Illicit use of these drugs can lead to low birth weight, breathing difficulties, death, and of course the possibility of the baby being born addicted to the drug. Drug addictions in infants present themselves as irritability, fevers, and piercing cries. More specifically, cocaine use during pregnancy can cause physical deformities in the child’s eyes, bones, genitals, urinary tract, kidneys and heart and acute growth retardation. They may also experience seizures and hemorrhages. While many people believe that marijuana may not be as harmful as these other drugs, it can still affect the infant in a few ways.
In this essay I will examine how smoking, alcohol and the mother’s diet influence prenatal development. Cigarette smoking is proven to have a negative effect on the smoker so how could it be any different for a fetus exposed to nicotine. Researchers have found that smoking and drinking are associated with disturbances in the placental functioning and with changes in maternal physiology that lead to oxygen deprivation and may produce structural and functional changes in the brain of a fetus ( Mavis Hetherington & Ross Parke). Mothers that smoke have a higher increase of infants being born with growth deficiencies rather than non-smokers. Also common with maternal smoking is Sudden Infant Death Syndrom (SIDS).
Working with babies from birth to 12 months The main factors that affect the health and development of babies in there first year are smoking, alcohol, drugs, quality of care and love, stimulation, nutrition, infections, medical conditions and genetic factors. Smoking restricts the amount of oxygen they receive in the worm and it affects their growth and development. When woman smoke during pregnancy their unborn baby is at risk of a low birth weight. Prematurity is a risk as the baby would find it difficult to develop and the woman would give birth before 38 weeks. Other related effects that include a higher incidence of cot death and asthma.
A mother who smokes two packs a day could take over a pound and a half off the baby’s weight at birth. The baby could also have problems such as underdeveloped lungs and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Women who smoke while pregnant can cause a number of health issues for their baby. Not only will smoking harm the baby, but it also harms the person who is smoking in the first place. There are over 4,000 harmful chemicals in cigarettes.
There are many agents in the environment that can have a detrimental effect on developing foetuses. These external agents are called teratogens and they can cause damage or death during prenatal development. (Bee, H. 2010) One of these teratogens is legal drugs. Most of these drugs particular the prescription and over-the-counter are safe for pregnant women but, there are some drugs that can have harmful effects like for example thalidomide, DES and the most dangerous ones are cigarettes and alcohol. It is well know that cigarettes are unhealthy for the smoker reducing the oxygen in the body.
Jordan Young Child Development Period 5 Smoking while pregnant During a pregnancy you can make many choices, for yourself, and your baby. One of those decisions should not be smoking. If you smoke while you are pregnant it has many effects on your baby, before and after the birth. It retards the growth along with the brain development. It impairs the breathing after birth, and increases the likeliness of prematurity.
Multiple birth babies are at increased risk of low birth weight because they are often pre mature. Moreover, excessive stress and victim of domestic violence or other abuse also may increase the risk of low birth weight. Babies who have low birth weight are more likely to have health problems than babies born normally. Many of the premature and low birth weight babies lack enough body fat to uphold a normal body temperature, and have medical problems. Some of the medical problems that infants with low birth weight have are that they have the risk of developing breath problems such as the respiration distress syndrome.
Personal factors are factors that personally affect the child. These may include: • The child’s genetics. • Mother who smokes, uses drugs or alcohol, poor diet, anxiety and illnesses such as rubella. • What happens during birth – i.e. lack of oxygen to child etc.
Growth of the fetus is likely to be insufficient and premature birth defects are more common with these drugs crossing the placenta, constricts the blood vessels reducing blood flow to the fetus (Agin, 2010). The reduce blood and oxygen supply to the fetus slows the growth of bones and intestine. The use of over the counter drugs and prescription drugs can act directly on the fetus causing damage and abnormal development leading to birth defect and death. It can also cause the muscles of the uterus to contact forcefully, reducing the blood to trigger pre-term labor and delivery (Agin,
They are more prone to catch sexually transmitted disease and have a high chance of not succeeding in adulthood. Massachusetts has established some pregnancy prevention programs to minimize the pregnancy rates. Many young teens get pregnant early on in life and it interferes with their schooling, finding care for