Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders:
When a pregnant woman consumes alcohol, the baby in her womb does too.
The alcohol in the mother's blood passes from the placenta to the baby through the umbilical cord.
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, and a variety of lifelong disorders known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).
The effects of FASD include physical problems (such as abnormal facial features) and behavioral and learning problems (such as underweight and nervous system problems).
Often a person with FASD can have several of these problems.
How much alcohol poses a risk?
There is no known amount of alcohol that a mother can safely ingest during pregnancy.
There is also no time in pregnancy when you can drink and no alcoholic beverage that is not harmful during pregnancy.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are 100% preventable if a pregnant woman does not drink alcohol during her pregnancy, and yet approximately 5,000 children are born with FASD each year.
