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Drinking Can Hurt Your Baby

    When you are pregnant, your baby grows inside you.  Everything that you eat or drink affects your baby.  Doctors have found that alcohol a mother drinks can hurt her unborn baby.  Your baby may have physical and behavioral problems that can last the rest of his or her life.  Children born with the most serious problems caused by alcohol have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

What is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

     Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to birth defects caused when a woman drinks alcohol while she is pregnant.  The more alcohol a woman drinks, the more likely she is to have a baby with FAS.  Children with FAS may be:

Born Small

Have problems eating and sleeping

Have problems seeing and hearing

Have trouble following directions and learning how to do simple things

Have trouble paying attention and learning in school

Need special teachers and schools

Have trouble getting along with others and controlling their behavior

Need medical care all their lives

What kind of birth defects are caused by drinking alcohol?

     The baby may have mental retardation or learning problems throughout life.  The baby may have alcohol withdrawal at birth, poor sucking and poor sleeping habits.  The baby may also be restless and irritable.  Other serious problems can include defects of the muscles, bones, heart, genitals, and kidneys.

     It is not always easy to tell when a baby has FAS.  However, some of the signs include low birth weight, a small head, narrow eyes, a flat face, low nose ridge or no groove between the nose and upper lip.

     Children born with FAS remain smaller than other children the same age throughout their lives.  As these children grow older, they may also have emotional and behavioral problems.

How is FAS caused?

     Alcohol poisons the unborn baby.  When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol enters her bloodstream and then passes to the baby.  An adult's liver can filter out most of the harmful effects of alcohol.  However, a baby's small liver cannot.  A large amount of alcohol can stay in the baby's body for as long as 24 hours.

Is there a safe amount of alcohol a pregnant woman may drink?

     No one knows if there is a safe level.  The best advice is not to drink at all.  Birth defects have shown up in babies whose mothers had even one or two drinks a day.  However, the more the mother drinks, the more likely the baby will have birth defects.

     Do not drink alcohol when you are pregnant.  Why?  Because when you drink alcohol, so does your baby.

Is it OK to drink beer and wine when I'm pregnant, as long as I don't drink hard liquor?

     No!  Beer, wine, and hard liquor are all equally bad for an unborn baby.  Drinking any kind of alcohol can hurt your baby.  It doesn't matter if it is beer, wine, wine coolers, liquor, or mixed drinks.

Is there any time during the pregnancy when I can drink safely?

     No!  There is no safe time to drink once a woman is pregnant.  Alcohol can affect an unborn baby during any stage of the mother's pregnancy.

     During the first three months of pregnancy the baby's important organs are developing, and brain damage may occur.  Unfortunately, a woman may not even know she is pregnant during this time.

     During the second three months of pregnancy, drinking alcohol may cause a miscarriage.  However, the baby is still growing, and the problems stated above may still occur.

     In the last three months of pregnancy, the baby is growing fast.  Alcohol may slow this important growth.  Doctors also feel this is the time when alcohol is most likely to cause brain damage.

What if I drank during my last pregnancy and my baby was fine?

     Every pregnancy is different.  Drinking alcohol may hurt one baby more than another.  You could have one child that is born healthy and another that is born with problems.

Why do some women who drink while pregnant have children without FAS?

     Alcohol may affect each woman's unborn baby differently.  However, it is not always easy to tell if a newborn baby has FAS.  A mother who drank alcohol while pregnant may give birth to a baby which at first appears and acts normal.  However, as the child grows, he or she may start to show some of the effects of harm from the alcohol such as slow growth, being small, learning and behavior problems or mental retardation.

What if I drank before I knew I was pregnant?  What should I do?

     The best advice is stop drinking for the remainder of your pregnancy.  You will feel better and your baby will have a good chance to be born healthy.  Get regular prenatal care, and follow the advice of your doctor.

Will these problems go away?

     No.  These problems will last for a child's whole life.  People with severe problems may not be able to take care of themselves as adults.  They may never be able to work.

Can FAS be treated?

     Surgery can repair some of the physical problems of FAS.  Although mental retardation and growth problems cannot be cured, early intervention and education programs can help children with FAS learn and reach their potential.

Can a father's drinking cause FAS?

     No.  The alcohol a father drinks will not directly affect the unborn baby.  However, a father's role is important in making sure his baby is born healthy.  This means he should not encourage the woman to drink while she is pregnant.  The father should also try to avoid situations that may lead to his pregnant mate drinking alcohol.

Much of this information came from the pamphlet Drinking and Your Pregnancy distributed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.