CDC: Young women should avoid alcohol unless using birth control
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CDC: Young women should avoid alcohol unless using birth control
· Women of childbearing age should avoid alcohol unless they're using contraception
o CDC issued statement to try to reduce the number of babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome
§ Fetal alcohol syndrome: birth defects that result from a woman's use of alcohol during her pregnancy
§ Disabilities, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, include:
· Growth retardation
· Characteristic facial features, such as:
o Small eyes with drooping upper lids
o Short, upturned nose
o Flattened cheeks
o Small jaw
o Thin upper lip
o Flattened philtrum
· Central nervous system problems, including:
o Mental retardation
o Hyperactivity
o Delayed development of gross motor skills such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling and walking
o Delayed development of fine motor skills
o Impaired language development
o Memory problems, poor judgement, distractibility, impulsiveness
o Problems with learning
o Seizures
· CDC says alcohol can permanently harm a developing baby before a woman knows she is pregnant
o Problematic because ~ ½ of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned
o Or most women won’t know they are pregnant for the first month when they might still be drinking
· Estimated that 3.3 million women between ages 15 to 44 are at risk of exposing a developing fetus to alcohol
o This is because they are sexually active, drink and not using birth control
o Even those actively trying to get pregnant, continue drinking (3 in 4) after they stop using birth control
· No known safe level of alcohol at any stage of pregnancy
o The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends women abstain completely from alcohol while pregnant
· Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, affect 1 in 20 school children
o High percentage because alcohol can quickly reach the fetus’s underdeveloped liver and brain through the placenta causing developmental issues
· Alcohol use in pregnancy costs the USA $5.5 billion a year
o CDC believes doctors should routinely screen women regarding their alcohol use, both before and during pregnancy
CDC: Young women should avoid alcohol unless using birth control
· Women of childbearing age should avoid alcohol unless they're using contraception
o CDC issued statement to try to reduce the number of babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome
§ Fetal alcohol syndrome: birth defects that result from a woman's use of alcohol during her pregnancy
§ Disabilities, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, include:
· Growth retardation
· Characteristic facial features, such as:
o Small eyes with drooping upper lids
o Short, upturned nose
o Flattened cheeks
o Small jaw
o Thin upper lip
o Flattened philtrum
· Central nervous system problems, including:
o Mental retardation
o Hyperactivity
o Delayed development of gross motor skills such as rolling over, sitting up, crawling and walking
o Delayed development of fine motor skills
o Impaired language development
o Memory problems, poor judgement, distractibility, impulsiveness
o Problems with learning
o Seizures
· CDC says alcohol can permanently harm a developing baby before a woman knows she is pregnant
o Problematic because ~ ½ of all pregnancies in the US are unplanned
o Or most women won’t know they are pregnant for the first month when they might still be drinking
· Estimated that 3.3 million women between ages 15 to 44 are at risk of exposing a developing fetus to alcohol
o This is because they are sexually active, drink and not using birth control
o Even those actively trying to get pregnant, continue drinking (3 in 4) after they stop using birth control
· No known safe level of alcohol at any stage of pregnancy
o The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends women abstain completely from alcohol while pregnant
· Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, affect 1 in 20 school children
o High percentage because alcohol can quickly reach the fetus’s underdeveloped liver and brain through the placenta causing developmental issues
· Alcohol use in pregnancy costs the USA $5.5 billion a year
o CDC believes doctors should routinely screen women regarding their alcohol use, both before and during pregnancy