Pregnancy is undeniably the most memorable and joyous experience for most mothers. But along with pregnancy comes a lot of responsibilities. A pregnant woman has to take care of herself as there is another life growing in her and whatever she does indirectly affects it. Whatever the mother eats is converted into food and nutrition for the child. Giving up alcohol is one important thing a pregnant woman will have to do. There are people who believe that a little alcohol is fine when pregnant. However there are so many risks involved that it is best to stay away from it. Whenever a pregnant woman has a drink the baby growing...
...inside her has the drink as well.
The fetus is still developing so it takes time to break down the alcohol it has received through the placenta. Hence the level of alcohol in the blood is high for a long time. This could cause life long defects.
If a pregnant woman drinks a lot of alcohol during pregnancy the baby will develop Fetal Alcohol Syndrome more commonly known as FAS. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes a wide range of mental and physical deformities and alcohol related birth defects. Some of the effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy are; Low birth weight, slow physical growth, abnormal facial features, curved spine, hip dislocation, problem in joint movements, poor body, hand and feet co ordination, breathing disorders, slow development of the brain, damage to the nervous system, spinal cord, low intellectual level. It could also lead to physical deformities like a small head, defected hands and feet. Very often babies who were exposed to alcohol are born normal but have liver, heart, urinary and kidney problems later on in their lives. Some babies also suffer from hearing and vision problems.Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can even lead to a miscarriage, stillbirth and premature delivery. Recent surveys conducted prove that the number of women who drink during their pregnancy have increased and many children whose mothers drank during pregnancy had difficulties in concentration, learning things, bad memory and solving easy problems.
So although alcohol is consumed for a lot of reasons like; celebrations, social gatherings, reducing stress and some times just plain addiction no reason is good enough for a pregnant woman to drink alcohol considering the devastating effects it has on the baby as well as the life long challenges that the child will be sentenced to.
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