Causes and Effects of Alcoholism during Pregnancy

Pregnant women can often hear a phrase: “You can drink a little!” Many women believe in it. But even little dose of alcohol can be tragic for the future baby. One should think about possible consequences of drinking alcohol. According to Gordon Edlin, Eric Golanty and Kelli McCormack Brown, alcohol can harm the health of anyone, man or woman, young or old. (Edlin et al 290). Pregnancy is a unique condition of woman, which requires a special attention. Alcoholism during pregnancy can cause different problems before and after the birth of child. Babies who are exposed to alcohol before birth may develop Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) https://top-papers.com/.

Ann M. Manzardo, Donald W. Goodwin, Jan L. Campbell, Elizabeth C. Penick and William F. Gabrielli state that alcohol is often describing as a depressant drug which depresses first the higher centers in the brain and then downwardly anesthetizes the brain.

Some women can hardly refuse alcohol even when they are pregnant. According to Moira Plant, a brief examination of women’s magazines shows how extensively the alcohol industry advertises such women. One advertisement of vodka, for example, shows a woman in a carefree and provocative pose. The suggestion is that she owes her new-found liberation to the drink.

However, many women stop drinking when they are pregnant. These changes are associated with loss of taste for alcohol. The most common answer for such change is concern for the health of the child. Hans-Ludwig Spohr and Hans-Christoph Steinhausen stated that most pregnant women knew that alcohol drinking during pregnancy could not be safe for the child, although the level of consumption described as reasonable during pregnancy could vary from 0 to 4 or more drinks per day.

Drinking alcohol can cause problems even before the birth of the child. Alcohol gets through placenta into the body of a child. Ethanol may cause spasm of blood vessels of the placenta and umbilical cord. That leads to fetal hypoxia. Also acetaldehyde reduces level of zinc in cells, disrupting their growth and development.

In case of mother’s alcoholism, the high incidence of fatal death is observed in uteri and prenatal periods.

Another example is the fact that alcohol lowers the body’s ability to absorb vitamins and minerals (such as zinc, folic acid, vitamin E etc.), which are necessary for pregnant woman.

The harm of alcohol during pregnancy applies to postpartum period. According to Sana Loue, Martha Sajatovic, Keith B. Armitage, FAS is a pattern of birth defects resulting from drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Jeanne Engelmann stated that babies with FAS could have the following characteristics:

· Growth deficiencies, including small head size, changes in brain development, and joints that work differently (fingers, elbows, knees, and hips).

· Abnormal facial features.

· Mild to moderate mental retardation.

· Problems with central nervous system, such as hyperactivity, seizures, and differences in learning.

Other problems include bad motor coordination, hyperactivity, a short attention, and personality problems, such as irritability, impaired bonding, and moodiness.

Mothers of FAE babies consumed less alcohol during pregnancies than mothers of FAS children, but the effects on their children can be the same. Child can suffer from physical changes, including subtle changes in facial characteristics, poor hearing and vision, small size, and nervous system problems. FAE babies can suffer from social and behavioral problems, including attention deficit disorder, hyperactivity, poor social skills. Those babies also can have learning difficulties.

One should not believe that glass of wine improves blood flow. Mother can get better, but the child will get another dose of alcohol and perhaps it will be fatal for its development. Harm of the alcohol depends on many factors: the characteristics of the female body, condition of woman at the time of pregnancy, genotype, gestational age, and many other points. Therefore, one should understand that it is better to refuse drinking any kind of alcohol during pregnancy.