Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is not a good idea for any woman. There has been a substantial amount of scientific research, which has been produced over a number of recent decades, which has proved almost without question that the excessive drinking of alcohol during pregnancy will have serious and severe harmful effects on your unborn child.

One of the things that makes drinking alcohol during pregnancy so dangerous is that alcohol will pass through the placenta from the mother to the baby’s body. A baby’s body in the womb will process that alcohol much slower than an adult’s body does. Because of this, a baby’s blood alcohol level will be much higher than the mother’s, and that alcohol will stay in the baby’s system for much longer as well.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is known to produce a variety of birth defects. From brain damage and brain abnormalities, to urinary tract and kidney defects, to heart murmurs and heart defects, drinking alcohol during pregnancy is likely to impact almost every developing system in your baby’s body. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy has caused deformities of a baby’s internal organs, face, ears, and genitals. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is a leading cause of cleft palate. Eye problems can also result from drinking alcohol during pregnancy. Even a curvature of the spine, or deformed ribs or sternum can all result from drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

One of the most dangerous aspects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy is the risk that it puts the baby at for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a condition in which several physical and birth defects occur in your baby. More than 5% of babies of moms who binge drink during pregnancy may have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

Some research suggests that the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy increase with the amount of alcohol that is consumed. While drinking a single glass of wine before you know you are pregnant is probably not going to cause a problem for your baby, once you realize that you are pregnant it is advisable to stop drinking alcohol altogether.

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