Alcohol and pregnancy

When you drink alcohol during pregnancy, so does your baby because alcohol passes freely through the placenta to your baby. If you choose to drink alcohol during pregnancy, you increase your risk of having a baby with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are all birth defects caused by intrauterine exposure to alcohol.

Alcohol is a teratogen

The teratogen is known to be harmful to human development.

Alcohol crosses the placenta to the baby

When you drink alcohol, so does your child. Since children are small compared to adults, alcohol is broken down much more slowly than in an adult. This means that alcohol stays in the baby's blood much longer than in the mother's, which can cause irreversible damage to the baby's development.

All drinks containing alcohol can harm your baby

There is no known safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed during pregnancy. It is best to discuss your drinking habits with your doctor.

The effect of alcohol on a child

Your baby is in a constant state of growth and development throughout pregnancy. During the first four weeks of pregnancy, a baby's heart, central nervous system, eyes, arms, and legs develop. Your baby's brain begins to develop around the third week and continues to mature throughout the rest of your pregnancy.

In the third trimester, your baby will grow rapidly. If you drink too much alcohol during these crucial developmental stages, you can seriously harm your baby. The results of excessive drinking (regular or binge drinking) can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome or fetal alcohol effects. These are lifelong, irreversible effects that can lead to physical, mental, and neurobehavioral birth defects.

What if I drank alcohol before I knew I was pregnant?

If you didn't know you were pregnant and drinking alcohol, the best thing to do now is to stop drinking immediately. The sooner you stop, the better. If you stop drinking now, the risk of harm will decrease.

Is there a safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy?

There is no known amount of alcohol that is safe to drink during pregnancy, and the more you drink, the higher the risk of problems for your baby. The type of alcohol consumption that poses the greatest risk for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is binge drinking (drinking more than 5 drinks at a time) or drinking seven or more drinks per week.

Drinking less alcohol is also known to lead to fetal alcohol disorder. This is why we consider any alcohol consumption during pregnancy to be dangerous.