In my last blog entry, I told you
about the dangers of alcohol and drugs and the addictions that can come forth
through its repetitive use and exposure. I thought I could only drive my point
in further of how the dangers substance abuse can be detrimental, especially
when dealing with the lives of our children.
teratogen (ˈtɛrətədʒən; tɪˈrætə-) n
1. (Medicine) any substance, organism, or process that causes malformations
in a fetus.
Millions of
babies are affected by teratogens each year in the U.S., whether it be a
biological occurrence or a defect directly influenced by the mother. Once a
woman becomes pregnant; the first 2 months of development for her fetus are known
as organogenesis. During this time period, the fetus is developing its organs (a.k.a
this is an EXTREMELY crucial time period for the baby). This is also the time
period when the little one is most vulnerable to any influence the mother
stresses upon the child, such as drinking or doing drugs. You can see where
this can get out of hand right? Being a college student and growing up an in an
area where teen pregnancy is very prevalent; I’ve witnessed many situations in
which these girls don’t even know they’re pregnant sometimes for at least a
good month. Let’s say they went to Bianca’s birthday party downtown on Saturday
night and had a few drinks, then to Sean’s bash on Friday night and had a few
more drinks and they just continue to live this lifestyle while unknowingly
pregnant; their child will be devastatingly affected. Babies can develop Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which is a syndrome that will cause children to develop
physical and mental defects they carry with them for the rest of their lives. A
little boy/girl will have social issues, organ dysfunction, or facial
abnormalities as a result of the mother’s intake of alcohol during pregnancy.
I though it
was so important to shine a light on this issue because many people are
uneducated on this topic and do not realize the dangers of impairing their
fetus even early on in pregnancy. In the case below, this woman was actually
given false information on the effects that alcohol would have on her fetus.
I for one
know there is nothing better than a visual to really solidify a subject in
one’s mind. So this short clip details to you what life is like for someone
with FAS.
Be aware and spread the message!
This is a delicate subject. The reason so is because it’s not the children’s fault when they come into this world with certain diseases. Especially for women that don’t take certain precautions to see if they are pregnant or not. At the end, the child pays for consequences of these types of situations. I also agree when you mention how some young women are not educated when it comes to these certain topics. We should educate women while there young to understand the types of causes of diseases that can occur in children when they are pregnant.
ReplyDeleteThere is no stopping the urge to procreate, mate or reproduce because it is hard wired in us to behave like so… So I think safe and protected sex is the key when it comes to controlling for pregnancies especially in teens and women who live underprivileged communities… Sadly it is exactly in these places where education is scarce… But sometimes education is the best gift we can share if not financial support. It is the best preventative solution to any unwanted diseases for ourselves and for unwanted pregnancies that can result to neglect from the parents or mother… Also I think community support and outreach programs should be enforced if women still abuse drugs and alcohol at home or if it becomes uncontrollable. It is a sad fact that the rich get better and the poor get worse, however education should eradicate all these inconsistencies in our society.
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