Drinking While Pregnant

819 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Research in relation to the effects on the foetus of alcohol misuse whilst pregnant

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is a leading cause of birth defects and developmental disorders. Recent estimates of the number of US children affected by fetal alcohol exposure range from 1 per 2,000 live births to 1 per 100 live births (Krauss). Drinking while pregnant can cause harm to the unborn child in her womb. Drinking while pregnant is very wrong because it causes many birth defects; and it will cause that child pain emotionally and physically the rest of his or her life.
Infants (in the womb) exposed to alcohol has been a big issue that could be easily prevented. In the past few years, FASD (or known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) has been a health concern nationwide. FASD is defined as an “umbrella term” that is used to outline the perpetuity outcomes of unborn infants being exposed to alcohol. An unbelievable study (conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) showed that pregnant women between the ages of 35-44 years of age, college graduates, employed, and unmarried have admitted they have drank alcohol. About 10.1% of pregnant women conveyed that they have drunk alcohol in the past 30 days; and 2% of pregnant women reported that they promised themselves in binge drinking in the past 30 days (Coons). Drinking while pregnant is a serious problem that shockingly a lot of older women participate in. But, how can pregnant women know that consuming alcohol can harm their baby?
In order to answer that question, women need to know how their risky behavior can affect their baby. Whether it is drinking every once in a while, binge drinking, or drinking on a daily basis; no matter how a pregnant women sees it, drinking alcohol is drinking alcohol and that can severely hurt that women’s unborn child. B...

... middle of paper ...

...eally worth the risk?

Works Cited

Anderson, Amy E., et al. "Risky Drinking Patterns Are Being Continued Into Pregnancy: A
Prospective Cohort Study." Plos ONE 9.1 (2014): 1-7. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Coons, Kelly. "Determinants Of Drinking During Pregnancy And Lifespan Outcomes For
Individuals With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder." Journal On
Developmental Disabilities 19.3 (2013): 15-28. Academic Search Complete. Web. 27
Apr. 2014.
Krauss, Celeste . "The Dangers of Drinking for Two: Alcohol and Birth Defects." - Health.
N.p., 1 July 2008. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
/getcontent.aspx?cid=31446>.
Uscher, Jen. "Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy: Is It Safe? What Are the Effects?." WebMD.
WebMD, 22 June 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
/drinking-alcohol-during-pregnancy>.

Show More
Related

  • Substance Abuse in Pregnant Women

    1862 Words  | 4 Pages

    “Crack-babies” a media induced phenomena brought about by the climax of public outcry from the results of the 1980’s war on drugs. This term laid the foundation for biased prosecutions which sparked a political crusade during climate of the time. Thus exploiting the public’s fear of children born to substance addicted mother and creating a firestorm of litigation to prosecute pregnant drug addicts. According to Flavin, Paltrow (2010), current evidence points to public stigmas and prejudice as posing a greater danger to both maternal and fetal health than use of the drug itself. Leaving the question as to why addicted women are still publicly reviled for the outcomes of their circumstances. From this abhorrence stems the likelihood that these women would be deterred from seeking prenatal care than to seek help for their addiction; expelling an even greater issue as the concern of health care is then added to the mix. The complex social issues then must be taken into consideration to underscore the need for policymakers to allow for the legal and medical systems to better create programs for these women and allot for rehabilitation instead of punitive solutions.

