To be disappointed in hearing that many UK woman drink during pregnancy [shock]

[Leati]

Yesterday, I was on a thread when some of the women started questioning about US policy on drinking alcohol during pregnancies. One of the women had heard that if you have a glass of wine, you could be arrested. I assured her that wasn't true but there was chance that if you were visibly pregnant that the restaurant or bar might exercise their right to refuse service. And if a pediatrician became suspicious of drug or alcohol abuse, they could have the baby?s blood tested at birth. If the baby is found to have these in their blood, the child will be taken away. Another woman pitched that she found it disturbing that restaurants had signs warning pregnant women.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. These women seemed to believe it was actually okay to drink during their pregnancies. Hadn't they heard of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. So today, I did a little research and was shocked to learn that it is a big problem in the UK and that there is little education about it there.

Women who are angry over mothers choosing the bottle over nursing are damaging their children by drinking alcohol. This is not minor damage, in some case it is equivalent to severe mental retardation and in others it less obvious cognitive problems. Overall nearly 10% of babies born in the UK are suffering from some sort of cognitive problems directly related to alcohol exposure in the womb.

What broke my heart the most is that I have been on this site and I know that the mothers on this site care so much for their children. That while I may not always agree with everything said and our perspectives are not always the same, that we share a common love for our children. So I felt compelled to start this thread and share the information. I hope that you will share it, with your loved ones and it may spread.

I have attached some sites so you can research this yourself. These sites are both from the UK and the US.

www.fasaware.co.uk/

www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/west/series2/fetal_alcohol_syndro mfaspregnancydrinkinglearning_difficulties.shtml

www.healthychildrenproject.org/glossa ry/

Excellent, great news story.

Ranting american zealot refuses to allow freedom of choice to educated mothers.

Oh dear, If the research groups you are going to send it to are that hard up for evidence, do you really think this very strange conversation on mumsnet is going to make a difference??

let us know what hospital they admit you to leati and ill send you some flowers

Oo myspace . - will Lily Allen come and get us?

we have a casual attitude Leati because there is simply nothing wrong with drinking in moderation at anytime in your life, pregnant or not.....

what FAS is found in the States too?

really??

I didn't think that would be possible.really.

Oh my God, someone call Rupert Murdoch, there's a reasonable, educated debate going on. Hold the front page. It's outrageous!

Can we refer to her as "Californian extremist" rather than American?

This is not about my first post

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4204992.stm

combined with a vicous protection of your right to drink.

I liked this stat

www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/fas.html

1 in 750 babies born in the US have FAS - sounds pretty relaxed to me.

Oh be fair mrsM. Reasonable debate - here?

We have Standards, you know

Actually, there isn't a debate going on. Just cutting and pasting...

Why is everyone giving Leati such a hard time here?
I'm really wondering as surely if people are happy with their choices they would just leave her and this thread alone....?

A vicious protection to make our own choices Leati!!

I think you may have mistaken Leati for George Bush LL

Or have you???

so NO american women have a casual attitude to drinking during pg? just Brits. And your evidence for that would be?

and also... why the hell do you care? you're not in the UK, the way we live is none of your concern, you don't pay UK tax

The reason you're getting such a heated response isn't because FAS is something we don't care about, its because you're behaving like a self-righteous, patronising idiot.

Go. Get a life of your own.

actually leati, i think you will need mumsnet hq's permisson before you do it...copyright and all that

...yep - good point. but some of us had sensible points to make.

But Leati, your article is about BINGE drinking, which pretty much supports what most of us have been saying...

Good point elesbells

It is socially acceptable to drink during pregnancies in the UK. And no one sees that as a problem. Well, the world is starting to open thier eyes and I hope that this gives them more information.

mumto3girls something to do with leati's attitude I suspect.

Am perfectly happy with my choices thank you.

May I make a formal apology to all Americans for unintentionally tarring them all with the same brush.

I was educated in the USA and I do know that the majority of Americans are not loons.

"Dear Boss

I am pregnant and won't therefore be coming to work for 9 months because there is a risk that my baby will be contaminated by the air outside my house and by the noise in the street and who knows what my using a PC might do to it. Oh, and I might get run over by a bus or blown up by Al Quaeda on my way in. Obviously I expect you to pay me despite the fact I won't be doing any work because I will still need to support the little mite when it arrives - he/she has already requested that I purchase a specific buggy in a particular shade of merconium as it has Googled and found that this is the safest mode of transport for it, and they don't come cheap, you know.

Yours sincerely

Pregnant Employee".

Yes Leati, this thread will open the worlds eyes for sure