Alcohol and Drug Workers

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy is risky for both the mum and the developing baby. Alcohol increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and babies being born prematurely, small for gestational age, or with low birth weight.

It can also lead to a baby being born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), a lifelong disability.

The National Health and Medical Research Council’s Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol advise that to prevent harm from alcohol to their unborn child, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy should not drink alcohol.

FASD is a lifelong disability caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy. It is the leading preventable non-genetic developmental disability in Australia.

People with FASD can experience lifelong physical, behavioural, and cognitive challenges and may need daily support. Many people with FASD experience:

• physical and emotional developmental delay.
• impaired speech and language development.
• learning problems, such as problems with memory and attention.
• difficulty controlling behaviour.

These challenges can affect each person with FASD in different ways. For people living with FASD and their families, having access to diagnosis, disability support funding, services, and early intervention results in better outcomes throughout their lives. As with any disability, each person living with FASD has their strengths and challenges.

People with FASD may have challenges with:

• coordination
• attention
• memory
• learning
• speech and language
• cognition
• reasoning and judgment
• impulse control and hyperactivity
• managing emotions
• life skills, social skills, and relationships

People with FASD also have a range of strengths, talents, and interests. Access to diagnosis, disability support funding, services, and early intervention results in better outcomes throughout their lives.

The advice is that when trying for a baby and when pregnant you should not drink alcohol.

Most people are unaware of the exact time they become pregnant, so it is important not to drink alcohol when trying to conceive. From conception, well before the pregnancy is confirmed, alcohol can damage the developing baby.

Alcohol can also impact the fertility of both partners and increase the time it takes to get pregnant.

Any alcohol consumed crosses the placenta to the developing baby, which increases the risk of damaging the developing organs and systems of the body, including the brain and central nervous system.

Any alcohol increases the risk of the baby being born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

Alcohol can impact the developing baby at any stage of pregnancy – leading to the advice not to drink alcohol when pregnant or planning a pregnancy.

The risk of FASD, and adverse outcomes for the mum and developing baby, increase with the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption. There is no identified safe level of alcohol during pregnancy.

There is no identified safe time to drink alcohol throughout pregnancy.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy increases the risk of a baby being born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Alcohol also increases the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and babies being born prematurely, small for gestational age, or with low birth weight.

Alcohol can damage the baby’s development at any time during the pregnancy because different organs and systems of the body are developing at different times.

While all organs and systems can be affected, the baby’s brain – which is developing throughout pregnancy – is the organ most severely damaged by alcohol. Alcohol can impact both brain structure and functions. Other body parts develop at different points during pregnancy, and exposure to alcohol at these critical times can damage systems and organs such as sight, hearing, lung and heart functions.

All types of alcohol consumed during pregnancy can cause damage to the developing baby and increase the risk of FASD – be it beer, wine, or spirits.

Not drinking alcohol is safest for the baby when breastfeeding. This is because developing infant brains are more vulnerable to alcohol than adults. Research has found alcohol in breastmilk has been linked to reduced verbal IQ, lower cognitive ability, and slowed growth.

This is in addition to the potential short-term effects like disruption to a baby’s sleep and feeding difficulties due to reductions in milk supply and changes in milk flow.

If alcohol is consumed, there are evidence-based strategies that can ensure breastmilk is alcohol-free. For example, waiting two hours per standard drink before feeding the baby, using the Feed Safe app to know when the breastmilk is alcohol-free or expressing before alcohol consumption so the baby can be fed by bottle.

The only way to eliminate alcohol from breastmilk is to wait for the body to process the alcohol, which takes an average of two hours per standard drink.

Expressing milk and discarding it after drinking alcohol, also known as ‘pumping and dumping’, will not remove alcohol from breastmilk. If there is alcohol in the blood, it is also in the breastmilk.

If alcohol is consumed, wait two hours per standard drink before feeding the baby, use the Feed Safe app to know when the breastmilk is alcohol-free, or express milk before alcohol consumption so someone else can feed the baby by bottle while the alcohol remains in the body.