New guidelines from the World Health Organization recommending abstinence from alcohol in pregnancy could have wide ramifications, warns Jules Montague
Health
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29 June 2022
Simone Rotella
“THEY know that they have a tummy mummy. And she drank alcohol when they were in her tummy.” That is how Alison, who lives outside Belfast, UK, explains things to her adopted sons Sean (13) and James (12). “I tell them alcohol made their brains different, so they learn different,” she told me. “But it also makes them very special.”
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) has profoundly affected the brothers, causing intellectual delays and impaired mental processing. Alison’s stance is unambiguous. “If you drink whilst pregnant, you’re playing Russian roulette with that baby’s life,” she says.