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You are a nurse at an outpatient clinic. You overhear your teenage patient talking to her friend on the phone saying that prenatal care is a waste of time for a mother who is young and healthy.
Questions
What can you tell your patient about prenatal care in teenage mothers and about infant mortality in the United States? Your answer should include something about:
Fetal alcohol syndrome
Spina bifida (folic acid)
Which prenatal development stage do you think is the most sensitive time for gestation? What happens during that stage, and why is it important?
What other behaviors of the mother may affect the health of a child before, or very early in, pregnancy? Include some of the following in your answer: exercise, diet, drug use, and smoking.
Answer:
Prenatal care is essential for any mother, regardless of age or health. Teenage mothers have higher rates of premature births and infant mortality than women aged 20-35; therefore, prenatal care is even more important for teenage mothers. During prenatal care, healthcare professionals are able to screen for potential birth defects associated with fetal alcohol syndrome as well as provide advice about taking folic acid supplements to reduce the risk of spina bifida.
The most sensitive time during gestation would be the first trimester (weeks 1-12). This is because there are vital developmental steps that occur during this stage such as neural tube closure and organogenesis that can easily be disrupted by environmental exposure or maternal behaviors. Additionally, it is a time when many of the fetal organs begin to develop; thus a minor disruption in growth could lead to major problems later on in development.
Other behavior factors that may affect early pregnancy include exercise, diet, drug use and smoking. Poor nutrition can contribute to poor fetal growth while using drugs such as cocaine has been linked to an increased rate of miscarriage and preterm labor. Smoking increases the risk for low birth weight babies as well as complications due to lower oxygen consumption through placental transfer. Exercise should be moderate throughout pregnancy; however certain activities such as scuba diving should be avoided due to higher risks involved with oxygen deprivation in utero which could lead to serious issues like hypoxia or neurological injury at birth.