For years, we have heard how bad it is for a mother to drink alcohol during her pregnancy. We know it is bad but why? And is it really bad? I’ve heard stories of people who drank and smoked during their whole pregnancy and miraculously their baby was fine. But others who had just a few slip ups caused their baby a lifetime of pain and suffering with birth defects and such. So what effect does alcohol have on a fetus and is it just a correlation or is it causation?
When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol it gets into her blood stream. Everything a mother eats and drinks during pregnancy affects the fetus as well. While the alcohol is in the woman’s bloodstream, and can then get into the baby’s bloodstream causing growth to be stunted. The spinal cord and the brain are usually the most affected by the alcohol (WebMD). The alcohol can have a wide range of effects on the baby. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is the name for all of those possible outcomes. The effects can be mental or physical and often last for the entire lifetime of the child. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is the most extreme end of the spectrum and is where the effects are the worst (Alcohol during pregnancy).
Some examples of FASD/FAS are a range of birth defects, the baby may be much smaller than most children their age, learning disorders, small head, organ problems, behavioral problems, defective facial features, etc (Alcohol use in pregnancy). Heavier drinking obviously increases the risks of your baby’s life but any small amount of alcohol can be a factor too. Extreme drinking can even cause miscarriage or a stillborn. Drinking in later stages of the pregnancy is a greater risk than in the beginning stages. Nowadays, doctors advise pregnant women to refrain form drinking completely because that is the only way to ensure your baby’s 100% safety.
An experiment to test the effect of alcohol on a fetus would be to have pregnant women consume different amounts of alcohol. It would be randomized who got what amount and the effects could be observed that way, but that is obviously very unethical.
The question of whether alcohol correlates or causes fetal alcohol syndrome, or various birth defects is obvious in my opinion. Alcohol causes FASD and FAS. It may not happen every time and that is due to chance. Pregnant women who do not drink any alcohol do not have babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome. They may have other birth defects caused by other factors such as genetics or errors during conception due to chance, but that is different than FASD. In conclusion, I think it is best for pregnant women to stay away from alcohol at all times during their pregnancy to ensure the best possible quality of life for their baby.
Sources:
“Alcohol Effects on a Fetus-Topic Overview.” WebMD. WebMD, 03 Jan. 0000. Web. 06 Oct. 2014.
“Alcohol during Pregnancy.” BabyCentre. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
“Alcohol Use in Pregnancy.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 Apr. 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2014.
This topic is very important because many fail to realize the true dangers of drinking or smoking while pregnant. I definitely agree with you in the sense that a soon to be mother should never put their baby at any risk of birth defects from something that can simply be prevented. It can be very rare that if a woman drinks or smokes while pregnant that her baby miraculously turned out fine. The chances of a birth defect occurring are very high therefore I feel as though women do not need to drink or smoke for that period of time if they want their baby healthy. I don’t know why one would even think about drinking or smoking when almost everyone drills inside of your head how harmless it really is for your baby. If you think about it how could one even take a sip of alcohol while they know they have a baby growing and depending on them inside. I find it so interesting how everything a mother intakes affects the fetus as well. I posted a link to go on further with this topic. Good job!
This topic is very important because many fail to realize the true dangers of drinking or smoking while pregnant. I definitely agree with you in the sense that a soon to be mother should never put their baby at any risk of birth defects from something that can simply be prevented. It can be very rare that if a woman drinks or smokes while pregnant that her baby miraculously turned out fine. The chances of a birth defect occurring are very high therefore I feel as though women do not need to drink or smoke for that period of time if they want their baby healthy. I don’t know why one would even think about drinking or smoking when almost everyone drills into your head the effects of it to your baby. If you think about it how could one even take a sip of alcohol while they have a baby growing and depending on them. I agree and find it interesting how everything a mother intakes affects the fetus as well. I posted a link to go on further with this topic. Good job!