Author Question: Describe alcohol's harmful effects on a fetus. ... (Read 188 times)

tuffie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 534
Describe alcohol's harmful effects on a fetus.

Question 2

Why is the mother's nutrition status of importance during the time the placenta is developing?



Brenm

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 359
Answer to Question 1

Alcohol crosses the placenta freely and is directly toxic.
 A sudden dose of alcohol can halt the delivery of oxygen through the umbilical cord. The fetal brain and nervous system are extremely vulnerable to a glucose or oxygen deficit, and alcohol causes both by disrupting placental functioning.
 Alcohol slows cell division, reducing the number of cells produced and inflicting abnormalities on those that are produced and all of their progeny.
 During the first month of pregnancy, the fetal brain is growing at the rate of 100,000 new brain cells a minute. Even a few minutes of alcohol exposure during this critical period can exert a major detrimental effect.
 Alcohol interferes with placental transport of nutrients to the fetus and can cause malnutrition in the mother; then all of malnutrition's harmful effects compound the effects of the alcohol.
Before fertilization, alcohol can damage the ovum or sperm in the mother- or father-to-be, leading to abnormalities in the child.

Answer to Question 2

The placenta is both a supply depot and a waste-removal system for the fetus. If the placenta works perfectly, the fetus wants for nothing; if it doesn't, no alternative source of sustenance is available, and the fetus will fail to thrive. If the mother's nutrient stores are inadequate during placental development, no amount of nutrients later on in pregnancy can make up for the lack. If the placenta fails to form or function properly, the fetus will not receive optimal nourishment. After getting such a poor start on life, the child may be ill equipped, even as an adult, to store sufficient nutrients, and a girl may later be unable to grow an adequate placenta or bear healthy full-term infants.



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question

tuffie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 534
Thank you!



Brenm

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 359
Always glad to help...



 

Did you know?

Most women experience menopause in their 50s. However, in 1994, an Italian woman gave birth to a baby boy when she was 61 years old.

Did you know?

More than 2,500 barbiturates have been synthesized. At the height of their popularity, about 50 were marketed for human use.

Did you know?

After a vasectomy, it takes about 12 ejaculations to clear out sperm that were already beyond the blocked area.

Did you know?

ACTH levels are normally highest in the early morning (between 6 and 8 A.M.) and lowest in the evening (between 6 and 11 P.M.). Therefore, a doctor who suspects abnormal levels looks for low ACTH in the morning and high ACTH in the evening.

Did you know?

Warfarin was developed as a consequence of the study of a strange bleeding disorder that suddenly occurred in cattle on the northern prairies of the United States in the early 1900s.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library