Well, nay-sayers, prepare to be proven wrong. All of you snarky mamas who glared at me nursing my 3 1/2-year-old on the NYC subway, prepare to be amazed. And to all of my family and friends who wanted to chastise me about nursing a walking, talking, thinking, laughing little man named Fred, thanks for holding your tongues. Because we did it.
What's in this article? Drinking alcohol during her pregnancy can cause a woman's baby to be born with birth defects and developmental disabilities. In fact, alcohol (beer, wine, or hard liquor) is the leading cause of preventable birth defects and developmental disabilities in the United States.
1 These findings suggest that many pregnant women are getting the message and not drinking alcohol.  Infants of mothers who drank during pregnancy may experience a spectrum of consequences that range from fetal alcohol effects (FAE), alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD), and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Fetal alcohol syndrome is regarded as the most severe.