HDF 304 Chapter Notes - Chapter Article: Working Parent, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, Birth Weight

• School: UT-Austin
• Department: Human Development and Family Sciences
• Course: HDF 304
• Professor: M Gleason

Document Summary

(cid:858)no alcohol(cid:859) duri(cid:374)g preg(cid:374)a(cid:374)cy is just a(cid:374)other sha(cid:373)e battle i(cid:374) the mo(cid:373)(cid:373)y wars. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (fasd) refers to a constellation of disorders resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol; manifestations include birth defects, developmental disabilities, neurological and behavioral problems. Fasd disproportionately affects children born to low-income mothers, children in foster care and other vulnerable groups. The oft-reported (cid:373)a(cid:374)tra is that (cid:862)(cid:374)o a(cid:373)ou(cid:374)t of al(cid:272)ohol should (cid:271)e (cid:272)o(cid:374)sidered safe i(cid:374) preg(cid:374)a(cid:374)(cid:272)y(cid:863) Instead of focusing on the obvious dangers of heaving drinking and working to address the circumstances that lead to it, people are discussing light drinking again and again. The author says this highlights the downside of recommendations such as this one that do not involve any nuance. The bottom line is that while there is clear evidence of the dangers of heavy drinking in pregnancy, the same cannot be said for low levels of alcohol consumption.