Smoke Signals October 1989
ALCOHOLISM HAS A DRA
MATIC EFFECT ON BABY
Drinking during pregnancy is riskier than many women
realize:
BY ANDREA DORFMAN
Everyone should know by now that drinking can cause
serious physical and mental problems in the unborn
child. Most doctors have told their patients, television
announcements have framatized the dangers, and
warning signs have gone up in restaurants and bars. But
too many mothers-to-be are not getting the message.
More than 50,000 babies are born n the U.S. each year
with alcohol-related defects. In age-ranging from facial
deformities to heart abnormalities - is severe enough to
be classified as fetal alcohol syndrome.
. Many people still do not realize how common FAS is
and how devastating it can be. According to some
researchers, FAS is responsible for an estimated 20 of
all U.S. cases of mental retardation. That makes FAS
the No. 1 threat to children's mental health, greater than
either Down Syndrome or spina bifida.
Unlike such drugs as barbiturates and opiates, which
affect the nervous system, alcohol can attack virtually
any of the body's cells. It can cause stunted growth,
distorted faces, poor eyesight, learning disabilities and
hyperactivity. In the recently published book The
Broken Cord (Harper & Row, $18.95), author Michael
Dorris tells the heartbreaking story of his adopted son
Adam, whose Sioux parent died of alcohol abuse. Adam
was institutionalized and diagnosed as retarded before
he turned three. At five, he still wore diapers, could not
count consecutively or even identify colors. "Adam's
birthdays are reminders for me," writes Dorris. " For
each celebration commemmorating that he was born,
there is the pang, the rage, that he wan not born whole."
The tragedy of FAS is that it is entirely preventable. If
a woman, even an alcoholic one, stops drinking before
she tries to become pregnant, her fetus will not develop
FAS or any alcohol-relatated birth defects. But preg
nancies are not always planned. If a woman does not
realize for several weeks that she is pregnant, she may
not stop drinking in time to prevent harm to the fetus.
Researchers believe the damage is probably minimal in
the first two weeks, but during the rest of the first
trimester, when the fetus' organs are forming, the effects
may be especially severe. If the drinking continues,
additional damage can occur, since the brain develops
during all nine months and rapid body growth does not
occur until the third trimester. Even after the baby is
born, abstinence may be advisable. A study in last
week's New England Journal of Medicine suggests that
when mothers have one or more drinks a day, their
children ingest alcohol in breast milk, which may impede
the infants' motor development.
4 ''' s ,a, ,AwSt, ', ','""'
NOTICE! NOTICE! NOTICE!
, ' ' ' 'r ' ' '
, On October 1, 1989, the Bureau of Indian Affairs will
start a General Assistance Program for eligible Native
Amcrlcaas. To receive this help a person must live on
or near a Reservation 6r Service Area In Oregon. ' x
I.The GencralAssistancc Program will provide money
for those who are not receiving public Assistance. The
money is a limited amount for basic Hying needs.- This 5
program is intended to promote'self-sufficicncy.
For more information, call the Portland Area Officet
BJA,Sbcia1 Services Program (23l;ytntribe of
the Silctz Agency (444029):
'''"',
Nearly all known cases of FAS involve children whose
mothers have chronic alcohol problems. Says Barbara
Morse, direcotor of the Fetal Alcohol Education
Program at the Boston University School of Medicine:
"The more a woman drinks while she is pregnant and
the longer she drinks, the higher the risk of FAS." Even
so, moderate drinking is not considered safe. "Our best
evidence is that we cannot detect adverse consequences
to vey light drinking," says Dr. Robert Sokol, head of the
federally funded fetal alcohol research center at Wayne
State University, in Detroit. "But that doesn't mean
they don't exist." Beer, wine and hard liqour do not
seem to differ in their impact on the fetus.
Studies conducted in Boston, Atlanta and Scandinavia
indicate that at least some of the injuries to the fetus
may be corrected in the womb if a mother gives up
alcohol before her third trimester. Says Sterling
Clarren, professor of pediatrics at the University of
Washington School of Medicine: "It's pretty clear if a
woman stops drinking in her second trimester, the size
and the healthiness of the baby will improve, but there is
no evidence that its intelligence will improve." More
over, even the improvement in appearance may be
deceptive. "The babies definetly are bigger and look
healthier," says Dr. Sokol, "but that doesn't mean that
all the effects go away."
Scientists still do not know why FAS strikes the
children of some alcoholic mothers but not others, and
why susceptibility varies among different ethnic groups.
Native Americans, for example, are 33 times as likely as
Caucasians to have a child with FAS; for blacks, the rate
is 6.7 times as high as for Caucasians. Women who give
birth to a child with FAS have a greater-than-average
risk of bearing additional children with the affliction.
Such evidence suggests there may be a genetic predis
postion to FAS, but scientists have not been able to
identify the offending genes.
Researchers are also trying to determine whether
fathers' drinking habits play any role in FAS. At Wayne
State, studies of male laboratory rodents have shown
that alcohol exposure affects their sperm as well as the
immune system and behavior of their offspring. '-'I don't
think the possibility of the father's effect can be written
off," says Dr. Sokol. "We're not saying the baby would
have FAS, but it's possible there may be some impact on
how the kid comes out."
There is not treatment for FAS, and so the only way
health officials can fight the scourge is to step up
educational efforts. In New Hampshire, for example,
couples must read a pamphlet on FAS before they can
obtain a marriage license. Beginning in November,
liquor bottles will carry a cigarette-style warning label
advising women that alcohol and pregnancy do not mix.
But for women who are addicted to alcohol, the need to
drink often overcomes caution and reason. Until better
ways are found to identify and treat alcoholics, they will
continue to inflict a devastating toll on their children.
"TAKE ME IN YOUR ARMS"
So now little man you've grown tired of grass, L.S.D.,
acid, cocaine and hash.
And someone pretending to be a good friend,
Said, "Let me introduce you to Miss Heroin."
Well honey, before you start fooling around with me,
Just let me inform you of how it will be.
For I will seduce you and make you my slave,
I've sent men much stronger than you to their grave.
You think you could never become a disgrace,
And end up addicted to poopy seed waste.
So you'll start inhaling me one afternoon,
You'll take me into our arms very soon.
And once I have entered deep down in your veins,
The craving will nearly drive you insane.
You'll need lots of money (as you have been told)
For darling I'm much more expensive than gold.
You'll swindle your mother and just for a buck,
You'll turn into something vile and corrupt.
You'll mug and you'll steal for my narcotic charm,
And feel contentment when I'm in your arms.
The da when you realize the monster you've grown,
You'll someday promise to leave me alone,
If you think that you've got the mystical knack,
Than sweetie, just try getting me off your back.
The vomit, the cramps, your gut tied in knots,
The jungling nerves, screaming for just one more shot.
The hot chills, the cold sweat, the withdrawal pains,
Can only be saved by my little white grains.
There's no other way, and there no need to look;
For deep down inside, you know you are hooked.
You'll desperately run to the pusher and then,
You'll welcome me back to your arms once again.
And when you return (just as I fortold)
I know that you'll give me your body, and soul.
You'll give me your morals, your conscience, your heart,
And you will be mine until DEATH DO US PART.
By Anonymous Addict