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Courtney Hallam

Dr. Sheffield

Education 336-D1

16 June 2019

Environmental Effects on Fetal Development

Healthy prenatal development is extremely important, for both the parents of the unborn

baby and the unborn baby itself. Five environmental factors that affect prenatal development are

tobacco, alcohol, radiation, environmental pollution, and infectious disease.

In the U.S., the number of women that smoke while pregnant has decreased. However, 11

percent still smoke during their pregnancy (p. 68). This can cause many problems for their

babies, including low birth weight, prematurity, miscarriage, and cancer later in life. The sooner

a pregnant woman quits smoking, the less harmful the effects will be. Nicotine constricts blood

flow which prevents the proper amount of nutrients from reaching the fetus. Even if the pregnant

woman is not smoking, and someone around her does, they still put her and her baby at risk. This

second-hand smoking, called “passive smoking,” causes similar effects achieved by the pregnant

woman smoking herself (p. 68).

Alcohol greatly affects prenatal development in that it can cause three different disorders

that are encompassed in the term, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). Fetal alcohol

syndrome (FAS) has three main symptoms including slow physical growth, three facial

abnormalities, and brain injury (p. 68). FAS is typically caused by a pregnant woman heavily

drinking. Partial fetal alcohol syndrome (p-FAS) has two main symptoms including two facial

abnormalities and brain injury. P-FAS, recently, has been found to be caused by the father’s

alcohol use near the time of conception which can alter gene expression (p. 68). Alcohol-related
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neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) is when a minimum of three areas of mental functioning

are impaired. This disorder is less prevalent than FAS (p. 68). The more alcohol a pregnant

woman consumes, the more severe the symptoms of an FASD will be. These disorders are more

common in women living in poverty.

Women that were pregnant during WWII, when the bombings in Japan occurred, saw

babies with defects due to the ionizing radiation (p. 69). Pregnant women near Chernobyl,

Ukraine saw similar defects. These two events caused miscarriages and babies to be born with

physical abnormalities, slow physical growth, and brain damage (p. 69). A baby could be born

completely healthy, but they will face health problems later on from the radiation.

Industrialized nations have many factories that are constantly sending chemicals into the

air in which pregnant women breathe. These chemicals greatly affect prenatal development and

increase the baby’s risk of developing severe health problems later in life. When a pregnant

woman consumes seafood, she is putting her baby at risk of mercury exposure. This can cause

severe brain damage, which is why pregnant women are urged to avoid eating seafood diets that

include long-lived predatory fish (p. 70). Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used to insulate

electrical equipment but have been found to enter waterways and food supplies (p. 70). PCBs, at

both high and low levels, can cause cognitive impairments. Lead is found in flaking paints of old

buildings and in materials used in industrial occupations (p. 70). High levels of lead can cause

physical deformities and brain damage; whereas, low levels cause poorer mental and motor

development (p. 70). Dioxins are toxic compounds from incineration that can alter hormone

levels. Women can suffer from serious health problems from dioxins and small amounts in male

bloodstreams can alter the sex ratio of their future children (p. 70). Air pollution is most often

linked to lung, immune system, and respiratory problems.

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Infectious diseases can cause physical abnormalities, brain damage, and fetal and

newborn deaths. Some infectious diseases that cause serious harm to pregnant women and their

fetuses are rubella, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency (AIDS),

cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex 2, and toxoplasmosis (p. 70). Rubella gives babies significant

defects and often results in fetal or newborn deaths. HIV can lead to AIDS, which ruins the

immune system. Pregnant women with untreated HIV pass the disease to their babies 10 to 20

percent of the time (p. 70). AIDS progresses rapidly in babies, making most sick by only six

months old. It can also kill children by the age of three if untreated. Antiretroviral drug therapy

can help reduce the transmission of AIDS from the mother to her baby and when an aggressive

treatment begins within two days after birth for babies with HIV, they can be freed of the disease

altogether (p. 70). Both cytomegalovirus and herpes simplex 2 are extremely dangerous and they

invade the mother’s genital tract, which infects babies either during pregnancy or at birth (p. 70).

Toxoplasmosis is found in many animals and affects women who come into contact with the

feces of infected cats, contaminated soil, or eat raw or undercooked meat (p. 70). Pregnant

women can avoid toxoplasmosis by having cats screened for the disease, having other people

clean the cat litter and maintain the garden, and ensure that their meat is fully cooked.

Expecting mothers should try their best to avoid these environmental factors to ensure

that their baby is healthy. Prenatal development is extremely important as any decision that the

mother makes can and will affect their baby. These five environmental factors should be avoided

to keep both the mother and her fetus safe.