Is drinking alcohol while pregnant really dangerous, or is it just an old wive's tale?

Question

I heard they've found evidence that a woman can drink and not hurt her baby. I have a little brother (adopted from Russia) who has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome - but could it be the result of something else?

Answer 1

No, fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by the mother drinking while pregnant.

Answer 2

No, it can't be the result of something else.

But it is an old wives' tale that 'even one drink can cause FAS,' that 'no amount is safe,' etc.

"The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recently conducted a large study including 400,000 American women, all of whom had consumed alcohol during pregnancy. Not a single case of fetal alcohol syndrome occurred and no adverse effects on children were found when consumption was under 8.5 drinks per week. 3

A recent review of research studies found that fetal alcohol syndrome only occurs among alcoholics. The evidence is clear that there is no apparent risk to a child when the pregnant woman consumes no more than one drink per day. 4"
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/FetalAlcoholSyndrome.html

Your brother's birth mother boozed quite a bit. Sorry about that.

Answer 3

I don't know what else it could be the result of, and while pregnant I would be really careful with consuming alcohol. Your entire body is different when you are pregnant, and alcohol sometimes has a lot of sugar in it, wines and others too. My opinion is not to drink, because that life is the mother's responsibility and it is always in their best interest to stop bad habits if at all possible. It was hard for me to give up caffeine and chocolate while pregnant, but my daughters come first. thanks and I hope I helped. I would do some research on line about the causes of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, I don't know enough to comment.

Answer 4

It is a prove fact drinking while pregnant causes fetal alcohol syndrome but in some cases the child turns out okay but it is rare and they do not understand why. There have been reports of a women drinking all threw there pregnancy and giving birth to healthy children while other reports say there have been women who have only had a glass of whine while pregnant and gave birth to fetal alcohol syndrome.

There is no way to be sure that if you drink your child will come out healthy or with FAS but do you really want to take that chance knowing that it is like a 90% chance that your child will end up with FAC?? I know I sure would not take the chance

It is a proven fact that FAS is only caused by drinking while pregnant, that is why it is called Fetal alcohol syndrome

Answer 5

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is indeed a positively true thing. It comes from excessive use of alcohol during pregnancy. There's no old wives tale in this. Alcohol in certain amounts is dangerous to a person not pregnant....so it's very unhealthy for a woman caring for another life inside her. I wouldn't risk it. Maybe a glass of wine at the end of the pregnancy when the baby is fully formed and developed, but other than that.....leave it alone please!

Answer 6

I am so happy to hear that so many people don't believe in old wives tales. With my first, I had every sign that it was going to be a boy.. and I even felt like it was going to be a boy. I was never sick, my pregnancy was a breeze. Later, I found out it was a girl and I was shocked. Now I am pregnant with my second and I don't have morning sickness but I do feel more dizzy this time. All the old wives tales tell me its going to be a girl this time, so more than likely it will end up being the opposite of the tales... so I wouldn't believe them. I know you are curious, but just wait it out and don't freak yourself out with all these wives tales.. they are called "old" for a reason.

Answer 7

Basically, no one can tell if alcohol harms an unborn child. No one can safely say that it doesn't harm the child, so it is promoted to NOT drink to be on the safe side.
I have seen movies about children with FAS and they have a 'certain look' about them. I am not saying that to be mean, but they look different from say, down syndrome or retarded people.
I know of only one person who has not had a drop of alcohol whilst pregnant. And by having a drink, I mean most of my previously pregnant friends/rellies would perhaps have one glass only maybe about once a month in average during the pregnancy, and none of them have had children with anything wrong with them. But how do you know? How do you know that the child that isn't so good at school or isn't very co-ordinated or has a bad temper is like this from some mild damage from their mother drinking during the pregnancy?
We are told to be careful with what we eat, what we drink and what we do physically whilst pregnant - I guess you never know if you will be the unlucky one to have something wrong with your baby.

Answer 8

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is just that, drinking while pregnant. While there will always be some who don't follow the rules and it won't hurt the baby, wouldn't you want to do everything you can to protect your child? Giving up alcohol is a minor thing compare to everything you'll have to give up for your child once it's born.

Answer 9

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a direct result of a mother drinking while pregnant. There are other syndromes and disabilities associated with drinking as well.I work with these babies and it is no joke. Women should not drink at all when they are pregnant. Why would anyone take the chance of harming their baby?

Answer 10

They do not know exactly how much alcohol a woman can drink and still have a healthy baby. You can get drunk once and have a baby w/ FAS, or you can have a couple drinks here and there and your baby may still get FAS. Having 1/2 a drink very occasionally seems to be safe, but don't take any chances. You should read up on FAS just to see how heartbreaking and severe the consequences are.