Teratogens

[Name of the Course]Teratogens

Teratogen

A teratogen is an agent present in the human body that can cause birth defects. It is a substance present in the environment, with which a pregnant woman can suffer. This teratogen could be anything from physical to intangible thank can effect a woman's health during pregnancy. A teratogen can be medicine, any drug intake, any exposure to alcoholic drink or anything that may cause a baby born with a defect. In contemporary practice around 5% of all defected birth cases are due to exposure to any particular type of teratogen.

Teratogy is the study of atypical growth of an agent that can cause congenital malformations or birth defects. They are already present in a human body and are very much undiagnosed until its consequences occur.

The most sensitive phase of teratogen during pregnancy occurs when the egg is in fertility process. Once the egg starts getting fertile, it takes around one week to develop a similar blood supply between the mother and the embryo. Thus, if some agents are there in the mother's blood, they had now also accessed the embryo's nerves system. A teratogen used to affect embryo in two weeks after its formation.

Three Common Types of Tertogens

The three most common type of teratogen is as following

Nicotine is the most common form of teratogen that affects the health of an embryo. Though nicotine does not affect the mental cognition of the baby, but this can cause the intrauterine growth restriction. Women who used to be chain smoker do experience premature deliveries. Nicotine contracted nerves system it contracts the vessels and nerves in the Uterus as a result, the nutrition an oxygen supply to the embryo decreases and its growth can become a serious problem. The lack of nutrition and oxygen flow may also disturb the mental development ...