Women urged to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy

Sedqa, the agency against drug and alcohol abuse urged all pregnant women to abstain from any alcohol intake because this jeopardised the health of the foetus.

In a message to mark International Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Day being marked today, sedqa said that since the unborn child's system could not handle alcohol, toxins ended up staying in their system for long periods of time.

This meant that the child got a shot of everything the mother drank at an extremely critical point of its development, particularly the first three months.

This often resulted in physical and psychological defects.

There are some cases for which even the smallest amount can be harmful and thus, should be avoided.

Sedqa said that the American Paediatrics Association stated that "at the current level of knowledge, the only safe amount (of alcohol) for pregnant women is zero".

Generally children afflicted by FAS exhibit difficulties in class and other disruptive behaviours.

Unfortunately FAS also moves into adulthood, inciting an array of psychological and social problems such as isolation, alcohol/drug problems, dependent living and problems with employment.

It was important therefore that people recognised symptoms such as FAS so as not to misinterpret them with social maladjustment, since in this case organic brain damage was present, sedqa said.

Alcohol consumption by pregnant women was known to damage the foetus, resulting in the baby being born with symptoms like organ dysfunction, growth deficiencies and central nervous system dysfunctions.

Sedqa appealed to all those concerned to realise the importance of educating women of childbearing age in order to prevent such conditions from occurring.

Sedqa offered its alcohol services both within the community and in residential settings.

People requiring help regarding problems related to substance abuse could be referred, or could refer themselves to these services or access more information by calling Helpline 151, or by visiting the agency's website www.sedqa.org.mt