The Effects Of Prenatal Exposure On Alcohol - 1389 Words

Introduction Prenatal exposure to alcohol can cause profound amounts of birth defects and mental retardation. Drinking alcohol is composed of ethanol, a flammable liquid, which is made by fermentation. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol can affect different parts of the human body such as the brain, heart, liver, pancreas, the immune system, and plays a role in cancer (NIH, n.d.). In the brain, alcohol can intervene in communication pathways, which affects how the brain works. Alcohol can cause many different heart defects and disorders such as cardiomyopathy, irregular heartbeats, stroke, high blood pressure and in some cases heart attack. Alcohol proves to be very damaging to the liver, especially in alcoholism. In many cases, the liver turns into scar tissue causing fibrosis and cirrhosis. Other liver problems can include having a fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis. Alcohol-induced fatty liver disease, the first stage of alcohol-induced liver disease, occurs when fat is depositing in liver cells. Alcoholic hepatitis is very similar to fatty liver disease, although it presents with inflammation and scarring of the liver. Many alcoholic’s liver becomes so scarred that it is irreversible, which is called alcoholic cirrhosis. Alcoholic cirrhosis is the most progressive form of alcohol-related liver disease and presents as severe scarring, with termination of normal liver structure. The pancreas is also affected by long-termShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure On Children1388 Words   |  6 PagesThe Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure On average, one in thirteen pregnant women have admitted to consuming one or more alcoholic beverage in their previous thirty days of pregnancy (â€Å"Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders†). Though one drink may seem miniscule in the scope of an eight to nine month pregnancy, any amount of alcohol exposure can be detrimental to a developing child, leading to life-changing disorders such as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Fetal alcohol syndrome, a severe potential consequenceRead MoreEffects Of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure On Motor Development847 Words   |  4 PagesEffects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Motor Development This paper explores the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on motor development. With this topic, came many questions. They are: Is every child effected the same amount, or does it depends on how much the mother drank and how much the fetus was exposed to?, Is there anything the mother can do to reverse the effects of exposure, or perhaps lessen the damage on the child?, Is there a safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed without harmRead MoreThe Effect of Exposure to Alcohol During Prenatal Development2046 Words   |  9 PagesExposure to alcohol during prenatal development is one of the leading causes of preventable birth defects and mental impairments (Bower, Szajer, Mattson, Riley, Murphy, 2013; Nuà ±ez, Roussotte, Sowell, 2011; Sowell et al., 2008a). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), the more severe form of PAE, affects two to seven out of every 1000 individuals in the United States (May et al., as cited in Simmons, Thomas, Levy Riley, 2010). The term Fetal Alcohol Spectru m Disorder (FASD) describes an individual withRead MoreFetal Alcohol Syndrome And Its Effects1712 Words   |  7 Pages Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and its Effects On a Child’s Cognitive Development Dane D. Hrencher Kansas State University Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and its Effects On a Child’s Cognitive Development Alcohol is known as one the most dangerous teratogens. Every time a pregnant woman drinks, she allows alcohol to enter her blood stream and make its way into the placenta. Unlike the mother, the fetus is unable to break down alcohol that makes the blood alcohol level of the fetus the same orRead MoreThe Effects Of Air Pollution On Reproductive Health1376 Words   |  6 Pagesdefects or termination of a pregnancy. Subjective teratogens are substances in which the mother consumes that cause defects to the child or also termination of a pregnancy. 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Additionally, Chasnoff observed that children that had been exposed to alcohol during pregnancyRead MoreThe Effects Of Prenatal Alcohol On Children977 Words   |  4 Pagesindicated that prenatal exposure to high amounts of alcohol induced several developmental problems as the child grew up. It has been described that alcohol exposure during pregnancy causes several developmental problems in children. Some of these problems include a slower reaction to both visual and auditory stimuli (Mattson, 2006), growth retardation problems (Chasnoff, 2015), and motor impairment (Lucas, 2014). Additionally, Chasnoff observed that children that had been exposed to alcohol during pregnancyRead MorePrenatal Alcohol Exposure And Ability, Academic Achievement, And School Functioning Essay1238 Words   |  5 PagesIn the study titled Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and Ability, Academic Achievement, and School Functioning in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Follow- Up, there is a study conducted in order to show the correlation of academic problems to prenatal alcohol exposure, in which some of the children in the study had fetal alcohol syndrome and others did not. The main theory is that â€Å"Prenatal exposure to alcohol is associated with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) as well as other alcohol- related neurodevelopmentalRead MoreEssay on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome1390 Words   |  6 PagesNutrition is a key component of an individual’s healthy well being. Many factors have a significant effect on nutrition and it is important to continuously maintain a balanced one. Having a good nutrition is one of the main defenses for an innumerous amount of illnesses and diseases that can harm the body. One would ask, â€Å"What is nutrition per say, and how do we maintain the balance of it?† Nutrition is defined as â€Å"the sum of the processes by which [a living thing] takes in and utilizes foodRead MoreEffects of Alcohol and Nicotine on Fetal Development and Child Psychological Development: According to the Teratogenic Effect1140 Words   |  5 Pagesare often attributed to the causal effects of teratogenic insults on the developing o ffspring (for reviews, see Wakschlag et al. 2002; Cornelius and Day 2009). Several lines of evidence support this causal inference, as animal models have suggested neural mechanisms (e.g., interference with cell proliferation and growth; Guerri 1998) by which neurodevelopmental effects may occur (Nordberg et al. 1991); dose-dependent effects have been found in which greater exposure is associated with more adverse outcomes