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Talkback: Pregnancy health dilemmas solved by our GP

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  • I am very disappointed at the response about alcohol consumption in pregnancy from this doctor. As a carer of a child with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder I would suggest that you are missing the point. International research warns consistently about the potential gamble that is taken when a woman consumes alcohol in pregnancy. Children who are damaged from alcohol have a disability for life. Parenting a child with alcohol damage is a challenging experience and lasts a lifetime. Many of our children will never experience a whole life which includes independent living, work, and marriage. Why limit your child's future for the sake of a few drinks? Could you face yourself when you have to explain to your child that you made the choice to drink alcohol throughout your pregnancy and therefore intentionally harmed them? That is the risk and gamble you take every time you put alcohol to your lips. If you met a child with FASD and realised the challenges that they face every day then you would certainly not even consider taking a drink. If you are drinking please stop and think. Over 6,000 babies are born with FASD in the UK every year. Please do not add your child to that statistic through your choices. I know this may sound like a harsh response. I congratulate the person who asked the question – I am just disappointed at the response you were given by the medical professional.
  • Does this 'doctor' ever read up on the latest scientific figures? For sure not and he/she should be very ashamed of themselves. As a foster parent of a girl with FASD and spokesperson for the dutch FAS association, I DO read up and meet up with the latest international FASD specialists, who all agree on one thing "no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy"... and yes, there are known cases of one night of drinking resulting in FASD. You wouldn't think about pouring alcohol into a newborn baby would you? Then why would it be OK to do so with an even younger and more fragile developing baby in uterus?
  • The doctors recommendations regarding alcohol are dangerous and not in line with world renown experts on fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Alcohol is a teratogen which is a substance which causes birth defects. The fetal brain is forming throughout pregnancy and after birth so there is no safe time for alcohol to be consumed. The sooner you stop drinking the more chance your baby has for a happy life. Who knows the IQ points that the child may not have becuase of small amounts of alcohol. The recommendations by the United States and Canada are not radical, they are base don sound theory and evidence. Australia is a nation of drinkers. From statistics from the US and Canada we could have more than 200,000 people prenatally affected by alcohol. Baby's organs are forming throughout pregnancy. Elizabeth (Anne) Russell
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