Respond to these post below. Based on what each learner wrote, what else can expectant mothers do to avoid teratogens? What additional resources might you recommend? Laroya post Teratogens Teratogens can be defined as any agent that can be disturb the development of an embryo or fetus. This may cause a birth defect in a child or halt the pregnancy outright. Teratogen are broken into classes that includes: radiation, maternal infections, chemicals and drugs. It tends to harm the prenatal brain, affecting the future child’s intellectual and emotional functioning. Effects of Teratogens While all teratogens increase the threat of harm to the development of a child, none always cause damage. The critical impact depends on the complex interchange of numerous factors. These are factors are timing, exposure and genetic variability. Timing is a critical factor doing the pregnancy when teratogen can be exposed to the fetus. Some teratogen cause damage only in a specific days or weeks while others are harmful doing any time of the pregnancy. Exposure is another effect that is harmful to the pregnancy due to the development of organism. Genetic variability is another factor that determines whether a specific teratogen will be harmful is the make-up of developing organism having and not having certain genes may make the developing child more susceptible to teratogens. Ways to Avoid Teratogens It’s imperative that pregnant moms educate themselves on teratogens and importance of avoiding things that cause harm to their body. The only safe option of action is to avoid the risk of mothers being exposed to teratogens during pregnancy is to avoid taking any type of medication if possible, being exposed to excessive heat, herbal treatments, children with rashes, fever and runny nose, alcohol, tobacco, lead & radiation. Resources to be informed about Teratogens It is essential that all pregnant mothers get all the necessary knowledge on avoiding teratogens. Consulting their primary OBGYN is the number one source of receiving informative information concerning teratogens. Visiting their local health department is another helpful source. If the mother would like to do her own personal research, she can always visit the internet to google any questions or concerns she may have concerning teratogen and how it may affect her pregnancy. Wilder post Some expecting mothers aren’t aware of Teratogens, what they are and how they may affect prenatal and infant development.  Teratogens is a term used to refer to any environmental agent that causes damage during the prenatal period. (Berk & Meyers, 2016). Such as alcohol, tobacco, prescribed medication, drugs, or even a hereditary disease from the mother now can cause the unborn baby to be born with defects like spontaneous abortions, preterm labor or miscarriage. The teratogen I would discuss is alcohol. Alcohol is one of the popular teratogen. Women who use or abuse alcohol is at risk for fetal alcohol spec ...

1. Respond to these post below. Based on what each learner wrote,
what else can expectant mothers do to avoid teratogens? What
additional resources might you recommend?
Laroya post
Teratogens
Teratogens can be defined as any agent that can be disturb the
development of an embryo or fetus. This may cause a birth
defect in a child or halt the pregnancy outright. Teratogen are
broken into classes that includes: radiation, maternal infections,
chemicals and drugs. It tends to harm the prenatal brain,
affecting the future child’s intellectual and emotional
functioning.
Effects of Teratogens
While all teratogens increase the threat of harm to the
development of a child, none always cause damage. The critical
impact depends on the complex interchange of numerous
factors. These are factors are timing, exposure and genetic
variability. Timing is a critical factor doing the pregnancy when
teratogen can be exposed to the fetus. Some teratogen cause
damage only in a specific days or weeks while others are
harmful doing any time of the pregnancy. Exposure is another
effect that is harmful to the pregnancy due to the development
of organism. Genetic variability is another factor that
determines whether a specific teratogen will be harmful is the
make-up of developing organism having and not having certain

2. genes may make the developing child more susceptible to
teratogens.
Ways to Avoid Teratogens
It’s imperative that pregnant moms educate themselves on
teratogens and importance of avoiding things that cause harm to
their body. The only safe option of action is to avoid the risk of
mothers being exposed to teratogens during pregnancy is to
avoid taking any type of medication if possible, being exposed
to excessive heat, herbal treatments, children with rashes, fever
and runny nose, alcohol, tobacco, lead & radiation.
Resources to be informed about Teratogens
It is essential that all pregnant mothers get all the necessary
knowledge on avoiding teratogens. Consulting their primary
OBGYN is the number one source of receiving informative
information concerning teratogens. Visiting their local health
department is another helpful source. If the mother would like
to do her own personal research, she can always visit the
internet to google any questions or concerns she may have
concerning teratogen and how it may affect her pregnancy.
Wilder post
Some expecting mothers aren’t aware of Teratogens, what they
are and how they may affect prenatal and infant development.
Teratogens is a term used to refer to any environmental agent
that causes damage during the prenatal period. (Berk & Meyers,
2016). Such as alcohol, tobacco, prescribed medication, drugs,
or even a hereditary disease from the mother now can cause the
unborn baby to be born with defects like spontaneous abortions,
preterm labor or miscarriage.

