| OCR Text |
Show Household Drugs Hay Cause Defects, March of Dime Physician Warns LSI) nml thalulom'ulo fonii' to miiul imnifiliulfly ylifn yt think of ilriij;':; whu h may cause birth iU-U'cts. iU-U'cts. Uul nuii'i" niul nioi'o si'ii'Mtisls aro equally :ai;i-pieious :ai;i-pieious a' the eenmuiiiphu'e ineaieations found in the family nunlieine chest. Kvi'n sunplc ii'nulu' such as ii-,pinii nil' uiuli'f invc;.tina-lim. invc;.tina-lim. Su an- yilianuis in oxers-.siyi' oxers-.siyi' du'.i'S, niiM" iliups and many ntlicr o a r-thc-LiHinlrr ini'du-iin's. Sunie rxperts four that overemphasis over-emphasis on the aramatu-ally ilanKerous ilrucs over.slKuluws a l.ir mure impoitant Jai-t imlil .siaeiitiMH imili'islanil mme clearly how chemicals allect the ihilil in the woinh, nil ilrucs are .suspect. A "ternunoloi;y nap" in the Popular tit Imition ot. ilruns has chukle,! this important point, ai'conhnu to lr. 'ui;mia Ap-H-u". vice tncMilent (or meihcal ail. ins of The National Koun-il Koun-il ttion-March of l.lune.s. " llie word 'drill's' has come to mean only the aiiaictmn narcotics aiul harbiturates, or uie mind-expandini; marijuana, marijua-na, 1..S1) an 1 'speed.' Hul the truth is that di u(:s lneludc the whole ran.ne of chemicals human hu-man heinc.s may take ill the form of pills, powders, capsules, cap-sules, injections, inluilents or hy at'Mirptum through the skin," Dr. Apcar says. .'ne reason for increased su-picion of all ilrucs is the relatively recent medical au.ii eius that the womb is n it a perfectly safe haven. Physicians once thought it to he completely protected by the placenta, preventing harmful acnts Irom heinf; passed by the niotlier to the unborn child. Today, doctors who used to speak confidently of the "placental barrier" as an impervious, im-pervious, natural protective a.;ent, know that the theory an 1 the barrier are full of holes. In its prenatal rare literature. litera-ture. The National Kounda-t:on-M.irch of Dimes, which en'.ereJ the field of birth defects de-fects after the conquest of poh.o. warns nil women of chiUibcarini; at;e against self-meil:.-ai;on. home remedies, and "L orrowin):'' pills from friends and relatives. Hven prescription rirups normally taken without ill cf- ,V;'-f . . .:.;;vr;.;v; , -i : v-;-. v.i- , ; , . ; ' J itts' " ')' ' . - ' ' .:. ' V t ' '; : V: ',;) 'f MALFORMED ARMS AND LEGS of a patient at a March of Dimet Birth Defects Center reiomble those of thalidomide victims. Scientists Scien-tists suspect that other drugs found in the average medicine cabinet may cause othor birth defects. feet should be re-evaluated by a physician w hen pregnancy is a possibility. No woman, of course, should refuse to take medicine which her doctor considers essential to her overall over-all health. Indeed, failure to take needed medication may he as dangerous to a developing; develop-ing; fetus as random self-medication. If tin expectant mother is under the care of more than one specialist, each doctor should know what has been prescribed by the other since some chemicals of relatively low risk by themselves may be hazardous in combination with other tlrui:s. Taking exactly the prescribed aiinunt is also important twice what the doctor orders does tiot do twice as much ood. Many people are surprised that such thinns as vitamins are considered druns. Hut vitamins are chemicals. Too much vitamin K, for example, sometimes causes jaundice which can damage an unborn child's central nervous system. Too much vitamin D durinc regnancy can cause excess calcium in the baby, a condition con-dition which may be related to defects of the heart and bones as well as to mental retardation. re-tardation. Using nose drops is not generally gen-erally recognized as "taking drugs." Yet nose drops which are powerful enough to contract the blood vessels of the nose may also be strong enough to contract the blood vessels of the placenta and placental bod, reducing the oxygen and nutrition the fetus receives. Many drugs, whether they have been available for a long time or are new developments, have great merit as aids to human health and comfort, Dr. Apgar admits. "But before we take or freely prescribe any chemical, new or old, it behooves all of us doctors, Jaymen and, especially es-pecially potential parents to consider first what tlje ultimate ulti-mate cost might be to future generations." |
