Introduction
Teratogens are chemicals that have the potential to cause functional or physical abnormalities in the developing human fetus or embryo if the pregnant mother is subjected to them. Most of the time, it is something in the environment that the mother may have been exposed to when she was pregnant (Kaleelullah and Garugula, 2021). Further, it might be prescription medicine, a street drug, alcohol use, or an illness existing in the mother that increases the likelihood of the baby being born with a congenital disability. Exposure to a teratogen is responsible for around four tofive5 percent of all birth abnormalities. Teratogens are divided into four categories: metabolic abnormalities, physical agents, medication, infections, and chemicals that are encompassed in this paper.
Metabolic Conditions
Metabolic disorders impair the body’s growth and function by altering the chemical mechanism that produces energy from meals. Typically, if an expectant mother is undernourished, her fetus is probably malnourished (Xuel et al., 2019). In particular, Diabetes, as a metabolic condition, may induce prenatal abnormalities. Hypoglycemia affects the embryonic heart’s development by boosting glucose-regulated proteins’ expression. As a result, blood sugar levels that are too high may lead to neural tube abnormalities or birth defects of the brain and spinal cord and create free radicals or damaged cells lacking a critical chemical that can affect fetal development.
Drugs and Chemicals
It is common knowledge that several abused drugs may interfere with a fetus’s proper growth. Sebastiani et al. (2019) study accentuate that alcohol, due to its’s tendency to travel effectively and swiftly via the placenta into fetal organs, notably the growing brain, its consumption during gestation may have a severe teratogenic impact on the baby. Moreover, developmental exposure may lead to fetal alcohol spectrum abnormalities (FASDs), an inclusive term for the adverse consequences of prenatal alcohol consumption, including abnormalities in neurological, behavioral development, and physical. These detrimental consequences vary by person and may entail various functional and structural problems, central nervous system dysfunction, craniofacial dysmorphology, and growth retardation. Further, it can affect disabilities in a range of behavioral areas, including concentration, self-regulation, social reasoning, and educational achievement, which have been identified.
Infections
Many viral infections, such as the Cytomegalovirus (CMV), toxoplasmosis, Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV), rubella, and mumps, may cause congenital abnormalities in the baby if they are contracted during the pregnancy. Intra-uterine limitation, hydrocephaly, and retarded psychomotor development are possible outcomes of primary or recurrent CMV infections during pregnancy (Abdel-Razeq, 2018). Nonetheless, inter-uterine growth restriction, premature labor, and miscarriage are the most prevalent pregnancy-associated problems with Herpes virus exposure. Viruses such as the rubella virus are among the most teratogenic of all. Among the symptoms of congenital rubella syndrome include microcephaly, cerebral calcification, and neurologic disorders.
Physical Agents like Radiation or Hyperthermia
Teratogens in the physical realm may include ionizing or non-ionizing radiation, hypothermia, and mechanical pressures, among other things. According to (Chaudhary and Sehgal, 2019), hypothermia is classified by some scientists as a condition of the mother. Still, it may also be considered a physical issue during the pregnancy. If pregnant women are exposed to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, they are at risk of developing cancer. When it comes to fetal development, non-ionizing radiation does not pose a substantial threat, but exposure to ionizing radiation may be exceedingly harmful. In utero, exposure to non-ionizing radiation does not provide a significant threat.
How Cognitive Impairments Affect Child’s Growth
Cognitive impairment is characterized by a loss in thinking, attention, memory, and language skills. Some persons who suffer from cognitive impairments may have significant difficulties in several areas. Others may be suffering from particular and modest problems. As De Onis (2017) research underscores cognitive disability, whether severe or minor, specialized or generalized, may influence a child’s development in a variety of different areas and cognitive development. In this regard, cognitive impairments may affect the physical, social, and intellectual development of a child.
Physical Development
Cognitive impairments vary by individual; for example, mild abnormalities affecting memory and attention are moderate and narrow. In comparison, extreme cognitive impairments significantly damage a person’s thinking, memory, and language abilities. The two distinct cognitive deficiencies may cause both persons to have delays or difficulties in their physical development or how their bodies evolve from infancy through adolescence (De Onis, 2017). Similarly, this may involve sensory input and motor control difficulties (or the control of movement). On the other hand, their cognitive deficits will have a distinct effect on their physical growth. Children with mental deficiencies may struggle to learn to move, such as walking, holding pens or pencils, or self-care.
