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The month of September has been designated as Fetal Alcohol Awareness Month to raise awareness about the danger of drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term that covers a wide range of effects – physical, developmental, intellectual and behavioral – that can occur when a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy. Unfortunately, there is still some mixed messages for women about drinking during pregnancy and the occasional article will suggest a small amount is not harmful or one glass is okay or, or, or…. However, the truth is there is no known safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed during pregnancy and all types of alcohol are equally as harmful. FASD is 100% PREVENTABLE by simply avoiding alcohol during pregnancy.
Recently, I came across an article that said up to half of women drank some alcohol during pregnancy. How much? How often? Who knows but the fact that (assuming that figure is accurate) that many women are consuming alcohol during pregnancy is alarming and shows that the mixed messages are impeding efforts to reduce drinking during pregnancy. To find out what you can do to spread the word and raise awareness about FASD visit:
https://www.nofas.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/2018-FASD-Awareness-Month-Packet.pdf
While I realize September is dedicated to raising awareness about drinking alcohol during pregnancy I would like to add another word of caution about smoking marijuana during pregnancy. Given that California has recently legalized the recreational use of marijuana, and has recognized the medical use for many years, concerns have been raised within the medical community about the effects of smoking marijuana during pregnancy. Current research is going on but experts in reproductive health and pediatrics – American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advise against the use of marijuana (smoking or ingesting) because what they do know is up to 30% of psychoactive ingredient (tetrahydrocannabinol) THC does pass through the maternal blood and into the baby’s bloodstream. In addition, medical evidence shows that smoking marijuana increases carbon monoxide levels in blood which can reduce the level of oxygen a developing baby receives. It is known that low oxygen levels are harmful to a developing baby and can affect growth and development. For more information about THC and pregnancy visit: https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/factsheets/pregnancy.htm
Let’s work together to prevent prenatal exposures to alcohol and THC for the sake of HEALTHY BABIES!
Teresa Anderson, Policy Director, The Arc & UCP Collaboration