Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy – The Risks
Alcohol consumption when pregnant causes a big risk to your baby’s health. The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) impacts one in 100 babies, resulting in physical and mental disability, restricted growth and sometimes, heart failure.
FASD is a generic term for many of mental, physical and behavioral problems connected to consuming alcohol throughout pregnancy, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. One drink is unlikely to cause FASD; however, no one knows exactly how much alcohol causes the disorder. To prevent misunderstandings over what might be safe, many experts tell pregnant women not to drink at all. There are a lot of ways to test for alcohol if you wish to test someone who you belive is drinking while pregnant.
People with FASD usually seem to be normal but compared to other children, they behave abnormally; they are generally slower to grasp things, stuff they learn is not stored for long (they aren’t processed into the long term memory), they have sudden mood swings and find social situations difficult.
There are a few physical hints of FASD which includes smaller and wide-set eyes, a thin upper lip and no groove between the nose and lip. but most don’t, which is why their behaviour is often misunderstood well into adulthood.
Drinking during pregnancy is not recommended and is even seen by some people as child abuse. If you can’t seem to be able to stop drinking alcohol during your pregnancy, you need to go and see someone to help you to stop drinking.
Most children with the disorder manage to adapt to social situations and can function well in some jobs, including some trades.
An alcohol test can be easily conducted using a urine alcohol testing kit at home, these tests are usually fairly cheap and very accurate.
In conclusion, if in doubt about how much you should drink when pregnant don’t drink at all, if you find you can’t stop drinking seek proffesional help for the sake of your baby.
Tags: Alcohol, Alcohol addiction, Alcohol consumption, Alcohol pregnancy, effects of alcohol, FASD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder