Alcohol is the most common teratogen in developed nation. Children with fetal alcohol syndrome tend to have specific facial deformities including widely spaced eyes and an abnormally thin upper lip. They often have developmental delays, both physically and mentally. They tend to have learning disabilities.
The amount of alcohol consumed in pregnancy has an effect on how badly affected the child will be.
When I became pregnant I had been told that I could not get pregnant. I was drinking fairly heavily at the time. Once I discovered I was pregnant I quit drinking and smoking. However, I was also taking synthyroid and Inderal, which I continued to take throughout the pregnancy. I was somewhat angry when I later discovered that the Inderal was probably unnecessary. It had not been prescribed for high blood pressure but for a mild tremor in my hands, which in monitoring myself I discovered only happens during my period.
My son wasn't technically low birth weight. He was born two weeks early by induced labor and, as it turned out, cesarean section, because I had toxemia. This is fortunate because I had also contracted campylobacter from chicken I had eaten at a restaurant and while a healthy adult can recover from this, it can kill a fetus. It was lucky that he was delivered by c-section because he could have contracted it if he had been delivered normally and could have died from the resulting infection. As it was I became very dehydrated due to the horrific diarrhea caused by this vile microbe, and I am not a small person. For a tiny infant, the loss of fluid and electrolyte imbalance would likely have been deadly.
I am not sure how much effect my drinking and smoking before realizing I was pregnant had on my son's birth weight. He was 5 pounds 12 ounces and there didn't seem to be any fat on his body. I ate well enough but wasn't particularly good about taking my calcium supplements and I think he must have been leeching calcium from my bones because I constantly craved dairy products, particularly chocolate milk and chocolate pudding.
I do know that Inderal can cause low birth weight, which is why I'm angry that the doctors thought I should continue taking it. I haven't read of any detrimental affects from taking synthyroid during pregnancy.
The amount of alcohol consumed in pregnancy has an effect on how badly affected the child will be.
When I became pregnant I had been told that I could not get pregnant. I was drinking fairly heavily at the time. Once I discovered I was pregnant I quit drinking and smoking. However, I was also taking synthyroid and Inderal, which I continued to take throughout the pregnancy. I was somewhat angry when I later discovered that the Inderal was probably unnecessary. It had not been prescribed for high blood pressure but for a mild tremor in my hands, which in monitoring myself I discovered only happens during my period.
My son wasn't technically low birth weight. He was born two weeks early by induced labor and, as it turned out, cesarean section, because I had toxemia. This is fortunate because I had also contracted campylobacter from chicken I had eaten at a restaurant and while a healthy adult can recover from this, it can kill a fetus. It was lucky that he was delivered by c-section because he could have contracted it if he had been delivered normally and could have died from the resulting infection. As it was I became very dehydrated due to the horrific diarrhea caused by this vile microbe, and I am not a small person. For a tiny infant, the loss of fluid and electrolyte imbalance would likely have been deadly.
I am not sure how much effect my drinking and smoking before realizing I was pregnant had on my son's birth weight. He was 5 pounds 12 ounces and there didn't seem to be any fat on his body. I ate well enough but wasn't particularly good about taking my calcium supplements and I think he must have been leeching calcium from my bones because I constantly craved dairy products, particularly chocolate milk and chocolate pudding.
I do know that Inderal can cause low birth weight, which is why I'm angry that the doctors thought I should continue taking it. I haven't read of any detrimental affects from taking synthyroid during pregnancy.
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