Teratogens are anything potentially harmful to a developing fetus. These include but are not limited to: nicotine, alcohol, drugs, radiation, AIDS, rubella, etc. These cause structural abnormalities and abnormal cell masses to develop in the fetus which can lead to serious birth defects. Some examples of these are
- physical and cognitive developmental delays
- cleft palate
- abnormal facial characteristics
- mental retardation
- growth defects
- heart defects
- abnormalities of the fingers and nails
- impaired fine and gross motor skills
- hearing loss
- vision loss/blindness
- deformed and paralyzed limbs
- small head size and brain