If the fact that a few drinks during pregnancy is bad for the baby comes as a surprise to you, then you are not alone. Despite a wide array of publicly available research and information pointing to alcohol consumption during pregnancy as a huge factor in developmental issues, more and more women are choosing not to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. Hopefully, with the release of this new research, women will begin to realize that there are absolutely no benefits to consuming alcohol during pregnancy, but only very serious risks.

On October 19, a clinical report was published by the American Academy of Pediatrics called "Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders," siting prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) as the "leading preventable cause of birth defects and intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities." This claim comes in opposition to information floating around that suggests drinking small amounts during pregnancy is safe, information that many of the most health conscious women have believed and acted upon. According to a study by the Center for Disease Control, 1 in 13 women drink while pregnant, and startlingly, of those women, 1 in 4 binge drink. The idea that a few drinks while pregnant is safe came from a lack of knowledge on if there were any side effects of moderate alcohol consumption, although any doctor worth their salt would say to play it safe and stay away from alcohol, as it can only do harm and it's better to play it safe than potentially damage your child for life.

The report discusses how PAE can cause a multitude of developmental problems called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASDs). FASDs are conditions that can occur when a mother consumes alcohol in any amount, during any stage of her pregnancy. There is no cure for FASDs and conditions that can be treated often involve long-term medication use for symptom management that is only effective some of the time.

Depending on the symptoms, FASDs are labeled as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND), or Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD). In ARND, symptoms generally present in relation to intellectual capacity, attentional ability, and behavior. In ARBD, symptoms generally present in terms or physical problems or abnormalities. In FAS, a mix of both types of symptoms are present. The symptoms of these disorders can fall anywhere in the range of minor to very serious, including issues such as abnormal facial features, stunted growth, intellectual disabilities, ADD, ADHD, learning disabilities, vision and hearing problems, speech problems, problems with heart, kidneys, or bones, low body weight, and so much more. In the worst case scenario, PAE can even result in fetal death.

The scary reality for children affected with FASDs is that it is severely unrecognized. This leads to women seeing other women drink and have children with seemingly no harm done, not realizing that the baby could experience serious disabilities later in life.

The good news is that all of these conditions are avoidable if alcohol is given up completely during pregnancy. According to the report, absolutely no amount of alcohol is known to be safe to drink during any trimester of pregnancy, and the type of alcohol (beer, liquor, wine, etc.) does not make a difference. The report goes on to note plain and simply that "There is no known absolutely safe quantity, frequency, type, or timing of alcohol consumption during pregnancy, but having no PAE translates into no FASD." In other words, if no alcohol is consumed during pregnancy, there is absolutely no risk of the child developing an FASD.

I have known several women who felt that it was okay to consume an alcoholic beverage or two during pregnancy, and much of this comes from misinformation from friends, family, the Internet, and even doctors.

Personally, it baffles me that any woman feels the need to have the occasional drink while pregnant. Of course, the chances of life-altering birth defects from one drink during pregnancy are assumed to be small, but there is no definitive way to know exactly how serious the consequences could be. The risks, though they may appear small, could potentially harm the child in ways that are one hundred percent preventable.

The fact of the matter is that just because someone you know drank during her pregnancy with minimal consequences, that doesn't mean that things couldn't turn out much worse if you drink during pregnancy. Nine months without alcohol is a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things, and no amount of alcohol is justifiable when it could potentially risk the health of an unborn child. So, next time you're pregnant and considering that glass of wine, consider the fact that alcohol is a drug and even the slightest amount will enter your bloodstream and therefore affect your baby in some way. If you want your baby to be as healthy and happy as possible, don't drink while pregnant--it's just not worth it.