Alert: Drinking during pregnancy exposes the baby to 428 diseases

Important news for mothers-to-be! Drinking during pregnancy may expose your child to the risk of 428 diseases. These conditions are listed under the Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), which are the conditions that occur in a person whose mother consumed alcohol during her pregnancy.

This information was released in a study published in The Lancet journal. The study identified 428 co-occurring disease conditions that affected nearly every system of the body including the central nervous system (brain), hearing, vision, blood circulation, heart, digestion and respiratory systems, among others.

However, the severity of FASD depended on the volume and number of times alcohol was consumed, as also the stress in the expecting mother’s life and her nutrition and diet.

The report was a collaboration of 33 studies that investigated 1,728 individuals with Feotal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)- the most severe type of FASD. The results of the research stated that more than 90 percent of those affected by FAS had problems with conduct.

Almost eight in 10 children had communication disorders and were either not able to comprehend statements or express language. About seven in 10 children had cognitive or developmental disorders and more than half of them had problems with hyperactivity and attention.