When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, so does her unborn baby. Alcohol in the mother’s blood passes through the placenta to the baby through the umbilical cord. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and a range of lifelong disorders, known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). The effects of FASDs can include physical problems (such as abnormal facial features) and problems with behavior and learning (such as lower-than-average weight and nervous system abnormalities). Often, a person with an FASD has a mix of these problems.

How Much Alcohol is Dangerous?

There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink while pregnant. There is also no safe time to drink during pregnancy and no safe kind of alcohol to drink while pregnant.

FASDs are 100% preventable if a woman does not drink alcohol during pregnancy, yet approximately 5,000 children are born with FAS every year.

For more information on the risks associated with drinking alcohol while pregnant, please visit the CDC's FASD Web site.

For More Information or to get help:

Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator

Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.)

CDC Web Site on Alcohol Use in Pregnancy