Thank you *pHil*. I used to work with children who had fetal alcohol
syndrome and it was difficult to watch them struggle so much from a
syndrome that IS 100% preventable. The kids I worked with were 12-13 and
all of them couldn't really read, write, or pay attention long enough to
answer questions (and the list goes on...). The saddest thing to me is that
if someone doesn't give them enough time and attention, and work with them
very closely and intensively, they will drown, and it was obvious (in the
cases of the kids I knew) that their parents weren't going to be those
people. I don't really know about you all, but if I were ever pregnant I
think I'd be afraid to even stand close to a microwave because there are
enough things that can fuck up your kids in the world, you should at the
very least want to protect them from things that you can easily prevent. I
remember watching a movie back in the day called the Parent License and I
never thought it sounded like a bad idea. +Ledena-
At 07:51 AM 5/19/00 -0700, Philip Smoker wrote:
>> most of the people who listen to the mouse are
>> "hippies" in some sense of the word.
>
>
>Some sense of the word? Could you be a little more
>vague please, I didn't quite miss what you said.
>
>
>> what about that time before you know you're
>> pregnant..when it doesn't show..and you have
>> something to drink? a little wine maybe? boohoo.
>> it's not gonna destroy the child's future if you
>> have a little wine before you realize you're
>> pregnant.
>
>
>My mother is an RN (registered nurse). My sister just
>graduated from nursing school and will be working at
>Hershey Medical Center in the fall. My brother is a
>physical therapist's assistant. I think I can safely
>say that ANY or ALL of these three members of my
>immediate family in the medical profession could give
>you more COLD HARD FACTS about alcohol and pregnancy
>than you would care to hear.
>
>Actually, since facts are apparently hard to come by
>for some people, here are just a few:
>
>"If you drink wine, beer, or liquor when you are
>pregnant, your baby could develop FAS (Fetal Alcohol
>Syndrome). A baby with FAS can suffer from mental
>retardation, central nervous dysfunction, organ
>dysfunction and facial abnormalities. These
>disabilities will last a lifetime. No amount of
>alcohol has been proven safe to consume during
>pregnancy. FAS and FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects) are
>100% preventable when a pregnant woman abstains from
>alcohol."
>"Whenever a mother drinks, her baby is at risk for
>Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Effect. When a
>pregnant women drinks alcohol, her baby does too. It
>is not clear whether there is a threshold amount of
>alcohol that must be consumed before damage to the
>baby occurs. There is also no proof that small amounts
>of alcohol are safe."
>- http://www.nofas.org/what.htm
>
>"Alcohol use during pregnancy is the leading cause of
>mental retardation in children. Much of the damage
>from alcohol is done before the mother is even aware
>of her pregnancy. No one knows exactly how much
>alcohol can harm your baby. It's safest to not use
>any. Babies don't metabolise alcohol as well as
>adults do, so the alcohol a pregnant woman drinks has
>a greater effect on her baby than on her. Although
>facial abnormalities are a key aspect of FAS, they are
>not always present and are only one component of
>alcohol-related birth defects. A child's physical,
>mental, and behavioral development are all at risk
>when a pregnant woman drinks."
>- http://www.med.unc.edu/alcohol/ed/fas/
>
>For information on how other drugs (including
>caffeine, tobacco and ibuprofen) can affect a
>pregnancy, might I recommend this handy online
>pamphlet: http://www.ccsa.ca/givetake.htm
>
>
>
>This post is for my lovely niece,
>*phiL*
>
>
>
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