5 Things You Should Know about Drinking Alcohol during Pregnancy

1. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and a range of lifelong physical, behavioral, and intellectual disabilities.These disabilities are known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASDs. People with FASDs can have learning disabilities, hyperactivity, difficulty with attention, speech and language delays, low IQ, and poor reasoning and judgment skills. They can also have problems with their organs, including the heart and kidneys.
2. There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy or while trying to get pregnant.All drinks with alcohol can affect a baby’s growth and development and cause FASDs. A 5-ounce glass of red or white wine has the same amount of alcohol as a 12-ounce can of beer or a 1.5-ounce shot of straight liquor.
3. There is no safe time to drink during pregnancy.Alcohol can cause problems for a developing baby throughout pregnancy, including before a woman knows she is pregnant. Women also should not drink alcohol if they are sexually active and do not use effective contraception (birth control). This is because a woman might get pregnant and expose her baby to alcohol before she knows she is pregnant. Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned. Most women will not know they are pregnant for up to 4 to 6 weeks.
4. Too many women continue to drink during pregnancy.About 1 in 10 pregnant women in the United States reports alcohol use in the past 30 days. And about 1 in 33 pregnant women in the United States reports binge drinking in the past 30 days (having four or more drinks at one time).
5. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs) are completely preventable.FASDs are completely preventable if a woman does not drink alcohol during pregnancy. Why take the risk?

Source: The Center for Disease Control & Prevention