Alcohol

Sometimes, I read a blog called "Anonymous Truths." Sometimes I like it and sometimes it makes me sad to see the hatred with which people comment. Regardless, a recent post elicited this comment:

Anonymous said...
The whole situation about Fetal Alcohol syndrome and pregnant women at the wedding. WHAT!? I don't think we can draw conclusions from those assumptions. Just for the record. I have a friend who is a pediatrician and C of C. She encouraged me to have a glass of wine on and off through pregnancy and guess what I saw her do it too. No problems - small amounts of alcohol will never reach the baby. She said she tells her clients no drinking because she wouldn't want them to drink too much so it is just easier to tell them not to drink anything. Oh and she is married to a OB. This is not to condone drinking while pregnant just to point out that you can't assume the wine was grape juice just because there were pregnant women there.
June 5, 2009 9:05 AM

I feel so passionately about this issue, that I actually commented (very unusual) and wanted to write it here. I am so sad that even today there are people so misinformed about this totally preventable disorder!!

Here is my response to this poster:
June 5 -- 9:05 a.m. You are incorrect about alcohol consumption during pregnancy. The truth (backed up by research) is that we do not know exactly how much alcohol it takes to produce Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD...formerly called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) and we do know that FASD is a disorder on a contiuum meaning that some children are born with mild symptoms and may not be easy to recognize that they are FASD while others have more significant symptoms. Many doctors (even OBs) are unaware of the significant consequences of alcohol use during pregnancy and what new research may show about this. Please, please, please DO NOT drink any amount of alcohol while pregnant. You may very well cause irreversable damage to your unborn child.
June 5, 2009 12:57 PM

Here is what the CDC says:
When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, so does her unborn baby. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant and there also does not appear to be a safe time to drink during pregnancy either. Therefore, it is recommended that women abstain from drinking alcohol at any time during pregnancy. Women who are sexually active and do not use effective birth control should also refrain from drinking because they could become pregnant and not know for several weeks or more.

This is not an issue to take lightly. People must be informed about this issue, for the sake of so many unborn babies.

For more information:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fas/

Regardless of your personal views about drinking, I think it is clear that drinking while pregnant is a very poor choice.