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.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is one of the leading causes of preventable birth defects and intellectual disabilities (source: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist). Alcohol passes directly from the blood stream of a pregnant woman, through the placenta, to the developing fetus' brain.