Alcohol and Pregnancy - How it affects your childs development
Alcohol consumption whilst pregnant causes a huge risk to your childs health. The Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) affects one in 100 babies, resulting in low birth weight, restricted growth, physical and mental disability and, in some cases, heart problems.
FASD is the general term for many of mental, physical and behavioral problems connected to consuming alcohol throughout pregnancy, inclusive of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. One drink shouldn’t result in FASD; however, no one knows how much alcohol results in this disorder. To prohibit misunderstandings over what may be safe, many experts try to persuade 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.
People with FASD often look to be normal however compared to other children, they behave abnormally; they are generally a bit slow to grasp 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 are a few physical indications of FASD including smaller and wide-set eyes, a thin upper lip and no groove between the nose and lip. however, many don’t, which is a reason why their behaviour is often misunderstood well into adulthood.
Drinking while pregnant is a very risky thing to do as it can harm your unborn baby and damage them for life. If you are having trouble stopping drinking alcohol while pregnant, you need to go and see someone to help you to stop drinking.
A lot of people with the disorder manage to adapt to social situations and can function well in some jobs, including some trades.
The easiest way to test for alcohol is by using a home saliva alcohol test, these tests are usually fairly cheap and very accurate.
In conclusion, if in doubt about how much you should drink when pregnant don’t drink at all, if you find you can’t stop drinking seek proffesional help for the sake of your baby.
