What should a pregnant woman that drank alcohol 'five or six times' do?

Question

I know a 16 year old girl who is pregnant. I don't know how far along she was, has to be at least a month and a half, two. She told me she's drank 'five or six times' and I was like, what the hell, don't. I don't think she wants to keep the baby very much. For y/a's entertainment, I'll share a snippet of the conversation:

Me: Retardation?
Girl: Oh sh** could that actually happen?
Me: What did you think it did?
Girl: Give it FAS but that goes away.

So she's not the brightest lamp in the knife drawer, but my question is this: how much will five or six nights of drinking have on a fetus in the first trimester, and would it be better just to abort?

Answer 1

There is a new government funded program that pretty much apprehends danger cases like these and oversees their lifestyle until the baby is born. Contact your local police department and ask about the Star Maker Custody Program if you want to get more information.

Answer 2

There are conflicting reports about how much alcohol, if at all, can be consumed during pregnancy.

All the reports, though, seem to agree that drinking moderately or heavily in the first trimester can seriously affect a baby's development.

Some say that it's ok to have an occassional (like once a week) glass of red wine in the last trimester.

Other studies say NOTHING, at all, during your 9 months of pregnancy because the alcohol goes through the baby's bloodstream as well. The baby is unable to filter the alcohol as well as the mother is, so the baby has a higher BAC for longer.

Have you told her high school guidance counselor or parents about this behavior?

Answer 3

Alright, first of all
the brightest lamp in the knife drawer ??????????????

Wow sounds like the pot calling the kettle black to me .

O.K.
I don't agree with abortion.
Having said that the first 3 months of pregnancy are when FAS(fetal alcohol syndrome) develop.
There is also FAE(Fetal Alcohol Effect) effect is a lesser form and can come from mild drinking.

So I would say That her chances of FAE are probably good.
It also depends on how much she drank. If you are talking a beer on 5 different dates,
Then she should be fine, but if she is drinking a 5th every time she drinks I would be worried.

Does she plan on stopping?? Because if she needs a drink now, her problems are only going to intensify after the baby is here, especially if her child is a special needs baby.

She needs to go see a doc and be honest.

I needed to add to the Mother who drank alot, I know you didn't know you were pregnant, so I am not blaming but wanted to add that your baby might be measuring big because the head is swollen from the FAS I would talk to your doc.
Also facial deformities, and learning disabilities don't show up in the uterus

Answer 4

Honestly i was drinking very heavily whilst i was pregnant but i didnt know i was pregnant until i was about 5 and a half weeks along. During thoes 5 weeks i didnt just have a couple of drinks, i drank anywhere from half a bottle of vodka to a whole bottle of vodka on my own.

Every night i was trashed and every morning i was hungover, i even drank during the week. I was drinking though cause i was still very depressed over my previouse miscarriage and didnt know how to cope with the loss.

But as soon as i found out i was pregnant i stopped. Now i was drinking HEAVILY and my baby is really healthy, and he is measuring 2 weeks bigger than what he is supposed to be. But that doesnt mean it is ok to drink while pregnant.

She should stop, fetal alcohole syndrome is very seriouse and it can cause the baby to have learning difficulties and many other problems but it is perminant damage it doesnt go away! She needs to wake up and smell the roses, she will hurt the baby if she keeps going with the booze! I was just very lucky my little boy is ok, well as far as i know from what the doc told me but just cause things look good doesnt mean they are, somethings you can not tell until they are born or at school starting to learn.

I think if she is this irresponsible she is proberly better off getting an abortion. I am against abortion but in cases like this i think the baby would be better off rather then having long term damage to it's little brain, and having a mother that doesnt care!

Answer 5

She sounds pretty dumb to be having a kid. I feel bad for the baby.

It's hard to say. She needs to stop drinking immediately and be HONEST with her DR about how much she has drank. The Dr will tell her the probability of whether this baby has the chance to be normal. She only has until the end of the 3rd month to have an abortion.

This girl needs to smarten the hell up. There are tests during pregnancy to see if the baby is at high risk for down syndrom. I don't think there is a test for FAS. The girl needs to really smarten up. DAMN.. Doesn't that make you so mad?! I'm angry and I don't even know the girl.

There is counselling for young moms. I think she needs it.

Answer 6

Did she do this on purpose, knowing she was pregnant, or did she drink before she found out? I think that's an important question before judging her.

If she knew and drank anyway then it sounds like she has a lot of growing up to do before she is a parent...but if she didn't understand what the effects of drinking while pregnant are it doesn't sound as if she was maliciously harming her child or being purposefully neglectful....perhaps she's just not as smart as the average bear. Nothing that a few pregnancy and parenting classes can't fix.

If she didn't know she was pregnant, she was still being irresponsible but was not intentionally harming her child. Many many women drink before they find out they are pregnant (even I had half a mai tai while we were TTC...then found out three weeks later that we were four weeks pregnant) that doesn't make them (or me) horrible parents.

The effects of her drinking could range anywhere between nothing and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome...there is no research to say exactly how much drinking causes FAS. Could be one drink, could be 30. Still, having a child with a birth defect is no reason to kill them. If she's not ready to be a parent, she has other options.

Answer 7

even ONE time can cause FAS, and no it does not go away.

she should quit drinking immediately and get some counseling, she should also consider putting the child up for adoption, if she can't even take care of the baby during pregnancy i am not sure she would make a very good mother at this point!

Answer 8

You keep your lamps in the knife drawer?

Your friend should just STOP drinking. Why abort the baby when you don't know for sure that it's caused any damage?

You should encourage her to put it up for adoption. She sounds like a real winner. An alcoholic teenage mother. That baby doesn't stand a chance.

Answer 9

Clearly she needs an education....first off, she's 16 and pregnant so she apparently never got the sex talk about using protection. Secondly, fetal alcohol syndrome does not go away.

She needs to grow up fast, stop trying to be older by drinking, take care of herself and the baby, oh and did I mention....grow up fast????

Answer 10

she should just get an abortion. and learn next time to seriously use a type of birth control. 16 is too young and mistakes happen. give her a hug and take her to the clinic hunny.