How Genetic Factors Affect Development

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Pregnancy and Smoking

  • The risks of smoking during pregnancy are serious- premature delievery, increased risk of miscarriage, still birth or sudden infant death
  • Smoking is much more harmful than any stress quiting may bring
  • When you smoke you breath in more than 4000 chemicals and the smoke goes straight from your lungs into your bloodstream, this blood then flows to your placenta and umbilical cord right into your baby's body. This causes the baby to struggle for oxygen
  • Another chemical found in the cigarette is carbon monoxide, when this dangerous chemical reaches your bloodstream it restricts the supply of oxygen ( as it turns haemoglobin into carboxyhaemoglobin) that is essential for your baby's health and development and causes your baby's heart to pump even harder. 
  • Your baby's body is completely dependent on yours so if you smoke throughout pregnancy your baby will go through nicotine withdrawal when born. This makes the baby stressed and you may not be able to stop them from crying
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Pregnancy and Smoking 2

  • Smoking when pregnant also increases the risk of the baby dying from cot death by at least 25%
  • If you stop smoking both the mother and baby will benefit immediately. Carbon monoxide and other chemicals will quickly leave the mother's body, meaning that there will be more oxygen in the mother's blood, making both the mother and baby much healthier
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Pregnancy and Alcohol

  • When you drink alcohol passes from your blood through the placenta and to the baby
  • A baby's liver is one of the last organs to develop and doesn't mature until the later stages of pregnancy
  • Your baby cannot process alcohol as well as you can, and too much exposure to alcohol can seriously affect their development 
  • Drinking alcohol, especially in the first 3 months of pregnancy, increases the risk of miscarriage, premature birth and your baby having a low birth weight
  • Drinking after the first 3 months of pregnancy could affect your baby after they are born
  • The risks are greater with the more that you drink and the effects include learning difficulties and behavioural problems
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Pregnancy and Alcohol 2

  • Drinking heavily throughout pregnancy can cause your baby to develop a serious condition called foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
  • Children with FAS have:
  • Poor growth
  • Facial abnormalities
  • Learning and behavioural problems
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Pregnancy and Infections

  • Chickenpox- when coming into contact with your child you could pass on the infection, a blood test will easily establish if your child is immune to the infection or not
  • Cytomegalovirus (CMV)- it's a virus which is part of the herpes group of viruses whcih can cause coldsores and chicken pox. It can cause problems for unborn babies such as hearing problems, visual impairments, blindness, learning difficulties or epilepsy
  • Group B srep- a bacteria when carried by a woman its found in the intestine and vagina that causes no problems in most pregnancies but in some it affects the baby in ways, such as, premature labour, fever and your baby carrying GBS
  • Infections transmitted by animals- cat faeces contain toxoplasma that causes toxoplasmosis infections. Sheep carry an organism called chlamydia psittaci which is known to cause miscarriages, they also carry toxoplasma. Pigs can be a source of hepatitis E (there's no risk from eating cooked pork products.
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Pregnancy and Infections 2

  • Hepatitis B- a virus that infects the liver, all women are offered a blood test for this as part of their anti-natal care. If you have hepatitis B or you're infected during pregnancy (through sex with an infected person without using a condom or by direct contact with infected blood) you can pass the infection onto your baby at birth
  • Hepatitis C- a virus which infects the liver, its transmitted by direct contact of infected blood. If you have Hepatitis C you may pass the illness onto the baby, this cannot be prevented but your baby can be tested for it and can be referred for a specialist assessment
  • Herpes- genital herpes infection can be dangerous for your newborn baby, initial infection causes painful blisters or ulcers on the genitals, less severe attacks can occur some years afterwards. If your first infection occurs near the end of pregnancy or during labour, a caesarean section may be reccomended to reduce the risk of passing herpes onto your baby
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Pregnancy and Infections 3

