Alcohol addiction always is a serious issue, but it is especially worrisome during pregnancy. Any alcohol a pregnant woman drinks will quickly reach the fetus and might cause irreversible damage, according to the American Pregnancy Association....
Alcohol is a known toxin that crosses the placenta to a growing fetus during pregnancy. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can have devastating effects on the fetus and cause complications with the pregnancy itself. Drinking in early pregnancy,...
The use of drugs and/or alcohol during pregnancy is a serious problem with dangerous consequences.. The American Counsel for Drug Education explains that drug use while pregnant is doubly dangerous. Drugs may harm a woman's health and interfere...
It is widely known that heavy drinking during pregnancy may cause birth defects, however many women do not realize that moderate to light use of alcohol may also be harmful. According to the March of Dimes, no level of alcohol use during pregnancy...
Many women wonder, when faced with the thought of conceiving or the possibility of pregnancy, whether they can continue to drink alcohol. Further, even women who plan to abstain from all alcohol during pregnancy are occasionally surprised by a...
Alcoholism is a condition of overuse and abuse of spirits such as wine, beer and liquor to the point of bodily harm. Alcohol contributes to some cases of subtle malnutrition as a threefold process. Alcohol is believed to displace important...
Despite conflicting media reports, health authorities recommend avoiding alcohol completely during pregnancy because it is not known what levels of alcohol will harm your developing baby. Drinking during pregnancy can result in potentially severe...
Consuming alcohol during pregnancy my lead to fetal alcohol syndrome. During pregnancy, alcohol interferes with the delivery of oxygen and nutrition to your babies developing brain, organs and tissues. The defects from alcohol consumed during...
Pregnant women in many countries drink an occasional glass of wine while pregnant, but in the United States, this practice is generally frowned upon. With so much conflicting information regarding the effects of alcohol during pregnancy, it can be...
You've undoubtedly heard that you need to avoid all alcohol during pregnancy, because there's a risk of harm to your developing baby. As such, you may wonder whether ginger beer is safe to drink. Nonalcoholic ginger beers, which are similar to...
During pregnancy, you expose your developing baby to anything you put into your body. When you have an alcoholic beverage, a cigarette or abuse prescription or illegal drugs, your baby feels the effects. No safe amount of alcohol, tobacco or drugs...
An after-dinner drink like a glass of wine may feel relaxing, which sounds like just the thing your tired and pregnant body needs. However, drinking during pregnancy can cause problems for your growing and developing baby. Most everything you eat...
The foods and beverages you consume during pregnancy are the primary source of nourishment for your baby. On average, you need to consume 300 more calories a day during pregnancy and you can expect to gain at least 35 lbs. Make healthy choices in...
If you're pregnant, you probably already know that you should avoid alcohol during your pregnancy for the safety of your developing baby. You might wonder, however, whether alcohol from sources other than grapes, as in wine, or grain, as in beer,...
While you are pregnant, your nutritional choices matter to more than just you. Pregnancy requires you to pay careful attention to your diet, and be aware of what foods can cause potential complications to your pregnancy and damage to your...
Fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS, was first identified in 1973 as a spectrum of disorders that can result in physical abnormalities, cognitive deficits and behavioral difficulties in children who were exposed to alcohol while in utero. According to...
The substances you put in your body while pregnant directly affect your unborn child. This applies to the foods you eat, as well as the substances you choose to drink. Unfortunately, this also means that if you choose to drink alcohol pregnant,...
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or ADHD is a disorder that inflicts about two million children in America, notes the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. ADHD can be a persistent mental health disorder that if it goes untreated...
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) reports that in the United States, prenatal exposure to alcohol is the most common cause of birth defects. No amount of alcohol exposure during pregnancy is deemed safe to the fetus....
Many women, once they find out they're pregnant, worry about the behaviors in which they engaged during early pregnancy. One of the most common concerns in mothers-to-be is that alcohol consumed before they found out they were pregnant will hurt...
Drinking any kind of alcohol during pregnancy is believed to be a leading cause of birth defects. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes babies to be born small and underweight. They can have small eyes and small heads. Other defects can include delayed...
For the safety and well-being of you and your baby, certain foods and drinks must be avoided during pregnancy. What an expecting woman consumes directly affects the health of the developing fetus. The Food and Drug Administration recommends...
Substance abuse hinders a person's ability to make decisions, and a parent who has these issues may need to seek help while someone else cares for her child. Some parents may lose custody of their child completely, resulting in his placement in...
Nutrition during pregnancy not only ensures that your body has what it needs to handle the rigors of supporting a growing fetus but also provides for the nutritional needs of the fetus itself. When you're pregnant you generally need a balanced...
A healthy, well balanced diet is important throughout life and even more significant during pregnancy. A developing baby needs specific nutrients and vitamins to grow properly. In addition, certain types of food should be avoided because of the...
Pregnant women put their newborns at risk for birth defects if they drink alcohol during pregnancy. You may try to avoid the risk while pregnant by resorting to nonalcoholic beer, but even these beverages may contain small amounts of alcohol. You...
According to the March of Dimes, fetal alcohol poisoning or fetal alcohol syndrome is one of the most common reasons for mental retardation. Between 1000 and 6000 babies are born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome, FAS. The March of Dimes notes...
At least one in 10 women smokes and/or drinks alcohol during pregnancy. While most women are aware that smoking and drinking are not recommended during pregnancy, many women don't realize the specific risks associated with these exposures. From...
Consumption of alcohol during pregnancy can cause a number of long-term, negative effects on a developing child. FAS, or fetal alcohol syndrome, is one such debilitating condition resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure. The Centers for Disease...
Spina bifida is a birth defect involving the neural tube, resulting in an incomplete formation of the spine. Get expert tips and advice on treating and understanding spina bifida or split spine in this video.