Consumption of alcohol in large quantities can lead to various kinds of illness to heart, liver, kidney and nervous system in people across all ages and gender. If you are a pregnant woman, alcohol consumption can have profound effect on you and your unborn child. What happens is that when a mother consumes alcohol, the unborn child is also exposed to alcohol.
Exposure to alcohol can cause serious health complication to the fetus. Drinking alcohol during the first few weeks of pregnancy can turn to be very fatal to the fetus. Damage to the baby can be in the form of a physical problem, mental instability, behavioral problems, inability to learn, etc. Most of these complications can last throughout the life.
When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol reaches the baby in the same level of concentration. In other words, if a pregnant woman remains drunk for couple of hours, the unborn baby will also remain intoxicated for three to four days.
The brain of the unborn baby is one of the organs that is most affected when the mother consumes alcohol. During pregnancy, the brain develops at a steady pace. So, if the mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy, it can cause severe damage to the baby’s brain and hamper its development.
A recent research has shown that over 2,000 new born babies every year suffer from effects that are caused due to prenatal alcohol exposure. Alcohol intake during pregnancy causes FASD. According to Wikipedia, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders describes a continuum of permanent birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy, which includes, but is not limited to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS).
The risk of miscarriage is increased due to alcohol consumption. There is also risk of stillbirth and malformation to the vital organs of the baby such as the heart and brain. Hence, pregnant women should make every effort to control their need for drinking alcohol. This will help the mother and her unborn baby to remain healthy during pregnancy and post pregnancy.
Tags: effects of alcohol on pregnant women, FASD, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
January 19th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
”’The risk of miscarriage is increased due to alcohol consumption…”
this is almost an understatement. The risk of miscarriage is extremely high. Should you have an alcohol problem you better get a rehab first and then get pregnant. Otherwise you risk your baby.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:15 am
I agree. If a pregnant woman take excessive alcohol everyday, she is not only at risk but also the baby as well. Aside from those effects, the baby is underweight at birth. That is not just the problem in there but the long term effect of it. Brain is the most vital organ involved so please take care of your health.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Drinking alcohol is definitely a big NO when a woman is pregnant. This is surely detrimental both to the mother and baby’s health.
January 29th, 2010 at 6:56 am
My own experience tells me that this kind of facilities show results in more than 80% of the cases. I heard that the hardest part is to convince an addict that he needs to follow a drug rehab center.
January 31st, 2010 at 8:50 am
great information thank you
April 8th, 2010 at 4:50 am
A plea for you to consider the ethics of buying maternity clothes. Really, if you’re willing to bring a child on this planet, you’d better make sure the planet is in a good state! Therefore do try and consider, for example, the materials your items are manufactured from, the human rights of the factories where they’re manufactured and the green credentials of the clothes retailer. And endeavour to share, instead of discarding. Thanks!!!!