Your Baby's Developing Brain

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When kids have learning or behavior problems, the causes may be many and varied. And please know that sometimes Mom and Dad didn't have anything to do with any of the problems.

But too often today one of the causes can be traced to parental use of drugs, or to exposure to other toxins in the environment. While it really takes an expert to tell if that's the case, parents and potential parents need to stay on the safe side for their children's all-round health, shunning drug use, and being aware of the existence and impact of toxins.

It's vital that men and women for whom pregnancy and childbirth are a possibility prepare themselves and their environments to make the best possible scenario for an expected or an unexpected pregnancy. A developing fetus' brain is affected by exposure to various toxins and drugs. For example, the affect of nicotine on the brain's development can cause decreased learning efficiency and heightened motor activity.

A growing number of kids show violent behavior and other social problems, and these difficulties are often tied to the children's exposure to drugs, alcohol, or other toxins either before or after birth. But all children don't readily show the various harmful consequences of this exposure; functional impairment is sometimes hard to detect.

These are among research findings that Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory research associate Sharon Pottmeyer writes about in a Web-site Hot Topic for the Parent Information Resource Center (http://www.nwrel.org/pirc/). Pottmeyer, pulling information from researchers such as Rima Shore, author of Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development, and Jane M. Healy, author of Endangered Minds, says that toxins known to cause problems or implicated in problems for the developing brain include metals such as lead, methyl mercury, arsenic, aluminum, and cadmium; environmental pollutants such as PCBs, solvents, pesticides, and some chemical fertilizers; recreational drugs that include alcohol, cocaine, codeine, methadone, and heroin; and prescription and over-the-counter drugs.

The ill effects of these various drugs and toxins are most generally lowered IQs, mental retardation, attention deficits, academic learning difficulties, social problems, and central nervous system issues. The researchers say that the fetus is affected not only by what the mother comes into contact with directly, but by influences such as passive smoke in her environment, and by contaminated seminal fluid from a father who has been exposed to drugs or other toxins.

Talking with health care professionals is the first step in learning when it is most critical to avoid which toxins during pregnancy, says Pottmeyer. Use their expertise to take a look at your lifestyle. Sometimes it's necessary to make changes for a positive future for yourself and your child, even before conception occurs. And if pregnancy is suspected or confirmed, make an appointment with a doctor right away.

Doing the right thing for your child is the right thing to do. And for those who didn't start yesterday, then today is the best day to start.

This column by Karen Blaha is provided as a public service by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, a nonprofit institution working with schools and communities in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.