  • HIV- HIV can be passed from a pregnant woman to her baby during pregnancy, birth or during breast feeding. Treatment in pregnancy reduces the risk of passing HIV to the baby, if diagnosed with HIV your doctors will strongly advise you not to breast feed. 
  • Parvovirus B19 (slapped cheek syndrome)- it's a common infection in children that causes a characteristics red rash on the face that's called the 'slapped cheek' syndrome
  • Rubella- if pregnant and you come into contact with someone who has rubella, has a rash or come into contact with anyone else who does, or you have symptoms of rubella contact your GP or midwife immediately
  • STI- they have no symptoms but can affect your baby's health during pregnancy or after birth
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Pregnancy and Infections 4

  • Toxoplasmosis- an infection through cat faeces, whilst pregnant it can affect your baby so treatment for this can be given whilst the woman is pregnant and it will not harm the baby
  • Zika virus- a virus which causes birth defects, if a woman catches when she is pregnant, in particular it can cause the baby to have an abnormally small head (microephaly) its also spread via mosquitos, you can reduce your risk of this by using insect repellent and by wearing loose clothing that covers arms and legs. 
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Lifestyle and Diet during Pregnancy

  • No special diet is required but it is important to eat a variety of different foods to ensure that you gte the right balance of nutrients that you and your baby need
  • You need to take folic acid supplements
  • There's no need to eat for two
  • Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables as these provide vitamins, minerals and fibre which helps digestion and prevents constipation
  • Starchy fooda are an important source of energy, some vitamins and fibre can help you fill up without containing too many calories 
  • Pregnant women can now eat runny eggs as long as it has the 'lion' stamp on it
  • Choose lean meat, remove the skin from poultry and try not to add extra fat or oil when cookimg meat. Make sure lamb, beef and pork are cooked all the wy through (check that there is no pink meat and that juices have no pink or red in them)
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Lifestyle and Diet during Pregnancy 2

  • Try to eat two portions of fish a week
  • Dairy is important during pregancy because they contain calcium and other nutrients that you and your baby need
  • Choose low fat variety's when possible
  • You have to avoid some cheeses including: unpasteurised cheeses
  • You shouldn't eat foods which contain high fat and sugars as it increases the amount of cholesterol in the blood
  • Make sure that no bacteria is able to enter your body whilst pregnant as it can cause parasites which can harm your unborn baby. This can be done by washing all surfaces, hands and utensils, and make sure that raw foods are stored separately, use separated knives and chopping boards, heat ready meals until they are steaming hot all the way through
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Congenital Defects

  • Genetic or inherited causes include; 
  • Chromosomal defects such as Down's syndrome and sex hormone abnormalities 
  • Single gene defects, a mutation in one gene causes the defect
  • Dominant inheritance, when one parent passes on a faulty gene such as achondroplasia and Marfan Syndrome
  • Recessive Inheritance- when both parents who don't have the disease pass along the gene for the disease to the child, such as cystic fibrosis and Tay Sachs 
  • Environmental causes ca include drug or alcohol abuse or a disease that the mother has that can increase the chance for the baby to be born with a birth defect
  • An agent that can cause a birth defect  is known by a teratogen
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Congenital Defects 2

  • Multifactorial birth defects are caused by a combination of genes and environmental exposures e.g. cleft lip or heart defects
  • Steps to lower the chances of having a child with a birth defect include;
  • Stopping smoking
  • Eating healthy
  • Maintaining a healthy weight
  • Avoiding exposure to alcohol and drugs
  • Avoiding domestic violence
  • Diagnostic examinations to see if a child has a birth defect include ultrasound scans, amniocentesis, chronic villus sampling (CVS)
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Congenital Defects 3

  • Preconception examinations include;
  • Checking family medical history
  • Genetic testing
  • Vaccination statusing
  • Infection screening
  • Treatment options for children born with birth defects include;
  • Gene therapy- replaces a gene that is missing or defected (the faulty gene)
  • Enzyme replacement therapy- replaces the enzyme that is not producing
  • Prenatal treatment- for instance, prenatal surgery
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