More Proof that Booze & Babies Don’t Mix

On most things having to do with pregnancy, babies, children, and parenting in general, I’ve got a very “to each their own” attitude. There’s too much pressure on moms and dads already to be the perfect parents, that I can’t see layering even more rules onto the ever growing list of what’s acceptable (and what’s not!) for families. That said, I think you all know I draw the line when it comes to the safety of our children—and I try to do my absolute best to educate parents and arm them with the absolute best information on how to keep their little ones safe and healthy.

A recent study published in Pediatrics caught my attention because of one simple and very grim stat: One in five American children is on the fetal alcohol syndrome spectrum. One in five! That’s probably four to five kids out of your child’s kindergarden class. How is this happening, and who’s still drinking alcohol when they know they’re expecting a baby? Turns out, it’s not the youngest or most uneducated women who are most likely to sip a drink or two a week while pregnant, it’s actually more economically well-off, educated, and older women who tend to drink alcohol while pregnant. How can this be that while the CDC says the smartest choice is to abstain from alcohol for the duration of pregnancy, some of the smartest women in our country continue to ignore that advice?