Conclusive Guidance for Pregnant Women is to Abstain from Alcohol

WASHINGTON, Sept. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- September 9^th marks the 16^th annual International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Awareness Day. The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), a public health advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., is leading advocates in the U.S., Italy, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Australia, Russia, Nigeria, and dozens of other countries, in raising awareness about the risk of alcohol use during pregnancy.

The ninth day of the ninth month represents the nine months of an alcohol-free pregnancy.

NOFAS joins Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. Surgeon General, American Academy of Pediatrics, March of Dimes, American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and every other practitioner and disability association in the U.S. in reminding the public that alcohol can interfere with a healthy pregnancy and is associated with lifelong intellectual and physical birth defects.

Over 40 years of research conclusively links prenatal alcohol exposure to birth defects. If a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol crosses the placenta and reaches her developing baby. Despite sometimes misleading messages, no research has ever found any level of alcohol to be completely harmless to all pregnancies.

If a woman has been drinking alcohol and has just learned that she is pregnant, the best advice is to stop drinking now to minimize the risk to her offspring. NOFAS urges pregnant women who find it difficult to abstain from alcohol to talk with their doctor or contact NOFAS at nofas.org.

Many of the 42 organizations of the international NOFAS Affiliate Network are holding public awareness raising events, NOFAS and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, a component of the National Institutes of Health, are hosting a Twitter chat (#NIAAAchat), and NOFAS is a partner with the European FASD Alliance on an international social media communication campaign created by the Italian firm Fabrica, the communication research centre of Benetton Group (#tooyoungtodrink).

Join NOFAS today and every day by spreading the message to pregnant women about the importance of early prenatal care, appropriate exercise, proper nutrition, and remaining alcohol and tobacco-free.

Contact NOFAS at nofas.org or [email protected] to learn more.

Tom Donaldson
National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
(202) 785-4585
[email protected]

SOURCE National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome