TABLE 1
SOURCE: Neil J. Salkind.
ture rupture of the amniotic sac, and fetal deaths and
deaths of newborns. Women who smoke during preg-
nancy give birth to babies who are about one-half
pound (225 grams) lighter (on the average) and smal-
ler in all dimensions (for example, length and head
circumference) than babies of nonsmokers, are born
prematurely, and have other health problems.
Alcohol
The effects of alcohol are almost undisputed.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), identified in 1973, is
perhaps one of the best known and best documented
outcomes of drinking, affecting approximately one
out of every 750 births. And it is not just the heavy
drinker who may place her fetus in danger. It has
been found that women having one or more drinks
daily were three times more likely to miscarry than
women who had less than one drink daily.
FAS is a pattern of malformations in which the
most serious effect is mental retardation. Other possi-
ble complications include permanent growth retarda-
tion, malformations of the face, brain damage,
hyperactivity and learning disabilities, and heart de-
fects.
Even if a child does not suffer from FAS, the ef-
fects of alcohol consumption can be significant. Al-
though these children do not manifest the
characteristics discussed above, they are at high risk
for such problems of children of alcoholics as hyp-
eractivity and learning disabilities. Results of research
also indicate that moderate drinking can affect the
later development of a child’s intelligence as mea-
sured by IQ scores at age four.
The Mother
Since the mother’s body is the chief element in
the fetus’ environment, the mother’s physical condi-
tion can significantly affect the baby’s development.
Among the maternal factors known to influence the
fetus are disease, age, diet, reactions associated with
a certain blood component, and prolonged stress.
Even a mother’s knowledge of what is taking
place in her body can be important. Some research
has shown that mothers who consumed potentially
teratogenic drugs during pregnancy had very little in-
formation about these drugs and even less informa-
tion about their effect during pregnancy.Diseases
Since the placenta cannot filter out extremely
small disease carriers, such as viruses, children can be
born with malaria, measles, chicken pox, mumps,
syphilis, or other venereal diseases that have been
transmitted from the mother.
Rubella is the most widespread of the viruses that
have a teratogenic effect. If a pregnant woman con-
tracts rubella in the first three months of pregnancy,
she is likely to give birth to a child with a congenital
abnormality such as heart disease, cataracts, deafness,
or mental retardation. Interestingly, there is not a di-
rect relationship between the severity of the disease
in the mother and its effect on the fetus. For example,
women who have had mild attacks of rubella have
given birth to babies with severe abnormalities.
Although rubella might be the most widespread
disease, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
(AIDS) is by far the most frightening and the one that
has received the most publicity. The vast majority of
children with AIDS contracted the disease sometime
between early pregnancy and birth. The disease is
usually transmitted from the mother through the
uterus during pregnancy or is acquired by the off-
spring at birth.
As of the early twenty-first century, there was not
a cure for AIDS, and the majority of efforts at control-
ling the disease focused on education in an effort toPRENATAL DEVELOPMENT 331