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FADE:
FETAL ALCOHOL AND
DRUG EFFECTS
EVERY PREGNANT WOMAN WANTS A HEALTHY AND
NORMAL BABY.
BE INFORMED AND CONCERNED WITH THE KINDS AND AMOUNTS
OF DRUGS YOU TAKE!
(Including Alcohol, Street Drugs,
and Drugs available at the pharmacy or grocery store.)
ALCOHOL: Children whose mothers drink
frequently or heavily during pregnancy,
may be born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), with characteristics of small head and body
size, abnormal facial characteristics, behavioral problems, mental retardation, learning
disabilities, and a failure to thrive pattern. Even light or moderate drinking during
pregnancy can cause alcohol related birth defects (ARBD), with an unusual number of
physical abnormalities and behavioral problems.
MARIJUANA : Recent studies show that pregnant women who smoke marijuana
are
frequently at high risk of stillbirth, miscarriage, low birth-weight babies, and fetal
abnormalities - especially of the nervous system.
NICOTINE : Women who smoke during pregnancy have a higher percentage of
stillborn babies, miscarriages, premature deliveries, and low birth weight babies
that are at greater risk of dying soon after birth. Nicotine use has also been implicated
in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).
COCAINE: Infants born to mothers who have been
using cocaine during pregnancy can
actually suffer prenatal strokes before birth, have a higher incidence of kidney and
breathing disorders, are at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or may
experience painful withdrawal from cocaine addiction after birth.
NARCOTICS: Infants born to women addicted to heroin
or methadone are more likely
to be stillborn, have a low birth-weight, or go through withdrawal.
WOMEN WHO HAVE DIFFICULTY IN
ABSTAINING FROM ALCOHOL OR OTHER DRUGS DURING PREGNANCY SHOULD CONTACT A LOCAL TREATMENT
AGENCY.
IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO SEEK
HELP...
A CHILD'S LIFE MAY DEPEND ON IT.
 NEW STUDY
DRINKING BINGE BY MOTHER HURTS FETAL BRAIN
!!!
A single drinking binge
by a pregnant woman can be enough to permanently damage the brain of her unborn child,
according to a recent study.
The study was published in the January 2000 issue of the journal of Science. The
tests were conducted on lab rats, but experts say the findings help explain why children
born to drinking mothers can suffer learning disabilities and other brain disorders.
The study indicates that rats, and probably humans, are most susceptible to
alcohol-related neurological damage during a period when the brain cells are developing
quickly. In humans this growth spurt starts in the sixth month of gestation and
continues for two years after birth.
"During this time, a single prolonged contact with alcohol -
lasting at least four minutes - is enough to kill millions of brain cells," said Dr.
John Olney researcher and senior author of the study at the Washington University School
of Medicine.
The binge used in the study gave the rats a blood alcohol content level
of .20% - about twice the legal standard of drunkenness for humans.
A 1996 study by the Institute of Medicine showed that 20% of women who
drink do not stop drinking during pregnancy. One in every 1,000 babies born in the
United States suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome which is caused by exposure to alcohol
in the womb - but many more babies who do not have the full FAS syndrome still suffer from
Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) and/or Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD).
"We cannot say that any level of drinking is safe for the pregnant
mother," stated Olney. "The most prudent policy would be to have no
alcohol during pregnancy."
REMEMBER:
THERE IS NO SAFE TIME TO DRINK, SMOKE or USE
ILLICIT DRUGS DURING PREGNANCY
WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY
OF CAUSING BIRTH DEFECTS.
YOU CAN SAY NO... YOUR BABY CAN'T !!!
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