Pregnancy and alcohol: not a drop!

Every year more than 10,000 children are born with alcohol-related injuries. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, as the technical term goes, are the most common of all congenital diseases in Germany. The alcohol to which the unborn child is exposed can cause physical and mental damage as well as organic and neurological impairments. September 9th draws attention to this, it is the day of the child affected by alcohol.

Declared in 1999, the memorial day draws attention to the dangers of alcohol during pregnancy and focuses on those affected by prenatal alcohol consumption. Because they suffer all their lives from the irreversible damage caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

was a tax advisor and is a qualified educator. She looked after alcohol-impaired foster children for 25 years and accompanied them from infancy to adulthood.

At the beginning of pregnancy, the placenta is formed to supply the developing life with nutrients, blood and oxygen. If the pregnant woman consumes alcohol, it is transported into the child's bloodstream via the umbilical cord, so that the unborn child gets the same alcohol level as the mother. Because alcohol is toxic and harmful to the fetus, it can attack the placenta and cause permanent damage to the unborn child.

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The alcohol is mainly broken down in the mother's liver. Since the child's liver is not yet functional, it takes longer for the blood to be exchanged in the unborn child. As a result, the pregnant woman has long since sobered up, while the alcohol continues to circulate in the unborn child's body. According to the Alcohol Atlas, 11 percent of adult women drink alcohol to a risky extent. It is often women who successfully manage their lives, but who often go unnoticed by drinking alcohol that is questionable. There is no limit below which harm cannot occur. Even occasional or light consumption of alcohol can cause damage. That's why the following applies: only alcohol-free when pregnant!