Last night I had the honor of presenting a great training on
FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder)…yes I am slightly biased because I wrote
the entire 2-hour program…and did the presentation. I have done hours of research after having my
three foster children diagnosed with full-blown FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome). The statistics out there are quite
alarming. Really. It is sickening. I feel for those birth mothers who honestly
think it is safe because there are doctors STILL saying its ok to drink….a
glass or two of wine a week.
Let me put this to rest for you. Alcohol is a teratogen. The Greek meaning is “monster forming”…. Yes,
it comes from the Greek τέρας teras (genitive τέρατος
teratos), meaning 'monster'. I
want to point out alcohol is not the only teratogen out there…others include
varicella virus (Chickenpox), tobacco, Accutane, HIV, thalidomide, DES (diethylstilbestrol),
radiation, lead, rubella, toxoplasmosis, most illicit drugs, and many other
things.
Today, research
shows that 1 in 13 women drink while pregnant. There are two categories of women really. Those that do this unwittingly; and those
that don’t care. Again I do feel for
those that drink without knowing they are pregnant and my heart breaks even
more for those who under the poor advice of their doctor feel that it is safe. I am angry that even today with all the known
results of children growing up with FAS, that doctors still refuse to properly
educate their patients. I am even angrier
at those birth mothers that are too involved in their own addictions and life
to care to stop. Stop drinking. Stop the drugs. Get help if needed. Do what you can to protect that baby. Nine months really isn’t that long in the
scheme of his or her life!
Society really has
been quite oblivious to the struggles and the outcome of alcohol use during
pregnancy and its devastating results.
Maybe it is because some teratogens are benign until they build to “threshold
concentration” levels….but each woman is different, every metabolism works
differently so there is no way to pinpoint a safe level. And honestly….we don’t want to live in a
culture that would purposefully do this type of testing on a human baby anyway...do
we?!
So this is what I
did to help drive my point home. In my
opening statements, I talked about alcohol and how it is a teratogen. I then shared the safest way to represent our
little baby is with the chicken egg. I
cracked two eggs into glass bowls, and then poured 190-proof grain alcohol onto
the egg. (YES, I know this is stronger
that the average alcohol served in most drinks….but I only had 2 hours to make
my point.) The audience gasped as the egg instantly turned white and began “to
cook.” (See above graphic.)
We do so much to
advocate for visible syndromes and birth defects like Downs and spina
bifida. There are 6,000 babies born in
the US each year with Downs Syndrome and over 30,000 born with FAS…but yet it
stays hidden, unknown, untalked about, and largely undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
Why is this? The dangers of drinking
while pregnant are not new. In fact,
there was a reference made around 1350 BC, I dare say the first reference, “Now see
to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink … You will become
pregnant and have a son…” (Judges 13:4, 5)
We need to spread the
word: If you are pregnant don’t drink….If you drink, don’t get pregnant.
