Dangers of Drinking Alcohol while Pregnant
 

A joint initiative by the Federal Department of Health, DrinkWise Australia and major retail outlets will warn pregnant women of the danger they are placing their unborn child in by drinking alcohol.
 

Major liquor retailers will hand out brochures with alcohol purchased that will teach on the dangers of drinking during pregnancy. According to experts the safest action is to not drink at all when pregnant because doctors aren’t sure what levels of alcohol are actually damaging to the foetus.
 

Even nursing mothers should abstain from alcohol because it may be passed to the nursing baby because breast milk contains higher concentrations of water than blood into which alcohol can be absorbed therefore the alcohol in breast milk is more concentrated and the effects of this alcohol can be passed on to the feeding baby.
 

The effect of this alcohol consumption can be seen in childhood years, right into adulthood with such symptoms as heart defects, developmental problems, low birth weight, adult developmental delays, learning difficulties, behavioural problems and vulnerability to mental illness.
 

Drinking while pregnant also increases the chance of having a miscarriage or a still birth. It is commendable that retailers are joining in this fight which impacts on the innocent lives of unborn children who may be affected by their mother’s bad decisions.