A Small Dose of Pregnancy

& Developmental Toxicology

PowerPoint Presentation (also available in Acrobat format)
References / Additional Information (updated: 1/22/05)

PREGNANCY & DEVELOPMENT DOSSIER

Teratology – The study of malformations. From the Greek word for monster – teras.

Promoting Children's Health

Historical Events

• 1941 – Human malformations linked to rubella virus
• 1960’s – Thalidomide (a sedative and anti-nausea drug) found to cause human malformations
• 1950’s – Methylmercury recognized as developmental toxicant
• 1970’s – Alcohol related to developmental effects – Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
  

REFERENCES / ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

European, Asian, and International Agencies

• European Teratology Society (ETS). Online. (accessed: 1 April 2003).
  The society is dedicated to the prevention of adverse effects on reproduction and development.
• The Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada. Online. (accessed: 30 March 2003).
  Information on thalidomide in English or French.
  

North American Agencies

• U.S. EPA - Toxicity and Exposure Assessment for Children's Health (TEACH) - This searchable database contains overviews of scientific literature in the field of children's environmental health. (accessed: 20 September 2004)
• U.S. CDC - The Interactive Atlas of Reproductive Health is a web-based interactive geographic information system (GIS) dedicated to reproductive health issues such as infant mortality, fertility, and low birth weight. (accessed: 27 June 2004)
• U.S. EPA America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body
  Burdens, and Illnesses (Second Edition) (accessed: 6 June 2004)
• U.S. EPA Office of Children's Health Protection - Paper Series on Children's Health and the Environment (accessed: 6 June 2004)
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration - Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) - Thalidomide. (accessed: 30 March 2003).
  FDA information on their approval of thalidomide for treatment of Leprosy.
• Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR) - The National Toxicology Program. Online. (accessed: 5 April 2003).
  CERHR web site has "information about potentially hazardous effects of chemicals on human reproduction and development."
• U.S. National Library of Medicine - Current Bibliographies in Medicine 97-4 - Thalidomide: Potential Benefits and Risks. (accessed: 30 March 2003).
  The NLM site contains an extensive bibliography on thalidomide.
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration - Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition - Information for Pregnant Women. (accessed: 30 March 2003)
  This FDA web site contains an extensive for pregnant women.
• U.S. National Women's Health Information Center- Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition - Information for Pregnant Women. (accessed: 30 March 2003)
  Site contains general information on pregnancy and fetal development.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - healthfinder - Information for Pregnant Women. (accessed: 30 March 2003)
  Site contains general information and links on pregnancy and fetal development for men and women.
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - Health Topic: Pregnancy. (accessed: 30 March 2003)
  Site contains information and links on pregnancy and fetal development.
  

Non-Government Organizations

• Growing Up Toxic: Chemical Exposures and Increases in Developmental Disease - June 2004 - Environment California Research & Policy Center (accessed: 10 July 2004).
• Teratology Society. (accessed: March 30, 2003).
  "The Teratology Society is a multidisciplinary scientific society founded in 1960, the members of which study the causes and biological processes leading to abnormal development and birth defects at the fundamental and clinical level, and appropriate measures for prevention."
• Society for Developmental Biology. (accessed: 1 April 2003).
  "The purpose of the Society is to further the study of development in all organisms."
• March of Dimes. (accessed: 1 April 2003).
  "March of Dimes works to "give all babies a fighting chance against the threats to their health: prematurity, birth defects, low birth weight."
  

Promoting Children's Health

• U.S. EPA America's Children and the Environment: Measures of Contaminants, Body
  Burdens, and Illnesses (Second Edition) (accessed: 6 June 2004)
• U.S. EPA Office of Children's Health Protection - Paper Series on Children's Health and the Environment (accessed: 6 June 2004)
• Children's Health Environmental Coalition - CHEC is a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public, specifically parents and caregivers, about environmental toxins that affect children's health. (accessed: 12 July 2004).
  

References

Child Health resources - Directory of Child Health related websites

Eve's Herbs: A History of Contraception and Abortion in the West. John M. Riddle, Harvard University Press; 1999.

Schettler, T. (2001). Toxic threats to neurologic development of children. Environ Health Perspect 109 Suppl 6, 813-6. (EHP on line pdf)

Yolton K, Dietrich K, Auinger P, Lanphear BP, Hornung R. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and cognitive abilities among U.S. children and adolescents. Environ Health Perspect. 2005 Jan;113(1):98-103. (EHP on line pdf)