Recently, the number of children born with developmental pathologies has been steadily increasing. This is due to the influence of teratogenic (from the Greek teros monster, freak) factors, because it is during the prenatal development that the body is especially defenseless. In this case, a lot (though not always) depends on the responsibility of the mother.
So, the hero of Hugo Quasimodo was still crippled in the womb by his own mother, tightly tightening her stomach during pregnancy, to sell more expensive baby freak. That is, the concept of "teratogenic factor" has been known to people for a very long time.
Embryo Vulnerability Stages
The degree of vulnerability of the fetus during pregnancy varies, doctors distinguish 3 stages.
- This stage takes from the first hours of pregnancy to 18 of it. At this time, if a large number of damaged cells are present, a miscarriage occurs. If a miscarriage does not occur, the embryo can soon repair damaged cells without compromising health. Simply put, at this stage there are only two ways - either the embryo dies, or fully develops further.
- The second stage is characterized by the greatest vulnerability of the fetus. The stage takes from 18 to 60 days. It is during this period that the most severe pathologies are formed, sometimes even incompatible with life. Doctors note that the most dangerous developmental abnormalities form up to 36 days, later they are less pronounced and rarely occur, apart from defects in the genitourinary system and hard palate. That is why women with a gestational age of up to three months often have a threat of miscarriage. During this period, it is especially important to protect your own health, because the health of the future baby depends on it.
- During this period, the fetus has already formed organs and their systems, so their improper development is impossible. But there is a risk of impaired fetal growth, death of a certain number of cells, and deterioration of the functioning of any of the organs. The most vulnerable nervous system of the child.
Types of teratogenic factors
The concept of “teratogenesis” (the occurrence of malformations) is divided into 2 types - anomalies arising from the adverse effects of the environment and anomalies as a result of hereditary diseases. However, the concept of “teratogenic factor” refers only to the first type. These are chemical, biological and other factors that cause congenital anomalies in the development of organs and systems.
The classification of teratogenic factors is as follows.
- Chemical substances.
- Ionizing radiation.
- Wrong pregnant lifestyle.
- Infections
Chemicals as a Teratogenic Factor
Each pharmacist will confirm that any chemical in large doses is toxic to the body. This is especially true for pregnant women who are very carefully selected drug therapy, if necessary.
The list of chemicals that can damage the fetus is constantly replenished. Meanwhile, it cannot be said that any substance from this list, as a teratogenic factor, will necessarily cause developmental anomalies, although some drugs can actually increase the risk of this phenomenon by a factor of 2–3. It has been clearly established that the greatest danger is drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy, but their effect during the second and third trimesters has not been fully studied. Only the detrimental effect of thalidomide is known reliably, especially on the 34-50th day of pregnancy.
The greatest danger to the pregnant woman is the evaporation of mercury, toluene, benzene, chlorodiphenyl and its derivatives. As well as the following groups of drugs:
- Tetracyclines (antibiotics).
- Valproic acid, used for seizures and epilepsy, as well as trimethadione.
- "Busulfan" (a drug prescribed for leukemia).
- Hormones of androgen action.
- "Captopril", "Enalapril" (indicated for hypertension).
- Compounds of iodine.
- "Methotrexate" (has an immunosuppressive effect).
- Lithium carbonate.
- "Tiamazole" (thyreostatic agent).
- "Penicillamine" (used in autoimmune reactions).
- "Isotretinoin" (an analogue of vitamin A).
- "Diethylstilbestrol" (hormonal drug).
- "Thalidomide" (sleeping pills).
- "Cyclophosphamide" (antitumor drug).
- "Etretinate" (used for skin diseases).
Since groups of drugs used for completely different diseases can negatively affect the fetus, pregnant patients should be prescribed therapy with extreme caution. Be sure to inform your doctor that you are in a position.
Ionizing radiation
Ultrasound is referred to ionizing radiation (although doctors have long established that ultrasound does not cause significant harm to the fetus), fluorography, fluoroscopy, and other research methods that involve the use of ionizing waves.
Other examples of teratogenic factors are accidents involving the release of radioactive substances into the environment, treatment with radioactive iodine, and radiation therapy.
Infectious agents and pregnancy
Since the placenta has a high degree of permeability, there is a risk of miscarriage or intrauterine infection of the fetus in a number of diseases. Infection in the first 7 weeks of pregnancy can lead to fetal pathologies that are compatible with life. Infection of the child in the later stages can lead to the development of infection in the newborn.
It is noteworthy that the severity of the severity of the manifestations of the disease in a pregnant woman and an embryo can vary.
The teratogenic factor contains the following infections:
- toxoplasmosis;
- cytomegalovirus;
- herpes of types I and II;
- rubella;
- syphilis;
- Venezuelan equine encephalitis;
- varicella-zoster virus.
Also, undesirable consequences for a child entail infection with chlamydia and purulent-inflammatory processes that occur in the body of a pregnant woman.
Wrong pregnant lifestyle
Women in position are responsible for the life and health of their child, so they should give up any alcoholic beverages, smoking, and even excessive drinking of coffee. Teratogenic factors also include drug addiction, pesticides used in rural industries, powders and cleaning products.
Proper nutrition and rejection of harmful, devoid of beneficial properties, food is important. The diet should be built in such a way that the pregnant woman gets everything necessary for the development of the fetus. Thus, protein deficiency leads to embryo hypotrophy. The body of a woman needs such trace elements as selenium, zinc, iodine, lead, manganese, fluorine. In the diet should also be a sufficient amount of calcium and vitamins.
Other teratogenic factors
Pathologies of the fetus can lead to diabetes mellitus, endemic goiter, phenylketonuria and tumors that stimulate the production of androgen hormones. Doctors also believe that overheating and a lack of folic acid are dangerous for the fetus.
Teratogenic factors are those listed above. This concept includes everything that can disrupt the normal development of the fetus and lead to its anomalies. Alas, there are a lot of such factors, so it is extremely important for a woman to monitor her health and nutrition during pregnancy.