September Is FASD Awareness MONTH and DAY
09 Sep 2016
Working Together to Prevent Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)
September is FASD Awareness Month
September 9th is International FASD Awareness Day
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FACT SHEET
• No amount of alcohol use is known to be safe for a developing baby before birth.
• Exposure to alcohol from all types of beverages, including beer and wine, is poses a risk to developing babies at every stage of pregnancy.
• A developing baby is exposed to the same concentration of alcohol as the mother during pregnancy.
• FASDs are completely preventable if a developing baby is not exposed to alcohol before birth.
• Avoiding all alcohol while pregnant will absolutely guarantee that a child will not have a condition along the continuum of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).
• An estimated 40,000 babies are born each year with FASDs, which can result in birth defects, intellectual or learning disabilities, behavior problems, and trouble learning life skills.
• Up to 1 in 20 U.S. schoolchildren may have an FASD.
• FASD - related difficulties last a lifetime.
• About half of the pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned.
• A woman may not realize she is pregnant up to 4 to 6 weeks in pregnancy and expose her baby to alcohol before she knows she is pregnant.
• Make a plan for a healthy baby -- don’t drink any alcohol if you are pregnant or could become pregnant.
• If you become pregnant, stop drinking alcohol. Every day matters. The sooner you stop drinking, the better for your baby. If you need help stopping, talk to your doctor, contact an addiction
specialist or contact Alcoholics Anonymous
• Pregnant women or women trying to get pregnant should talk with their obstetrician, pediatrician, nurses and other health care providers to understand the risks and to make the best choices for the health of their baby.