Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy – The Problems
by Guest Author on Mar.27, 2009, under Guest Articles
The consumption of alcohol whilst pregnant causes a major risk to your infants health. The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) affects 1/100 children, resulting in physical and mental disability, restricted growth and sometimes, heart failure.
FASD is the general term for an array of mental, physical and behavioral problems connected to consuming alcohol during pregnancy, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. One drink shouldn’t result in FASD; however, the exact amount of alcohol that causes FASD is unknown. To reduce misunderstandings over what is safe, many experts guide pregnant women to not drink at all. There are a lot of ways of testing for alcohol if you think someone you know is drinking whilst pregnant.
Individuals with FASD often appear to be normal however their behaviour is often different to children without any disorders; they are usually a bit slow to apprehend things, stuff they learn is not stored for long (they aren’t processed into the long term memory), they have sudden mood swings and find social situations difficult.
There area few physical signs of FASD including smaller and wide-set eyes, a thin upper lip and no groove between the nose and lip. however, most do not, which is a reason why their behaviour is often misinterpreted well into adulthood.
Drinking whilst pregnant is a very selfish thing to do as it harms your unborn baby and damages them for life. If you can’t seem to be able to stop drinking alcohol when pregnant, you need to go and see a doctor to help you to stop drinking.
Many kids with the disorder manage to adapt to social situations and can function well in some jobs, including some trades.
An alcohol test can be easily conducted using a saliva alcohol test at home, these tests are accurate, cheap and can be used at home.
