations) in the child. (Holmes, Reich & Pasternak, 1984, p. 41)
Researchers indicate that in the early 60's parents began to realize that a fetus was not even necessarily safe in the womb. This was now an era when thing i.e. Drugs and alcohol have a direct effect on the forming fetus and society was becoming aware. To further heighten this awareness in 1964 there was a rubella epidemic which resulted in approximately 20,000 infants born with defects i.e. deaf, blind, micro-cephalic, or otherwise severely mentally retarded; this was a direct effect of women being infected during the first trimester of
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References
Bendersky, M., Alessandri, S., Gilbert, P., & Lewis, M. (1996). Characteristics of Pregnant Substance Abusers in Two Cities in the Northeast. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 22(3), 349.
Boling, P. (Ed.). (1995). Expecting Trouble: Surrogacy, Fetal Abuse, and New Reproductive Technologies. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Bopp, J. (Ed.). (1985). Human Life and Health Care Ethics (Vol. 2). Frederick, MD: University Publications of America.
Coull, B.A., Hobert, J.P., Ryan, L.M., & Holmes, L.B. (2001). Crossed Random Effect Models for Multiple Outcomes in a Study of Teratogenesis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 96(456), 1194.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is one of the most common and devastating birth abnormalities among American children. This paper will provide an in-depth look at FAS, using four reliable sources as a basis of this analysis. The sources used are Streissguth, Jacobson & Jacobson, the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), and National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS). The information obtained from these sources will be
According to recent studies conducted by Ernest Abel and Robert Sokol, the incidence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is estimated to be 0.33 cases per 1,000 live births. The States of Missouri less than 25 cases of Fetal alcohol Syndrome out of 80,000 recorded live births. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is considered as a serious health problem that has unfortunately affected victims and their families, however according to reports the inherited disorder
Four of those children had short palpebral fissures, a smooth philtrum (see previous article by Blackburn), and "microcephaly" (a situation where a child's head is far smaller than the heads of children the same age), all manifestations of a child whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. Dr. Smith and other doctors that got involved began checking the various maladies these children suffered from with other children whose disabilities hadn't
Again, growth deficiencies occur for many different reasons, and other causes must be ruled out. Central nervous system disorders in FAS can be significant and varied, and mimic other disorders. Diagnosis of FAS can be made on the basis of structural, neurological, or functional CNS disorders. Diagnosis of CNS deficits must also rule out other disorders that can co-exist with FAS, such as autism or oppositional defiant disorder (National
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Special Education About the Child Pietro is a 7-year-old boy. His biological parents are Argentine and Colombian. He was born approximately six weeks prematurely because of his mother's consumption of alcohol throughout the duration of her pregnancy. According to medical reports, his mother did not consume heavy quantities of alcohol, but she did consume nominal amounts on a regular basis, such as one to three times a week, nearly
According to the research, this is "a theoretical framework that seeks to describe a developmental process associated with efforts to provide access for individuals with disabilities to facilities, programs, and information," (Edyburn 2001 p 24). This theoretical foundation focuses on the need to increase advocacy through academic research and the exposure of common findings to advocacy groups. Then, phase 2 focuses on making much needed resources and environments for