When You Are Pregnant, Drinking Can Hurt Your BabyWhen you are pregnant, your baby grows inside you. Everything you eat and drink while you are pregnant affects your baby. If you drink alcohol, it can hurt your baby's growth. Your baby may have physical and behavioral problems that can last for the rest of his or her life. Children born with the most serious problems caused by alcohol have fetal alcohol syndrome.
Children with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome May:• Be born small. • Have problems eating and sleeping. • Have problems seeing and hearing. • Have trouble following directions and learning how to do simple things. • Have trouble paying attention and learning in school. • Have trouble getting along with others and controlling their behavior. • Need medical care all their lives. •
Need special teachers and schools.
Here Are Some Questions You May Have About Alcohol and Drinking
While You Are Pregnant.
No. Do not drink alcohol when you are pregnant. Why? Because when
you drink alcohol, so does your baby. Think about it. Everything
you drink, your baby also drinks.
No. Drinking any kind of alcohol when you are pregnant can hurt
your baby. Alcoholic drinks are beer, wine, wine coolers, liquor,
or mixed drinks. A glass of wine, a can of beer, and a mixed drink
all have about the same amount of alcohol.
Every pregnancy is different. Drinking alcohol may hurt one baby
more than another. You could have one child that is born healthy,
and another child that is born with problems.
No. These problems will last for a child's whole life. People
with severe problems may not be able to take care of themselves
as adults. They may never be able to work.
If you drank alcohol before you knew you were pregnant, stop drinking
now. You will feel better and your baby will have a good chance
to be born healthy. If you want to get pregnant, do not drink
alcohol. You may not know you are pregnant right away. Alcohol
can hurt a baby even when you are only 1 or 2 months pregnant.
There are many ways to help yourself stop drinking. You do not
have to drink when other people drink. If someone gives you a
drink, it is OK say no. Stay away from people or places that make
you drink. Do not keep alcohol at home.
If
you cannot stop drinking, GET HELP. You may have a disease called
alcoholism. There
are programs that can help you stop drinking. They are called
alcohol treatment
programs. Your
doctor or nurse can find a program to help you. Even if you have
been through a treatment program before, try it again. There are
programs just for women.
You
can get help from a doctor, nurse, social worker, pastor, or clinics
and programs near you.
For confidential information, you can contact:
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
National Council on Alcoholism
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome NIH
Publication No. 96-4101 1996, Revised October 2001 |
