April 15, 2008
The Word from WIC
Alcohol Awareness Month
by Melanie Huett, MS, RD, LD; WIC RD Nutrition Educator
April is alcohol awareness month. Alcohol abuse can affect anyone at any age, including students, pregnant women, and senior citizens. The focus of this article is on alcohol awareness and pregnancy.
Alcohol's Effects on Women
In general, women do not process alcohol as well as men. This means that women become intoxicated faster than men. Chronic, heavy drinking can cause menstrual problems, infertility, and even early menopause. Women who choose to drink should do so in moderation, which is no more than one drink per day.
Alcohol and Pregnancy
When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, it not only affects her, but also her unborn baby. Alcohol is a substance that can harm a developing fetus. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol crosses the placenta and enters the bloodstream of the fetus. The alcohol content in the blood of the fetus can equal or go above that of the mother. Since the fetus cannot break down alcohol the way an adult can, its blood alcohol level stays higher for a longer amount of time.
Pregnant women and women planning to get pregnant should not drink alcohol. Pregnant women who are drinking should stop right away to reduce the risk of harming their unborn baby. Alcohol can harm a fetus at any time during pregnancy, even before a woman knows she is pregnant.
Breastfeeding women should also not drink alcohol. Alcohol can pass through breast milk to the baby. No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy or nursing.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders
Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASD, is a term used to describe effects that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. Effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities, such as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), and alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). FASD is the leading known cause of mental retardation. Each year, at least 40,000 babies, or about 10 in every 1,000 live births, are born with an FASD.
Alcohol's Effects on the Fetus
According to the Institute of Medicine Report to Congress, when compared to other substances of abuse, such as cocaine, heroin, and marijuana, alcohol produces the most serious adverse effects in the fetus. Defects caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol have been identified in almost every part of the body, including the brain, face, eyes, ears, heart, kidneys, and bones.
Alcohol can trigger cell death causing different parts of the fetus to develop abnormally and can disrupt the way nerve cells develop. Alcohol interferes with blood flow in the placenta by constricting the blood vessels, which delays the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the fetus. Alcohol metabolism can produce toxic byproducts that can become concentrated in the brain and contribute to the development of an FASD.
Because of the damage caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb, babies with an FASD may be born small and underweight and have difficulty nursing or eating.
The most important thing to remember is that FASD is 100 percent preventable.
Choosing not to drink alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding is one the best gifts a mother can give her child.
Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; www.samhsa.gov