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/

I am just so glad that I am not going to be pregnant again. I had mine in the days when some freedom of action was permitted to adult human beings - regardless of their procreative status.

Alright, well I have to go to bed. I am sorry to have insulted all of you. Like I said earlier it as never my intention.

I'm slightly amazed by the following statement...

"It would appear to me that while drinking during pregnancy is socially acceptable in the UK, bottle feeding your baby is not."

Leati - your credibility is going to be shot down in flames if anyone who knows anything about the UK reads this. It is extremely socially acceptable in huge swathes of the Uk to bottle feed your baby. It's what the campaign to promote breast-feeding here is all about. I think your only exposure to the UK can be Mumsnet and Mary Poppins.

To quote your OP

"I did a little research and was shocked to learn that it (FAS) is a big problem in the UK"

It is not a big problem in the Uk it is a big problem in Russia. I would humbly suggest you would do better to go on ww.Mumsnetski.com and try to educate them and write your article about them.

ormirian, I cant believe the difference in what you Can and cant do these days whilst up the duff and tbh i have taken no notice. I was with friends yesterday and one is pregnant, one has just had a baby and they were talking about 'oh you cant have this, no goats cheese etc' and I hadnt heard of any of it and admitted I had eaten most the things accidentally that were on the banned list

at ww2.Mumsnetski.com

Ooh is it bedtime again already? Damn I missed her waking hours - shucks!

Pagwatch at mental retardation. A horrible term.

Mrs Malaprop - you are right about the attack on grammar being petty and I confess I did go to town on that a bit as it has the same effect on me as the sound of a marker pen squeaking on a white board

Other than that I have nothing new to add. I caught up with the thread and saw the same voices of reason and the sole delusional one.

yes the mumsnetski is very funny

Leati,
If we came to a US website started a conversation about global warming, we would assume that the same information was available in the US as in the UK/ We would therefore assume that the decisions made by Americans about whether to recycle or not was just as informed as our own.

Ladylush, Is there a more PC term for mental retardation?
Not being rude or anything - really want to know.

can we sue for royalties?

yes if you are not a dr it would be more sensible to say learning disability

Where do you live Sweetydarling? I live in London and afaik people don't tend to use that term. Learning disability or special needs is more commonly used.

I raised this point a few weeks ago on a differnt thread when reading an american novel - it seems it is much more common to use the term "retarded" in the US.

Leati - the caesarean rate in the US is 30%. ACoording to the WHO this is 10-15% higher than it should be.

"A C section poses documented medical risks to the mother's health, including infections, hemorrhage, transfusion, injury to other organs, anesthesia complications, psychological complications, and a maternal mortality two to four times greater than that for a vaginal birth.

An elective cesarean section increases the risk to the infant of premature birth and respiratory distress syndrome, both of which are associated with multiple complications, intensive care and burdensome financial costs. Even mature babies, the absences of labor increases the risk of breathing problems and other complications"

so 10-15% of american women are putting themselves and their babies at significant risk. GO, educate them .And I haven't even started on the increased rate of opiate drug use in labour in the US.
the UK is far ahead of the US in terms of medicalised birth. I wonder what is the difference between a glass of wine once or twice a week and a dose of morphine just before birth? the effect of the latter on the baby is much more siginificant

I think that's true. Remeber when Tiger woods said "spaz" and the whole world gasped in horror?

"Actually, United States has three times the FAS births a year. But thier population is well over ten times the UK population"
seriously? where did you find that figure?

Harpsi, don't even start. I have a meeting in 20 minutes.

Medicalised birth is a good thing. It saves lives.

No didn't know that. Who was he referring to?

Don't remember.

oh but morphine is fantastic

MrsM - fair point about the spelling and grammar, but if she's going to get this published (not exactly sure what her intentions were) then someone will need to proofread it to begin with, otherwise it's nonsense - walking fetuses with many faucets.
"Affect" rather than "effect"
They don't give the impression of a reasoned, intelligent argument

Tiger appologises

Medicalised birth is a good thing. It saves lives.
pmsl.
oh well I am glad we cleared that one up.
is it possible it might be slightly more complicated than that???
there is a strange double think that goes on in the US in particular.
a glass of beer during pregnancy = terrible.
an injection of opiate in a hospital = medically necessary.
balls.
the WHO suggests the rate of medically necessary sections is 10-15%. so what about the rest?