According to a survey done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2007, almost seven percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44 reported binge drinking in the first trimester. In another survey in 2007 done by the Minnesota Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, it is reported that almost six percent of pregnant women used alcohol during the last trimester.
The United States Surgeon General says no amount of alcohol consumption can be considered safe during pregnancy. This is because alcohol in the mother’s blood passes through the placenta to the baby through the umbilical cord and can cause damage no matter how far along the pregnancy is. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can also heighten the risk of miscarriage or stillbirth.
Alcohol Exposed Pregnancy
An alcohol exposed pregnancy is any pregnancy during which a woman drank any amount of alcohol at any time during her pregnancy. Half of all women don’t know they are pregnant until the sixth week of pregnancy. An important time of development for the baby is the first trimester.
Birth defects including growth, cognition, physical appearance and behavior that occur in the child because of alcohol use are referred to as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) with the most serious disorder being fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
FAS
Fetal alcohol syndrome babies have severe and permanent growth retardation, neurobehavioral (brain and behavior) abnormalities and facial abnormalities. FAS was first recognized in the United States about 40 years ago. Since that time, there has been a huge amount of public awareness and education informing women about consumption of alcohol while pregnant.
The Minnesota Department of Health says FAS is the leading cause of preventable birth defects and mental retardation in the United States. Alcohol related neurobehavioral disorder (ARND) is associated with FAS in the absence of facial and growth abnormalities. Instead ARND is a group of neurobehavioral and central nervous system effects from the alcohol.
The following characteristics can appear in any child at any grade with FASDs:
- Abnormal facial features
- Vision and hearing problems
- Problems with kidneys, heart or bones
- Sleep and sucking problems
- Small head size
- Low body weight
- Shorter-than-average height
- Poor judgment and reasoning skills
- Low IQ
- Speech and language delays
- Learning disabilities
- Poor memory
- Difficulty focusing
- Poor coordination
- Hyperactive behavior
The United States Surgeon General also says half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. If a woman is trying to get pregnant, has the possibility of being pregnant, or is pregnant, she should stop drinking alcohol immediately to prevent further alcohol exposure.
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