HEROIN AND THE AFFECTS IT HAS ON AN UNBORN FETUS

Heroin and the affects it has on an unborn fetus

Heroin and the affects it has on an unborn fetus

Introduction

Nowadays, there are so many ways things can affect the growth of a fetus. Many of them hereditary and many of them environmental. This one topic I had chosen is an environmental factor to an unhealthy fetus. The first trimester is a pregnancy is the most critical for survival and development of the brain. Women who plan on getting pregnant must have a proper nutritional diet for a healthy pregnancy. Large amounts of some nutrients may actually be hazardous for your baby. Getting such vitamins as vitamin B is very important. Not enough vitamin B can increase a womans risk of giving birth to a child with a neural tube defect. A neural tube defect is a defect of the spinal cord and column.

Heroin and the affects it has on an unborn fetus

Folate is important during pregnancy because it protects the baby from a neural tube defect. Although it does not seem like much to miss out on some vitamins regularly, a pregnant woman needs to have all vitamins needed for a healthy baby. Two of every thousand infants born each year have a neural tube defect such as spina bifida because mothers did not get enough folate. Women must also take an adequate amount of folic acid before getting pregnant to decrease problems with their pregnancy. Lack of folic acid could increase the risk of a child being born with spina bifida also, so a woman should have 0.4mg of folic acid a day. Women who previously had a pregnancy and had a baby born with spina bifida are “at risk” to have another infant born with the same condition due to lack of folic acid. Although not taking enough is critical, taking too much is critical as well. Taking too much folic acid can hide the signs of a vitamin B deficiency, which also could be critical. By the time a poor diet is corrected, the early development of the embryo can be well underway. Taking less and less vitamins as the fetus grows could result in birth defects. Too little vitamin D can weaken a developing fetus, but too much could result in birth defects. Lack of riboflavin could put the fetus at risk of structural defects such as a cleft palate or a deformed heart. People are unaware of the affects to an infant. Poor nutrition during pregnancy could also result in the uterus malfunctioning during labor, which means a long and painful labor. There are other effects to the fetus for improper nutrition such as brain damage, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, respiratory distress syndrome, SIDS, ands stillbirth, just to name a few. As mentioned, too many vitamins are dangerous, but what about too little? Too little vitamins are hazardous also. Stimulants such as coffee and tea may sound safe to drink during a pregnancy, right? ...