3. The teratogen I would discuss is alcohol. Alcohol is one of the
popular teratogen. Women who use or abuse alcohol is at risk
for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), a term that
encompasses a range of physical, mental, and behavioral
outcomes caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. This disorder
can cause facial abnormalities such as thin upper lips and short
eyelid openings. It can also cause brain injuries that can impair
three areas of function like language, attention span, social
skills and memory. The effects of damaged cause by the
teratogen depends on the fetus age, poor nutrition and lack of
care. Another factor is dosage larger doses over longer time
periods usually have more negative effects.
Alcohol disrupts the neurotransmitters so messages are unable
to get from one area to another. Because there is no safe amount
of alcohol to consume, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can be
prevented by not consuming any alcohol during pregnancy
(Streissguth, n.d.).
To better assist and educate women who aren’t aware of
teratogens and how to avoid them and their effects I would
provide resources such as articles “Alcohol Abuse in Pregnant
Women Effects on the Fetus and Newborn, Mode of Action and
Maternal Treatment” where they can read up on the information.
(Ornoy, A., & Ergaz, Z. (2010). Alcohol Abuse in Pregnant
Women: Effects on the Fetus and Newborn, Mode of Action and
Maternal Treatment. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health, 7(2), 364–379.
http://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph7020364
). As well as provide centers that will support the women needs
like National Institute: Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochurewomen/women.
htm

4. Respond to two other learners. Do you agree with each learner's
comments about nature versus nurture? Why or why not? What
else can you add to the discussion?
Lisa post
Nature versus nurture was always taught to be the way a child
grows and develops throughout childhood. Even though twins
maybe from the same wound it states that they can become very
different. The way they are raised doesn't always make them
have the same personalities. After hearing cast on "Twins Data
Reshaping Nature Versus Nurture Debate" and reading
"Multiple Offspring" in Chapter 2, one has come to the
understanding that twin are just normal people. The only
difference is they have the same genetic makeup and shared the
same space at one time. No matter how they were raised they
may have some of the same characteristics and be very
different.
The most interesting part of the conversation was when Miller
mentioned the twin boys which one had autism and the other
was a genius. This was amazing because one thought that if one
had autism then the other one would have it also. Some things
are so fascinating because it was like one of
the twins compensated for the other one. Miller also mentioned
that autism is a developmental syndrome and it was thought to
be genetic or inherited. So, how could this be when this
happens? This is amazing because when you think scientist has
found the answer to something then, something more amazing
happens to baffle them.
Social and cultural environments impact newborns by
lack of medical care and poor nourishment. The text it states

5. some cultural differences can impact a newborn's behavior by
the way mothers care for their babies. I have noticed that some
children who are raised in a different cultural background are
very different from others. For example, I was raised in a
different culture where you are supposed to breastfeed and keep
the baby close to you at all times. We did this for the first three
months and then placed the baby in their own bed. I never had
any problems with them crying or screaming other than when
they were dirty, hungry or sick. After these were taken care
of they just laid around or went to sleep.
Berk, L. E., Meyers, A. B. (2015-03-01). Infants, Children, and
Adolescents, 8th Edition. [Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from
https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781323243565/
Conan, N. (2012-02-01). Twins Data Reshaping Nature Versus
Nurture Debate.
https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId
=144583977
Stacia post
Nature versus Nurture.
Nature is defined as hereditary and evident at the point of
conception while nurture is ultimately shaped by a combination
of forces like society in conjunction with our biological makeup
and experiences after birth. The reading outlined how nature
and nurture work together to shape development. I found it

6. interesting that the reading posed a question of how scientist
could be sure that heredity and environment had such a
substantial impact on development when they work in many
ways. The podcast inadvertently proposed this point through
the many examples given through experiences of twins. Neither
source denied that heredity and environment did not shape
development in some form. However, the podcast, in my
opinion, defied what would be the “scientific explanation” for
the way that twins live their lives. A good example of this
would be the story of the gay twin.
Social and cultural environments.
The identity issue of nature versus nurture that is not taken into
consideration according to the podcast is that differences do not
necessarily yield an issue with nurture but the assertion of
identity. It was also mentioned that only twins understand the
pressure that society puts on twins. In my experiences with
twins, society often views twins as “the twins” as mentioned in
the podcast. It is difficult for twins to break away from that and
be viewed as individuals. Social and cultural environments
impact newborn through exposure and stimulation. While the
responsiveness can vary, studies show that highly enriched
environment produce higher intelligence scores.
Interesting points.
I found it interesting how twins coming from different sides of
the embryo have different genes that are turned off and are no
longer the same after the split. Splitting embryos at day five
results in two completely different people even though they are
sharing DNA. It was also interesting to hear stories of “twin
telepathy”. I would be interested on learning the scientific
explanation behind twin telepathy.
Professional experiences

7. I have taught two sets of twins in my professional career. One
set was girls and the other a girl and boy. In both cases, each
set of twins had very different personalities and character
traits. I do believe nature versus nurture had an impact based
on my observations. The twins of opposite sex had challenges
opposite of the same sex twins. The opposite sex twins often
struggled with the issue of who was the oldest and biggest.
Ironically, the girl is the oldest and tallest by almost six
inches. However, they score similar across all developmental
domains which I equate to heredity. In my experience with the
same sex, it was often a competition of who was the better
twin. I am not sure if this occurred because they were girls but
it was detrimental to both because they could not focus without
trying to “one up” the other twin which I equate to
environment. The podcast was insightful and has opened my
mind to nature versus nurture in a way that is not contained to
infant development.