Look before you sip
Pregnancy is probably one of the most precarious periods in the life of any woman. This is an extremely delicate situation for both the woman and the baby inside. Even the smallest of problems in the pregnancy period can have a devastating effect on the baby as well as the mother. The would be mother has to be extremely careful during this period especially about any elements she ingests. That would include smoking, drinking, eating certain foods and substances.
What do the wise men say?
Drinking is one of the things that are very controversial in terms of whether it is okay for a pregnant woman to indulge in it. Experts are divided on this issue. Some experts say that it is okay for a woman to drink moderate amounts of high quality alcohol during the pregnancy period. Some experts feel that drinking should be completely avoided during these months. If a woman takes it is like playing Russian roulette with your baby’s health. Experts are unanimous on one thing however. That is that whatever you intake the baby does too by default. If a pregnant woman drinks a glass of wine, a beer, or a cocktail then the unborn child takes the same drink. Whatever a pregnant woman eats or drinks goes directly into the placenta through the woman’s bloodstream. In simple words if the would be mother is living it up with a drink so is the baby.
This is really dangerous for the baby because the alcohol interferes with his ability to get enough oxygen and nourishment for normal cell development in the brain and other body organs. Research has shown that when it comes to alcohol or any other drinks a developing fetus has very little tolerance for alcohol and infants born to drinking mothers can have serious problems. The unborn child might suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [FAS] which is a pattern of mental and physical defects which develop in some unborn babies. These are babies whose mothers had a ‘drink too many’ during their pregnancy. Some babies might have less severe defects and they suffer from Fetal Alcohol Effects [FAE]. However even if the baby is born with FAE he or she could have serious handicaps and could require special care for its entire lifetime. Some experts strongly recommend that women who plan to get pregnant should give up drinking even before they conceive.
Baby’s gone badly
Some of the common defects that such ‘alcohol babies’ have include small body size and weight, slower development compared to other babies and failure to catch up, deformed ribs and sternum, curved spine and hip dislocations. They might suffer from facial abnormalities like small head, small eye openings, drooping eyelids, near sightedness, short upturned nose. For the baby’s future it is best if women stop drinking before they get pregnant. Otherwise the very drink which has been the instrument of celebration for so many occasions can turn into the very reason of gloom for a lifetime.
