Alcohol is the substance most commonly abused by women. Drinking alcohol in pregnancy deserves special attention because of the concern for the health of the unborn child. One possible consequence of alcohol use during pregnancy is fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), one of the more common types of mental retardation occurring in newborns.
Alcohol addiction also causes severe medical problems to the fetus. The medical problems include permanent damage to the unborn child, lower birth weight of the child, withdrawal in the child, and all of the problems associated with lack of prenatal care.
Newborn infants who have been exposed to alcohol during fetal life may be much more vulnerable to adverse environmental factors than other babies, which means that they should be taken care of under the best possible psychosocial stress. It is clear that this is a major public health problem, particularly when we consider also the impact of exposure on the large number of children whose defects are milder.
