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The Effects of Drinking and Smoking While Pregnant
The most disgusting thing in this world in my opinion, is when a pregnant woman
drinks or smokes. Women who drink during their pregnancy don't know that alcohol
can fatally harm the unborn baby. Most of these women drink during their pregnancy
with out any knowledge of the consequences. 'An estimated 40,000 babies are born each
year in the United States with alcohol-related birth defects. The actual figures may be
higher.'(Poisoned in the womb, p.53) The baby can be born with a lot of different kinds
of birth defects. Women, who drink very heavily during their pregnancy, have babies
that are born with Fetus Alcohol Syndrome.
Drinking alcohol can lead to the baby's slow brain development, mental
retardation, face deformities, and even death. 'Premature birth was associated with
alcohol consumption during pregnancy.'(Alcohol and the fetus, p.41) The reasons for
the mother's drinking might be peer pressure at parties or social events, age or
occupation. It is very hard to take care of the baby that is born with FAS. The effects of
the alcohol will basically last for life.
?Fetus Alcohol Syndrome, described by American researchers in 1973, is the
most severe form of alcohol-induced malformation.? (Poisoned in the womb, p. 44)
?Fetus Alcohol Syndrome is one of the three leading causes of mental retardation.?
(Poisoned in the womb, p.49) It is very hard to take care of babies with birth
defects. They will remain in intensive care for weeks or months after their birth. Their
nervous system is severely damaged, and it is hard to calm them down when they are
crying. Sometimes they become i...
... middle of paper ...
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In conclusion, babies with Fetus Alcohol Syndrome are born to those women who
drink very heavily during their pregnancy. I think that there should be special schools or
classes for mothers to be, educating them what will happen to their babies if they drink
during their pregnancy. It is so sad and unfair to the baby, which can be born beautiful
and healthy, but instead is born with multiple birth defects. It is the mother?s decision to
drink while she is pregnant and only the she is responsible for her baby?s health.
Bibliography:
Sources
McCuen, Gary E.
Born Hooked (Poisoned in the Womb)
1991 GEM publications Inc.
Rosett, Henry L. and Lyn Weiner
Alcohol and the Fetus (A Clinical Perspective)
1984 Oxford University press, Inc.
The Official Website of Yahoo
Jan. 1996 (alcohol and pregnancy)
a baby ranging from low birth weight and abnormalities to death. There are a few government
capacity by a medicine.), and they cannot have a baby of their own, but instead
A mother who drinks while she is pregnant stands a high risk of harming their unborn child because the alcohol passes through her blood to her baby, and that can harm the development of the baby’s cells. This is most likely to harm the baby’s brain and spinal cord. Many of the common effects of a child suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is: distinctive facial features, growth problems making them smaller than the average child, and learning and behavior problems.
“Can I consume even a miniscule amount of alcohol?” a common, yet preposterous question asked by numerous pregnant women. The common answer given by doctors is yes, you may. Many women don’t know, but according to nofas.org, women who drink as little as two glasses of wine per day can adversely affect their offspring’s effectiveness at school. According to the Institute of Medicine 1996, “Of all the substances of abuse (including heroin, cocaine,and marijuana), alcohol by far produces the most neurobehavioral effects in the fetus”. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a possible outcome of drinking while pregnant. This horrid disease can cause aberrant facial characteristics, growth deficits, brain damage that results in mental retardation, hyperactivity,
Of course women who are pregnant have a right to drink alcohol, but the outcomes are permanent and irreversible; they last forever.
Assessing patient’s knowledge of the negative effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy is most important step of a nursing process. It will lay a foundation for developing a nursing diagnosis and setting up goals with the only one outcome in mind-a healthy baby. We know now that even small amount of alcohol can cause birth defects, and for that reason patients need to be educated and aware of the negative effects alcohol will have on their baby if they chose to drink during pregnancy.
...U is a very important factor in a preemie or a baby born birth defects life.
Pregnant women have to be careful while pregnant. They have to watch out for various speed bumps. There are tons of toxins that can hurt the baby in the womb. The mother is responsible for most of these, after all she is the one who is carrying the baby. Many of these factors can result in death. It is really sad that it has to end that way some of the time. The worst toxins for a baby to encounter while in the mother’s uterus are different types of drugs and alcohol. Those two things can could serious problems for the infant once it gets into their system. They enter into the baby’s bloodstream from the mother, and cause problems from there on out.
Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable cause of developmental and physical birth defects in the United States. When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price, in mental and physical deficiencies, for his or her entire life. One study (Phyllis Trujillo Lewis, MA, Philip A. May, PhD, and Virginia C. Shipman, PhD, 2007) asserted that “Numerous studies on alcohol-related birth defects have concluded that maternal drinking, compounded by other risk factors, leads to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is a serious birth defect and the most common non-genetic cause of mental retardation” as said by (Hankin, 2002; Abel & Sokol,1986; O’Connor, Kogan, & Findlay, 2002; May & Gossage, in press). It is unknown how much maternal alcohol consumption results in FAS or other related disorders, or why some women who drink are at substantially higher risk of giving birth to a child with alcohol-related disabilities than others (Stratton, Howe, & Battaglia, 1996). However, researchers have identified several maternal risk factors differentially associated with FAS. These include advanced maternal age, number of pregnancies, previous births of a child with FAS, cohabitation with a male partner who drinks heavily, and low socioeconomic status (SES; May et al. 2004; 2008a; Viljoen et al., 2002). FAS is 100% preventable, which makes awareness and education the core preventative method for FAS. It is seen through Lewis, May & Shipman’s research that women who are less educated are less aware of the risks involved with drinking while pregnant.
...mester is very important to not drink it can affect a lot of issues for the baby such as miscarriage. A still birth is also an effect from drinking the baby can be considered bad to the body if the entire toxin from the alcohol gets to the baby and the body will consider it bad. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most common syndrome in the u.s now it can cause stubbornness and anger issues down the line. Birth weight, is not a big main concern as much as the others. Until the baby is born less than 5lbs it’s a problem. Preterm labor there is a lot of symptom that can pop up before you get that far to prevent preterm labor. The longer the baby is inside the better. Lastly brain damage is heart breaking. The brain is very sensitive to all those toxic put into the mother body that it can eat the baby brain up. It will cause a lot of problems for the baby in the long run.
foetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person, or one suffering from an incurable
When it comes to pregnancy, expectant mothers usually have a lot of questions and concerns. One such concern is alcohol consumption. Some people feel that it is okay while others are against the consumption. However those who drink take a huge risk that can result in what is referred to as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). This umbrella term is used to describe the range of damage from alcohol exposure to a fetus. The characteristics, diagnosis, and the mother are all important factors to look at when trying to understand these birth defects.
... lack of knowledge of the causes and effects of FAS is discernable from a young age and visibly continues into adulthood. Increased rates of violence place pregnant women at risk for turning to alcohol during pregnancy as a coping mechanism for anxiety. In addition, economic hardships, social expectations, and cultural standards can feed cycles of alcohol use. American Indian women who abuse alcohol are at risk for directly causing fetal damage and possibly delivering a child born with fetal alcohol syndrome. The development of information set to target younger generations of Native Americans is a starting point focused on diminishing the prevalence of alcohol abuse. These efforts are a beacon of hope for not only Native American women who suffer from alcohol abuse but the unborn children who won’t have to spend their lives living with fetal alcohol syndrome.
Ever since classical times, incidences of babies, born from drunken women, have been recorded. The first to search for these statements in historical documents were Jones and Smith in 1973. They note that in Carthage there was a law against drinking on one’s wedding night, as well as a quotes credited to Aristotle who lived from 384 to 322 B.C., ‘foolish, drunken, or haire-brain women [for the] most part bring forth children like unto themselves, morose and feeble’.
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!” A child has most likely heard that phrase at some point in their life. Although, it is not ethical or legal for a mother to “take her kid out of this world”, it does bring up a good point that it was through her body, that the child was born. One of the most important responsibilities in this world is a mother carrying a child in the womb. There are many divine processes that take place during gestation, but there are also many contributing factors from the mother that can affect the developing human. These factors may include what a woman ingests and exposes her embryo or fetus to. Sadly, alcohol use during pregnancy is an ongoing problem that can have detrimental affects on the fetus, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Choosing to drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy is a choice, a risky choice. Unfortunately some women don’t even know they are making a risky choice by consuming alcohol because it is in the early stages of pregnancy. It is common for a female to not find out they are pregnant until at least the fifth or sixth week after fertilization. In 2006, 49% of all pregnancies in the United States were reported unintended on a national survey.1 The highest rate of preventable birth defects and mental retardation is due to alcohol use.2 In this paper, I will further discuss FAS, the potential effects of binge drinking during the embryonic stage of gestation, and what actions need to be taken in order to reduce the incidences of alcohol related birth defects.