FETAL ALCOHOLISM

Many of the substances that pregnant women ingest are capable of affecting the fetus. The consequences resulting from the use of medicines, drugs, tobacco and alcohol are well known.

The fetal alcoholism syndrome, which occurs when alcohol is ingested during pregnancy, was described more than two decades ago.

This syndrome is characterized by several distinct traits found in newborn babies such as: prematurity, low weight when born, smaller eyes and head, smaller eyelid opening, different types of cerebral lesions that cause mental retardation, inadequate growth, a different cry from the typical baby, high mortality and other deformities. It is also common that they show other manifestations typical of alcohol deprivation such as tremor, seizures and irritability. Very often the pregnancy ends in a miscarriage.

To diagnose a baby with the fetal alcoholism syndrome is not an easy task. Usually the mother will deny that she is drinking alcohol during her pregnancy, and she will not accept that she has and addiction. This denial is also typical when there's use of other drugs.

There are two questions that we should ask ourselves: what amount of alcohol, when ingested by the pregnant mother, is capable of injuring the fetus; and, what would happen if the mother is an alcoholic before she becomes pregnant and the alcohol intake is suspended during pregnancy.

Due to the fact that the pregnant mother will not be sincere about her drinking habits, these questions are not easy to answer, and we must use both scientific evidence and common sense in order to do so.

Common sense tells us that if a substance is toxic during pregnancy, the best thing to do is to avoid it completely, since in the delicate fetus any amount can cause problems. If we were to classify alcohol intake as "moderate" (less than 7 drinks per week and less than three at a time), and "high" (7 or more drinks per week and/or 3 or more drinks in the same day); based on scientific studies we could state that when the intake is "high", a high percentage of the babies will present cerebral traumas, especially if the baby is premature.

On the other hand, when the alcohol intake has been "high" before the pregnancy, and when the pregnancy occurs the intake is eliminated completely, the risk of injury to the fetus decreases in a significant way.

The saying in all these studies is very clear: it is necessary to be sincere about your habits whenever you talk to your obstetrician or pediatrician. Women who are at risk of becoming pregnant should not drink, and if they do so, it should always be done in a "moderate" way. And pregnant women should eliminate alcoholic beverages from their habits.