Moreover, they may struggle to clothe themselves or clean their teeth. The child’s cognitive handicap will dictate how their physical development is influenced. For instance, with abnormalities affecting memory and attention, individuals may struggle to care for themselves because they cannot recall how to clean their teeth properly. Nevertheless, severe abnormalities may have a more difficult time regulating their actions; the more significant and pervasive the cognitive disability, the greater the effect on a person’s physical growth. A child with a minor and particular cognitive deficiency is likely to have fewer and maybe milder obstacles than a youngster with more widespread and severe deficiencies.
Social and Intellectual Development
Generally, the developmental period, which spans three to six years, is a critical phase of social and emotional ability development. The variety of social contacts with adults and peers in a variety of circumstances continues to grow, and social surroundings increasingly demand adherence to social norms or standards (De Onis, 2017). Children must acquire a new ability to comprehend emotional and social circumstances and effectively connect with others to be viewed as socially adjusted and foster social interactions.
Children with Intellectual Disabilities (IDs), on the other hand, have a hard time developing these emotional and social talents. Impairment in cognitive and adaptive functioning, including social skills, are accepted as diagnostic criteria for intellectual impairment (De Onis, 2017). Children with IDs must acquire social cognitive skills in order to engage in a socially acceptable and adaptable manner. However, the majority of children with IDs struggle with social cognition and perform below the level of typically developing children their chronological or developmental age. Considering whether individuals are matched on developmental or chronological age, research indicates that children with IDs have either a deficit or a delay in social cognitive development when compared to normally developing children. These contrasts establish if a child’s deficits are the result of a particular condition or developmental issues.
Physical Impairments or Deformities
Body deformities are congenital defects in the structure (how the body is constructed) or function (how the body functions) of the body that may result in physical handicap. If structural birth abnormalities such as heart, limb, or brain malformation are not recognized and treated promptly, some may be fatal or result in stunted growth of children (De Onis, 2017). Notably, understanding human development across the lifespan, including birth defects and associated disabilities, has connotations and does not adequately reflect the numerous abilities and talents of those affected by these problems, as abnormalities can prevent individuals from fully exploiting their talents throughout childhood and adolescence. This can be articulated by the fact that most of those individuals are stigmatized and hence cannot engage with others.
Behavioral Problems
Childhood behavioral issues appear to enhance the likelihood of children being subjected to a negative developmental route wherein they encounter a variety of difficulties such as higher academic failings, depression/anxiety, eating disorders, as well as interpersonal and health-related challenges. An increasing number of studies linking behavioral indicators to interpersonal challenges have found an opposite relation between behavioral problems and social competence in children over the past decade; that is, high levels of problems are associated with low levels of social competence, and vice versa. The hypothesis is that negative social acumen, which includes problems in social cognitive processing, challenges with adjusting to a circumstance, and disapproval by friends can influence the adjustments and upkeep of behavioral issues that will adversely affect a cognitive upbringing from childhood to adolescence.
Conclusion
Teratogenic substances have adverse effects when a pregnant mother is exposed to them. Thus, the prevention of teratogens and the evaluation of their risks are critical for the proper development of the fetus. Numerous congenital abnormalities or birth defects may be caused by exposure to a wide range of environmental elements such as chemicals, physical hazards, and viral or bacterial illnesses. Failure to check on the preventive measures can lead to adverse effects such as cognitive impairments, physical impairments or deformities, and social/behavior problems. As a result, the condition will affect to dire consequences on a child’s growth and development.
References
Abdel-Razeq, S. S., Cross, S. N., Lipkind, H. S., & Copel, J. A. (2018). Cytomegalovirus, Rubella, Toxoplasmosis, Herpes Simplex Virus, and Varicella. In Obstetric Imaging: Fetal Diagnosis and Care (pp. 666-681). Elsevier.
Chaudhary, G. and Sehgal, A. (2019). Teratogens.
De Onis, M. (2017). Child growth and development. Nutrition and Health in a Developing World, 119-141.
Kaleelullah, R. A., & Garugula, N. (2021). Teratogenic genesis in fetal malformations.Cureus, 13(2).
Sebastiani, G., Borrás-Novell, C., Alsina Casanova, M., Pascual Tutusaus, M., Ferrero Martínez, S., Gómez Roig, M. D., & García-Algar, O. (2018). The effects of alcohol and drugs of abuse on maternal nutritional profile during pregnancy. Nutrients, 10(8), 1008.
Xue, Y., Guo, C., Hu, F., Zhu, W., & Mao, S. (2019). Maternal undernutrition induces fetal hepatic lipid metabolism disorder and affects the development of fetal liver in a sheep model. The FASEB Journal, 33(9), 9990-10004.