Case Study: Background
To Thembi’s surprise, her daughter Lindi tells her that she thinks she has fallen pregnant. After visiting their local clinic, the nurse confirms that Lindi is in her first trimester of pregnancy. This comes as quite a shock to Thembi, as Lindi is only 17 years old. Nevertheless, she decides to support Lindi through her pregnancy and give her all the advice she needs to bring a healthy baby to term. Lindi is concerned about the potential environmental dangers that might impact the health of her child after recently reading about the devastating effects of Thalidomide on pregnant women in the 1960s. She decides to take note of what teratogenic factors might cause harm to her and her baby during pregnancy. The first thing that Lindi notes is that some of her family and friends are smokers. She doesn’t smoker herself, but is wary about the effects of second hand smoke. Lindi also notices that some of the houses in her neighbourhood have asbestos roofs, and that there is a lot of pollution in the streets. She knows that it is pointless to worry about everything, but she still has a lot of questions that need answers:
- How did the dangerous effects of Thalidomide draw attention to the effects of teratogens on congenital malformations?
- What are the most frequent genetic and environmental causes of congenital malformation syndromes?
- What are the varying effects of teratogens at different stages of pregnancy?
- What should pregnant women avoid before, during, and soon after pregnancy?
- How are people exposed to these different environmental and chemical risks, and how can these be avoided?
- What are the effects of smoking on the development of one’s baby?
- How are heavy metals transferred from the mother to the child, and what effects can these have?
Task:
Choose a specific teratogen or teratogenic effect to structure your essay around. Your essay will answer the above questions and the following learning objectives:
- Be able to give a brief overview of some key historical cases that brought to light the effects of teratogens on pregnant women and their children;
- Be able to identify possible environmental risk factors in pregnancy that can impact the development of the foetus;
- Be able to explain how people are exposed to different environmental and chemical risks;
- Be able to describe the effects of smoking on the mother and the child;
- Be able to critically describe of dietary and lifestyle factors that affect the health of the mother and child before, during and soon after pregnancy
Compulsory Reading
– DiFranza, J. R., Aligne, C. A., & Weitzman, M. (2004). Prenatal and postnatal environmental tobacco smoke exposure and children’s
health.Pediatrics,113(Supplement 3), 1007-1015.
Recommended reading
The following readings will give further context to the discussion:
Natural Resources Defense Council (2011). ‘Toxic Chemicals in Pregnant Women?’, find at: http://www.nrdc.org/living/pregnancy/toxic-chemicals-pregnant-women.asp
London, L., Beseler, C., Bouchard, M. F., Bellinger, D. C., Colosio, C., Grandjean, P.,… & Stallones, L. (2012). Neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental effects of pesticide exposures. Neurotoxicology,33(4), 887-896.
Grandjean, P., & Landrigan, P. J. (2014). Neurobehavioural effects of developmental toxicity. The Lancet Neurology,13(3), 330-338.
Jurewicz, J., & Hanke, W. (2008). Prenatal and childhood exposure to pesticides and neurobehavioral development: review of epidemiological studies. International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health,21(2),121-132.
Also see.
http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/en/resourcecentres/pregnancybabies/pregnancy/healthcareinpregnancy/pages/things-to-avoid-during-pregnancy-teratogens.aspx