How Alcohol Affects Unborn Babies
Most would not dream of serving alcohol to a baby, and yet drinking while pregnant is doing exactly that. An unborn baby is physically connected to its mother and receives life-sustaining nutrition to help it grow and develop. These early days of development are vital, and anything that can disrupt it can have severe and lifelong consequences.
When a mother-to-be drinks alcohol, it rapidly enters her bloodstream. The alcohol can cross the placenta and cause the baby to have the same blood alcohol level as the mother. In the baby’s body, this alcohol is broken down more slowly and can affect his or her development greatly.
There is no “safe amount” of alcohol that a pregnant woman can drink because researchers do not know exactly how much can cause damage. Although it is known that a great amount of alcohol can have grave consequences, even smaller amounts can affect a baby as well by stunting growth, causing facial and other defects, damaging the brain and affecting development in a variety of other ways. The exact amount of alcohol that will have an effect is unknown. The Centers for Disease Control and March of Dimes both suggest that a woman completely sustain from alcohol for the duration of her pregnancy to negate this significant risk.
One of the greatest and most tragic risks of drinking during pregnancy is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). The baby may be born with a variety of disabling physical, mental and neurological defects. These include facial features that are abnormal, stunted physical growth, a diminutive head size and slower behavioral and intellectual development, These effects may be lifelong, and some may even show up later in life. Brain damage from the alcohol may be the culprit. This can occur even before a woman knows that she is pregnant, thus even when a woman is just trying to conceive she should consider abstaining from drinking.
A baby whose mother drank may suffer from “Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder” (ARND). This is when impairments of the nervous system (brain, spinal cords, nerves) occur from alcohol consumption of the mother. Consequences may include mental retardation, significant behavioral issues, decreased motor skills/hand-eye coordination, and learning disabilities. Physical or functional skeletal defects or defects of other organ systems can also occur in “Alcohol-Related Birth Defects” (ARBD).
Alcohol can have even more tragic consequences for an unborn baby. Women who drink are more likely to have a miscarriage. Rates of premature birth, low birth weight and birth complications are also increased. Low birthweight brings its own host of life-changing deformities and conditions. These babies may have more serious illnesses and breathing disorders when born. They are more likely to need to be in the newborn intensive care unit (NICU). It can even increase the risk of fatalities.
The effects of alcohol on an unborn baby can be serious, and it does not take many repeated offenses to cause damage. Avoiding alcohol gives a child the best chances of a healthy start.
Resources:
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=114&np=122&id=1950
http://www.adoptionservices.org/pregnancy/pregnancy_alcohol_drugs.htm