Zusammenfassung der Ressource
Foetal vulnerability
- Self- righting tendency - a tendency to develop normally under all but the most adverse conditions
- Self- cleansing tendency - a tendency to spontaniosly abort severely malformed embryos and
foetuses within the first 3 months of pregnancy
- Severity of the effect a harmful substance may have on the foetus depends on a
number of factors:
- The constutution of the foetus (not all foetuses will react the same way)
- The mother's health (risk highest when mother is younger than 20 and older than 40)
- When the exposure occurs
- Germinal stage - can destroy organism completely
- Embryonic stage - various organs and systems may be damaged
- Foetal stage - likely to affect intelligence or behavior
- The type of exposure (different substances can have different effects on the organism)
- The amount of exposure (the greater the exposure the more severe effects on the foetus