Other Maternal Health Conditions

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which can affect children whose mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy, is one of the most common conditions caused by teratogenic exposure. In fact, FAS is presently the leading cause of mental retardation in the western world, occurring in an estimated 1 in 500 to 700 births.

The amount of alcohol needed to cause FAS varies from person to person. Full blown or classic FAS is most likely to occur when mothers drink moderate to high amounts during pregnancy. Doctors have not found a safe drinking level for pregnant women. In addition, studies have shown that excessive drinking is dangerous at every stage of pregnancy. Whenever drinking stops, chances for having a healthier baby improve.

Children with FAS have a combination of physical, behavioral, and mental birth defects, including:

1. Below average growth rate before and after birth. Babies born with FAS are usually small at birth and usually do not catch up as they get older. Studies have shown that babies born to women who stopped drinking during pregnancy tend to be larger and have better growth rates than babies born to women who drank throughout pregnancy.

2. A characteristic facial appearance. Usually children with FAS have widely spaced eyes, a short upturned nose, flat philtrum (the ridge that runs between the nose and upper lip), and a chin upper lip. Occasionally, they also have cleft lip and palate, hemangiomas (birthmarks made up of clusters of blood vessels), and differently shaped ears.

3. Central nervous system or brain impairment. Mental retar­dation is the most common and serious disability associated with fetal exposure to alcohol. Children with FAS usually have a mild degree of mental retardation, although some have normal intelligence and some have more severe mental retardation. Hyperactivity, attention problems, speech and language difficulties, and behavioral problems are also com­mon.

Children with FAS may also have many other abnormalities, ranging from heart defects and eye problems to muscle tone and joint problems.

Children who have one or two, but not all of the signs above are said to have Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE).

Exercise1. Explain the following expressions in your own words:

facial appearance, brain impairment, normal intelligence, joint problems, excessive drinking.

Exercise2. Each student should prepare a short talk on one of the following topics.

1. Physical defects of children affected by FAS

2. Mental defects of children affected by FAS

3. Behavioral problems of children affected by FAS

Exercise3. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the leading cause of mental retardation in the western world?

2. When is excessive drinking dangerous?

3. What will happen if a woman drinks alcohol throughout pregnancy?

Pre-reading task

1. What do you know about such diseases as diabetes, high blood pressure and thyroid hyperactivity?

2. How can RH in compatibility influence the fetal development? What can it lead to? Give your point of view.

Other Maternal Health Conditions.

Many other maternal factors besides infections are potentially harmful to a developing fetus. Some of these may increase the risk of mental retardation. For example, maternal conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart and thyroid diseases can increase the likelihood of premature birth, intrauterine growth retardation, and develop­mental problems. Also, obste-trical complications such as incom­petent cervix and uterine fibroids carry the risk of prematurity, which can result in mental retardation and other disabilities, as discussed later in the chapter.

RH incompatibility is a maternal-related condition that was once a significant cause of mental retardation. Today, medical treatment has to a certain degree eradicated it as a cause. Because the potential for problems must be promptly recognized in order to prevent them, however, it is worth discussing,

The RH factor is a minor blood group (the "positive" or "nega­tive") attached to the four major blood types (A, B, 0. AB). A woman with RH negative blood may have an infant with RH positive blood if the father has the RH positive factor. If minute amounts of blood from the infant enter the mother's circulation, which usually occurs at the time of delivery, they are recognized as foreign by the mother's system, and her body reacts by developing antibodies to the RH positive factor. During any subsequent pregnancy with a fetus with the RH positive factor, maternal antibodies pass to the fetal circulation. The antibodies then destroy the red blood cells of the fetus, cause severe anemia, hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), and 'neonatal complications. Hypoxia can lead to brain damage and mental retardation. RH incompatibility can be treated today by use of the medication RHoGAM, an antibody injection, immediately after the first and all subsequent deliveries.

Exercise1. Find in the text the English equivalents of the following Russian words and phrases:

осложнения во время родов, заболевания щитовидной железы, несовместимость резус фактора, высокое кровяное давление.