If a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy, regardless of timing and amount, she is at risk of having a child with a FASD. Alcohol can affect an embryo before a woman knows she is pregnant. Women who drink early in pregnancy but stop when they discover they are pregnant are still at risk. Women who have a child with FASD are at higher risk of having subsequent children with the disorder. (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, 2014)
Other factors that play a role in how fetal alcohol exposure affects children are:
- Poor health and inadequate nutrition
- Living in an environment where binge or heavy drinking is common and accepted
- Little awareness of FASD
- Inadequate prenatal care
- Social isolation
- Exposure to high levels of stress
For our newsletter and blog this month we are discussing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). The blog topics for this month are:
- What is FASD (6/5/15)
- FASD: Who is at risk? (6/12/15)
- What are the effects of FASD? (6/19/15)
- FASD: Legal Implications (6/26/15)
Note: To see all posts in this topic, click here
