Alcohols can have a detrimental effect on fertility,
pregnancy and health. Foresight strongly urges BOTH parents to avoid
alcohol before and during pregnancy (and afterwards ideally) for
your health and for that of your child to be.
Below are listed a few alcohol related facts that may interest you..
Problems Caused by Alcohol
- Growth abnormalities
- Cranio-facial abnormalities
- Musculoskeletal abnormalities
- Cardial abnormalities
- Nervous system abnormalities
- Neurodevelopment delay or mental deficiency
- Short stature appears permanent
Learning and behavioural deficits widely variable.
Problems with
Co-operation, sustained attention, comprehension, retention of
information, self-control, relationships, word recall, organisational
skills.
Solutions
Avoidance of alcohol for at least 4 months prior to future pregnancies
to ensure undamaged sperm and ova, and, for the woman, throughout
pregnancy and breastfeeding.
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| ‘Women warned to avoid alcohol
when trying to conceive’
Women drinking 5 units or less a week were twice as likely
to conceive within six months than women drinking 10 units
or more.
British Medical Journal, 1998
Then, the same year, an article in Fertility and
Sterility found that alcohol AT ANY LEVEL significantly reduced
fertility by up to 50%.
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| In humans, the first period of critical vulnerability
for the development of the human brain is between the first and
eighteenth gestational week, the period of greatest neuronal multiplication.
The late spurt of brain development begins during the third trimester.
Bear in mind that smoking, drinking, caffeine consumption,
soft drug taking are totally under the individual’s
control.
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While children are prohibited from drinking alcohol by two
acts of parliament, no such legal protection is afforded to the
unborn foetus.
From days 7 to 21 of development, the preliminary organisation
of the tissues begins to take place. A poor formation (malformation)
that occurs this early in development usually has such a severe
impact that the developing baby is miscarried.
By eight weeks, most of the major organs have begun to develop.
In humans, the first period of critical vulnerability for the
development of the human brain is between the first and eighteenth
gestational week, the period of greatest neuronal multiplication.
The late spurt of brain development begins during the third trimester.
Dr Ernest Nobel
Director of the National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism |
| FOETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME
Distinct dysmorphic conditions associated with maternal gestational
alcoholism
1. Growth abnormalities
2. Craniofacial abnormalities
3. Musculoskeletal abnormalities
4. Cardiac abnormalities
5. Nervous system abnormalities
6. Neuro-developmental delay or mental difficulties
There is no known teratogen studied in man, which clearly shows
a threshold effect where the substance is quite safe to a particular
level, beyond which it is teratogenic.
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Infant with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome showing
depressed nasal bridge, absent philtrum, thin upper lip,
short palpebral fissures and large ears. |
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| Average Birth Weights:
In mothers consuming alcohol throughout pregnancy
2,786g ± 485g (6lb 2oz)
In mothers who drank previously, but abandoned alcohol upon
becoming pregnant
3,137g ± 466g (6lb 15oz)
In mothers who did not drink alcohol
3,520g ± 419g (7lb 12oz)
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B.M.J. Vol 286. January 1983
Alcohol & Advice to the Pregnant Woman Californian
study of 32,000 pregnancies
Women taking 1-2 drinks daily the risk of miscarriage doubled
when compared with non-drinkers.
New York study of women who drank twice weekly, only 2 drinks
per occasion, had miscarriage rate of 25%
Seattle study on congenital abnormalities:
4 drinks per day, 19% abnormalities
2-4 drinks per day, 11% abnormalities
Fewer than 2 drinks per day, 2% abnormalities
Some criticism due to maternal age in some cases
The United States Surgeon General: “advises women who
are pregnant (or considering pregnancy) not to drink alcoholic
beverages and to be aware of the alcoholic content of food and
drugs.”
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