Drug and chemical effects on mother and child
1979
Arena, Jay M.
Any drug or chemical dangerous to the infant should be considered dangerous to the fetus when ingested or absorbed by the mother, since the placenta is known to be an ineffective barrier between fetal and maternal circulatory systems. The concentration of drug in the fetus is important, and may depend on frequency of ingestion before and during the early stages of pregnancy. Assays of teratogenic influences pose a difficult research problem because most test animals, other than primates, are considerably less sensitive to drugs than are human beings. Genetic factors also cause wide individual variations. Maternal cigarette smoking, chronic alcoholism, and a vast number of infections also are contributors to birth defects and, in some instances, to higher fetal and infant mortality. Trace metals from environmental pollutants affect the fetus, and may be stored in the body as a result of inborn metabolic disorders, impaired excretion because of a concomitant disease, or directly from contaminated food and water. Extensive tabular data are included on drugs, timing of ingestion, and effects on the fetus or newborn infant.
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