General Chat

Show your friend this site

http://www.babycenter.com.au/pregnancy/nutrition/foodsafety/alcohol/

Gail

Is this her first pregnancy Fee?

Taff hopefully my reply answers your post,fetal alcohol syndrome is just a part of it,yes those children stand out because they have the obvious facial features and stature but they are far out numbered by the children with alcohol effects who just have the braindamage.
PS Some of these symptoms belong to children with neurological damage due to other causes please dont take offense if you have a child with these problems as I am in no way implying that they have got them due to alcohol

Ok did a long reply before but here it is in a nutshell.
Alcohol crosses the placenta completely uninhibited,it is not filtered therefore the mothers blood alcohol level is the babies blood alcohol level
A mother would probably weigh between 50 and 80 kg a baby is less than 4 .
As well as fetal alcohol syndrome which we recognise as a risk for babies born to alcoholic mothers we now recognise fetal alcohol effects which encompass a full range of life long neurological damage and disabilities, as a kid it may mean you cant sit on the mat or concentrate on your learning or control impulses or recognise social cues,or learn like other children learn,as an adult you may end up in prison you may not be able to hold down a job or a relationship.
It is permanent braindamage and just not worth the risk,when you can just as easily drink something else
I really urge you to talk to your friend

is she drinking heavily ?

I think that's a good idea Taff, particularly if she is drinking heavily. Shock tactics might be the answer.

Jill

Are you sure she is drinking lager .or is this what you have been told ?

You would Sylvia, wouldnt you.
As I said, Just a thought .

You had me wondering if it was something I said as I had just added a post!

I didn't do it myself and every woman I have known has stopped drinking during pregnancy, but I can't see that one small drink occasionally - or with a meal would do any harm if the mother is healthy and eats proper food, etc.

However, how hard is it to stop? If she can't give it up - then she does have a problem and should definitely give it up completely, as she wouldn't be able to stop at one.

It was one the first tell tale signs for me....the smell...used to have me rushing for the loo...I was very sickly

Fee, just a thought, what about taking along to a maternity ward, and show her babies born with F.A.S?
It may shock her into cutting right down, if not altoghether?

I personally stopped drinking when I found out I was pregnant but I was drinking when pregnant but before I found out with my first. I'm not going to condemn your friend, I don't know her or the reasons she may be still drinking. It might be better if you, or another friend, suggests to her that she stops drinking and point out the dangers of drinking in pregnancy, including the fact that lager isn't likely to be any better than wine. I don't mean a lecture just mention it in passing type thing.

You know your friend better than we do Fee.

Are you sure she is drinking lager .or is this what you have been told

As I said ...

Would your friend drink alchol when breast feeding? If so she is really selfish in my opinion, your baby eats and drinks everything the mother does via the blood stream..have a word with your friend and telling she is a selfish mare SHAME on her....

Alcohol is alcohol so can't see where she's coming from on that one?

(as I said on your first thread) 30 years ago I had the odd glass of wine and the odd glass of Guinness.

I would have thought that the occasional glass of something won't be too much of a problem but probably easier to not drink at all.

Children born of heavy-drinking / alcoholic mums can be affected by Foetal Alcohol Syndrome which can present as Autism. Might be worth making her aware of this. 9 months without a drink is infinitely better than however many years with a child with problems.

Jill

sorry i had a really blond moment and deleted it by mistake lol

anyway someone i know has announced she,s pregnant and is drinking still . she used to drink wine mostly but now she,s drinking lots of lager .

i was asked have i said anything and at the moment no because i really think she would go off on one ! a friend has suggested she,s stopped drinking wine because she thinks it might be bad for the baby and started on the lager coz maybe its not so bad .

what do you think ?

Fee xx