    Read More

  • Autonomy And Paternalism Essay

    1193 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggestion that a pregnant woman should not drink alcohol during pregnancy (Advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy 2005) has been widely criticized as being unnecessarily paternalistic, but the CDC goes further into explaining that, “Alcohol consumed during pregnancy increases the risk of alcohol related birth defects, including growth deficiencies, facial abnormalities, central nervous system impairment, behavioral disorders, and impaired intellectual development” (Advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy

    Read More

  • The Effects on Caffeine During Pregnancy

    1136 Words  | 3 Pages

    The effects on caffeine during pregnancy were explained and detailed. I explained the causes and effects on caffeine and the major dangers that affect the offspring. Caffeine is the most dangerous cause of danger in pregnancy and their offspring. It can infect the metabolism, the fetal, and can cause miscarriages. The blood flow can easily be decreased by having to much caffeine and can in danger the baby.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

    1637 Words  | 4 Pages

    There is no known safe amount of alcohol a woman can drink while pregnant. Alcohol can cause life-long physical and behavioral problems in children, including fetal alcohol syndrome. FAS is a serious condition where babies can be born with mentally ill condition and may have deformation mainly in there face. When you consume alcohol during pregnancy, so does your baby, because alcohol passes freely through the placenta to your baby. If you choose to drink alcohol while you are pregnant, you will increase the risk that your baby will be born with a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition in a child that results from alcohol exposure during the mother 's pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes brain damage and growth problems. The problems caused by fetal alcohol syndrome vary from child to child, but defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome are

    Read More

  • Effects of Alcohol and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

    1695 Words  | 4 Pages

    a patient's birth defects. In other words, FAE is a less severe form of FAS.

    Read More

  • Drinking Alcohol While Pregnant Should Be Illegal

    431 Words  | 1 Pages

    Of course women who are pregnant have a right to drink alcohol, but the outcomes are permanent and irreversible; they last forever.

    Read More

  • Nature Vs Nurture Essay

    1894 Words  | 4 Pages

    “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,

    Read More

  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

    1947 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many studies have established that a developing organism is susceptible to exogenous and endogenous factors during certain stage of the organism’s development. The effects of ethyl alcohol or ethanol on the developing fetus, which manifest a variety of characteristic abnormalities, are collectively called Fetal alcohol Syndrome. Ethanol exposure to the fetus causes various malformation ranging from the cellular to the organismic levels with the eventual results frequently being different levels of mental retardation (3).

    Read More

  • Alcohol And Fetuses Essay

    2025 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Environmental Influences On Prenatal Development

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Alcohol Consumption Among First Time Mothers And Its Effects On Preterm Birth

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... excluded potential risk factors for preterm birth including previous pregnancies and multiple births. Thus, these results should only be applied to the risk of alcohol consumption for primiparous mothers with singleton pregnancies. However, despite the lack of risks identified in this study, alcohol use during pregnancy has been linked to disabilities. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP, 2011), its adverse effects include fetal alcohol syndrome, learning disabilities, social ineptness, depression, and anxiety. The AACAP strongly recommends against pregnant women consuming any form of alcohol at any level. Despite the data presented by Dale et al. (2016), the question of the other risks of alcohol consumption on the fetus was not explored and thus alcohol use during pregnancy should not be condoned solely based on this study.

    Read More

  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

    2587 Words  | 6 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Children And Alcohol Abuse Essay

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    Children can be effected by their caregiver’s alcohol and substance abuse in numerous ways. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a pattern of birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome tend to have physical abnormalities such as deformed facial characteristics. They are generally born with a variety of emotional and/or intellectual limitations. It is very common for these children to...

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Alcohol Use During Pregnancy

    1617 Words  | 4 Pages

    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. Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy Alcohol is an ethanol containing substance that is a common beverage in many social and private settings. Alcohol is also a teratogen, therefore alcohol consumption and binge drinking potentially pose a substantial risk to the embryo or fetus. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control conducted a telephone survey of women in the age range of 18-44 years regarding alcohol use.3

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Drugs And Alcohol On A Pregnancy

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    People always think that nothing bad would ever happen to them, or that they would never make the same mistakes as other mothers. The fact of the matter is it can happen to anyone and it will happen if people are not careful. 21 % of women use illegal drugs and alcohol during the nine months of pregnancy. Whether it is just one drink or one hit or this is an everyday occurrence; it can affect the baby mentally and physically for the rest of its life.

    Read More

More about Drinking While Pregnant

Open Document