Yesterday I witnessed how a pregnant woman drank a glass of wine while I was passing by. I wanted to say something against it but I thought never mind she would probably think I am overreacting. I let it be and prayed for the health of the fetus.
The problem is, many people don´t realize how dangerous a single sip could be for a fetus. No in fact, they have the tendency to think you´re overreacting. Sadly, drinking alcohol during pregnancy is more common amongst the educated folk.
What does alcohol to the fetus?
The research of scientists at Binghampton University, shows that it does not matter whether a pregnant woman only takes just a sip or not. Principal investigator Marvin Diaz says the following: 'These research results show that there is simply no amount of alcohol that would be safe to drink during pregnancy. Another scientists says the following: “There is no defined safe minimum amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy. We therefore recommend that all pregnant women should adhere to the guidelines for total alcohol abstinence during pregnancy,” says Nordeng.
What´s concerning is that pregnant women are still consuming alcohol like there is no tomorrow. In America alone, there are like more than 3 million pregnant women who admitted they drink. In Europe it seems also to be quite normal. Some countries like the Netherlands and Germany in this chart have no data. I personally looked it up and HALF of the pregnant women in the Netherlands consume alcohol. In Germany it is even more than a HALF. Yes, this is concerning.
If a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the baby receives the alcohol as well. A large part is excreted in the amniotic fluid. The fetus drinks the amniotic fluid. This keeps the alcohol circulating in the body of the fetus and remains exposed to alcohol for hours. Not the liver of the child has to break down the alcohol, but the brain. That causes damage.
It is estimated that 4000 children are born each year who have suffered damage from their mother's alcohol consumption. 500 of them have the most severe form: FAS. Children with FAS depend on intensive care throughout their lives.
· Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). These are the most severe effects that can occur when a woman drinks during pregnancy, and include fetal death. Infants born with FAS have abnormal facial features (small eyes, flat nasal bridge, thin upper lip, smooth philtrum, small head etc) and growth and central nervous system (CNS) problems, including intellectual disability.
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· Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). Children with ARND may not have full FAS but have learning and behavioral problems due to prenatal exposure to alcohol. These problems may include mathematical difficulties, impaired memory or attention, impulse control and/or judgment problems, and poor school performance.
· Alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). Birth defects related to prenatal alcohol exposure can include abnormalities in the heart, kidneys, bones, and/or hearing.
Dick Swaab, brain researcher: "At a tremendous pace, in the womb and in the first years after birth, our brains develop into a network of 100 billion neurons and 1000 times 1000 billion sites where nerve cells make contact with each other. The nerve cells are connected by more than 100,000 kilometers of nerve fibers. In this enormously complex network, our character traits, talents and limitations are already set for an important part early in development.
Alcohol taken by the mother passes the placenta and disrupts the formation of this network, which can cause permanent disturbances in the brain functions of the child, such as disorders in learning and memory and behavioral disorders.´´
Also, in the early weeks, right after fertilization, every single sip could decide how handicapped your baby will be. Alcohol consumption in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy can lead to abnormalities in the organs of the child, such as the heart, arms and eyes. Alcohol in week 13 to week 42, can lead to a growth retardation, not only in the uterus, but also later in life. It´s directly linked to the cause of a low intelligence as well.
Egg and sperm quality
It´s important to stay clean when you decide to get pregnant. Alcohol damages DNA. Whatever you eat affects the egg and yes men should stay clean too! Alcohol affects sperm quality just like smoking does (a reason why it´s better not to make babies with a smoker or an alcoholic, the more alcohol a man drinks, the weaker the sperm quality is, so it´s better to make babies with someone who does not drink). It will certainly affect the child later in life and the child may not be as healthy as other children or may even suffer from anxiety, aggression and mental disorders.
´´Recent research is pointing to a link between alcohol and poor sperm development, meaning the onus is on expectant fathers too. A myriad of studies are showing biological fathers who drink alcohol may have a significant role in causing health problems in their children.´´
´´Other studies provide some preliminary evidence that paternal preconception alcohol use is associated with acute leukemia at high-level use, heart malformation with daily use, microcephaly with low to moderate use, and effects in relation to fetal growth and mild cognitive impairments.´´
Breastfeeding
Once the baby is born it´s important that women still don´t consume any alcohol. What ever you drink, drinks the baby through the boob. A baby is extremely sensitive to that stuff and still could get a serious brain damage or development abnormalities. Even an adult still could get brain damage from alcohol, imagine how much it will affect a baby.
´´If you’re breastfeeding and have drunk alcohol, your baby’s sleep patterns may be disrupted (which affects growth). A study has found that babies that had alcohol via breast milk slept for 25% less time than those that had no alcohol.
Research has also shown that alcohol can reduce the amount of milk breastfeeding women produce. This may be due to alcohol disrupting the hormones that control the production of breast milk.
Other studies have shown that babies take around 20% less milk if there’s alcohol present, so they’ll need to feed more often.´´
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/documents/fasdbrochure_final.pdf
Would you hand out a cold beer to your child? No, right? Why would you then drink carelessly (just to fill up your ´fun´) without giving it a second thought about how it might affect the baby?
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