Birth Anomalies Caused by Environmental Factors

Many environmental factors are linked with birth defects. These range from chemical teratogens and hormones to maternal infections, and nutritional factors. Environmental agents may affect the developmental process of the embryo and the fetus causing birth defects following maternal exposure to them. Many environmental agents may act as a teratogen.  A teratogen is any agent that causes congenital birth defects. Environmental factors like infection, drugs, sunbath, extremes of temperature, ionizing radiation may cause birth anomalies.

The embryo is most sensitive to teratogenic agents during this period of rapid differentiation and cell multiplication. Environmental factor causes 7 to 10% of congenital birth defects.  Early actions of environmental teratogen during first two week of development may cause death of the embryo. The exact mechanism by which drugs, chemicals, and other environmental factors disrupt embryonic development and induce birth defects is unknown. Many studies has shown that certain hereditary and environmental influences may adversely affect embryonic development by altering  such fundamental processes as the intracellular component, surface of the cell, extracellular matrix, and fetal environment.

Rapid progress in molecular biology is providing more information on the genetic control of differentiation of the embryo and the vulnerability of environmental teratogenic insults.  Teratogen acting during the first 2 weeks either kills all the embryo or their disruptive effects are compensated for powerful regulatory properties of the early embryo. Development of the embryo is most easily disrupted when the tissue or organs are forming. There are genetic differences in response to a teratogen.Animal research has shown that there is a dose response relationship for teratogens.

The purpose of this study is to Enumerate the environmental teratogenic agents, their possible mechanism of action.

Recommendations for possible ways to prevent the environmental teratogenic insults Method—Going through multiple text books and searching the literature.

Conclusion. There are many environmental teratogens.Although the list of suspected teratogenic factors is long, relatively few are unquestionably teratogenic in humans.  It is possible to prevent the congenital birth defects by avoiding the teratogens.