Your Online Pregnancy Help Make PregnancySurvey.com Your Home Page!
Search For:
Example: Pregnancy Morning Sickness
Home Page Pregnancy Calendar Questions and Answers Due Date Calculator Ovulation Calendar About Us Contact Us Site Map
You are here: Home -> Changes in Your Baby -> Problems for the Developing Baby Today: Monday, December 2
Pregnancy Topics
Preparing for Pregnancy
Health and Medical Concerns
Pregnancy Tests
Medications and Treatments
Nutrition and Exercise
Fatigue, Work and Pregnancy
More than One Baby!
Changes in Your Baby
Your Baby's Due Date
Baby Development During Pregnancy
Your Baby's Heart
Your Baby in the Womb
Problems for the Developing Baby
Premature Birth
Hydrocephalus
Meconium
Intrauterine-Growth Retardation
Umbilical-Cord Problems
Changes in You
Your Pregnancy Partner
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Substance Use and Abuse
Single Mother-to-Be
Problems in Pregnancy
Labor and Delivery
After Your Baby's Birth
Your New Baby
Feeding Your Baby

Problems for the Developing Baby

The first 10 weeks of pregnancy (8 weeks of fetal development) are called the embryonic period; it is a time of extremely important development in the baby. The embryo is most susceptible during this time to factors that can interfere with its development. Most birth defects occur during this period.

Birth Defects

When a birth defect occurs, we want to know why it happened. This can be frustrating because in most instances we cannot determine a cause. Teratology is the study of abnormal fetal development. A substance that causes birth defects is called a teratogen or is said to be teratogenic. Some things may have a bad effect (be teratogenic) at one point in pregnancy, then be safe at others.
The most critical time appears to be early in pregnancy, during the first trimester or first 13 weeks. An example of this is rubella (German measles). If the fetus is infected during the first trimester, abnormalities such as heart defects can occur. If infection happens later, problems are often less serious.

Effect of Medications on the Baby

Medications can be grouped into three main groups—safe, unsafe and unsure. It's best to avoid any medication during pregnancy unless you discuss it with your doctor. Some medications, such as thyroid medication, are necessary and important during pregnancy.
It's easier and safer to discuss medication use with your physician ahead of time rather than after you have taken a medicine and want to know if it is safe or if it could harm your baby. For a chart on how some medications can affect the developing fetus.
Other medications, besides those listed on the chart, may also be harmful. If you take any of those listed below during your pregnancy, don't panic! Exposure alone doesn't mean definite harm to the fetus. The effect on a developing fetus depends on when you took the medication, the amount you took and how long you took it. Talk to your doctor if you believe you took any of the medications listed below:
angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors
aminopterin
anticonvulsants
benzodiazepines
ethanol
etretinate
live vaccines
methimazole
penicillamine (not penicillin)
ribavirin
vitamin A (in large doses)

Cataracts

Congenital (present-at-birth) cataracts rarely happen and are usually genetic. With cataracts, the lens of the eye is not transparent. Children born to mothers who had German measles (rubella) around the 6th or 7th week of pregnancy may be born with cataracts.

Air Pollution

I am often asked if smog an expectant mother breathes will harm her unborn baby. This is rarely a problem and would be very hard to prove. Your lungs and airways filter the air you breathe, and that protects your baby. However, exposure to cigarette smoke—from the mother's smoking or from the mother's exposure to secondary smoke—is harmful to a developing baby.
We believe exposure to cigarette smoke may be harmful to an unborn baby.
Changes in Your Baby Articles:
Your Baby's Due Date | Baby Development During Pregnancy | Your Baby's Heart | Your Baby in the Womb | Problems for the Developing Baby | Premature Birth | Hydrocephalus | Meconium | Intrauterine-Growth Retardation | Umbilical-Cord Problems
Pregnancy Calendar
Subscribe to Pregnancy Newsletter and receive new and popular pregnancy articles every week.
Your Email Address:
Pregnancy Calendar | Questions and Answers | Pregnancy Glossary | Suggest an Article | Link to Us | Contact Us | Site Map
Please note: All pregnancy articles on this website is for educational and information purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and
treatment, you should consult your personal doctor.
Copyright © 2007, PregnancySurvey.com. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Statement
eXTReMe Tracker