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Warfarin is a teratogen which can cross from the mother to the developing fetus. The inhibition of clotting factors can lead to internal bleeding of the fetus while the inhibition of osteocalcin causes lower bone growth. As well as birth defects, warfarin can induce spontaneous abortion or stillbirth. [3]
Teratogens are substances that may cause non-heritable birth defects via a toxic effect on an embryo or fetus. [1] Defects include malformations, disruptions, deformations, and dysplasia that may cause stunted growth, delayed mental development, or other congenital disorders that lack structural malformations. [ 2 ]
Fetal hydantoin syndrome, also called fetal dilantin syndrome, is a group of defects caused to the developing fetus by exposure to teratogenic effects of phenytoin. Dilantin is the brand name of the drug phenytoin sodium in the United States, commonly used in the treatment of epilepsy .
Thalidomide is a known human teratogen and carries an extremely high risk of severe, life-threatening birth defects if administered or taken during pregnancy. [6] It causes skeletal deformities such as amelia (absence of legs and/or arms), absence of bones, and phocomelia (malformation of the limbs).
Feet of a baby born to a mother who had taken thalidomide while pregnant. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the use of thalidomide in 46 countries was prescribed to women who were pregnant or who subsequently became pregnant, and consequently resulted in the "biggest anthropogenic medical disaster ever," with more than 10,000 children born with a range of severe deformities, such as ...
[35] [36] Teratogen-caused birth defects are potentially preventable. Nearly 50% of pregnant women have been exposed to at least one medication during gestation. [ 37 ] During pregnancy, a woman can also be exposed to teratogens from contaminated clothing or toxins within the seminal fluid of a partner.
Although alcohol is known to be a teratogen (causing birth defects), the exact biological mechanisms for the development of FAS or FASD are unknown. However, clinical and animal studies have identified a broad spectrum of pathways through which maternal alcohol can negatively affect the outcome of a pregnancy.
Teratogens affect the fetus by various mechanism including: Interfering with cell proliferation rate, such as viral infection and ionization; Altered biosynthetic pathways, as seen in chromosomal defects; Abnormal cellular or tissue interactions, as seen in diabetes; Extrinsic factors; Threshold interaction of genes with environmental teratogens