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Drinking alcohol while pregnant could seriously harm your baby
Sipping a glass of wine or two while you're pregnant might seem harmless, but it can have a disastrous affect on your unborn baby – as one Ramsey woman knows all too well.
Sipping a glass of wine or two while you're pregnant might seem harmless, but it can have a disastrous affect on your unborn baby – as one Ramsey woman knows all too well.Jemma Walton met a woman who has adopted three children with learning disabilities after their mum drunk alcohol while pregnant with them.
ALI and Barry McCormick's lives changed forever when their 10-year-old daughter jumped out of her bedroom window one night.
She was fine – in fact the first they knew about it was when a neighbour knocked on the door to bring her home.
"Jade and a friend had been talking about how they wanted to go to Australia," said Ali. "But while her friend forgot all about it and went to sleep, Jade wanted to go that night.
"So she jumped out of her window, wearing just her nightie, with no money or anything.
"She told us that she was going to smuggle herself on to a plane and fly out there – but would have come back five days later as we were going to Center Parcs and she didn't want to miss out on that.
"It was then that we realised that she really was different from other children, that she really did struggle with the real world, and how she should behave in it.
"That night was the night we realised that although she can seem so mature in certain situations, she is also capable of doing something like that. She needs our care and attention all the time, and that isn't going to change."
Jade wasn't like most other 10-year-olds, and a year later she isn't like most other 11-year-olds. She struggles to separate fact from reality, and will probably never be able to live a life away from Ali and Barry.
And this is because her mum drank alcohol when she was pregnant with her.
Jade has Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), which can cause immature behaviour, poor judgement, hyperactivity, poor problem solving skills, and abnormal facial features, such as a flat mid-face, short nose and a small chin.
It is more common than Cystic Fibrosis, Down's syndrome, spina bifida and muscular dystrophy put together, and, unlike these conditions, it is 100 per cent preventable.
Ali and Barry, of Brookfield Way, Bury, near Ramsey, know what life is like if it isn't prevented – if a mother does drink during pregnancy – because they have adopted three kids suffering from it.
"I had adopted twin boys with behavioural problems when I was in my 20s," explained Ali (48). "They had been neglected as babies, but with love and care they turned out fine. They are lovely men now in their 20s, and they work for barristers and solicitors.
"My marriage broke down and I met Barry, and he didn't have any children. I couldn't have any more biologically, and so we decided to adopt.
"By a miracle the woman who helped me adopt the twins picked up my application to adopt another child – she had moved councils and just happened to pick my request up. She knew I could deal with difficult children, and so she recommended that we adopt Jade."
Jade had been through a number of foster families. She was naughty, had trouble bonding with people, and problems sleeping.
"We were told that her problems probably came through being passed from family to family," said Ali.
Continues on next page... on further pages: Support group for parents and Factfile: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome"It wasn't until later that she was diagnosed with FAS.
"In fact, I was looking at a website with FAS kids on one night, and Jade walked through and said 'They look like me'. She was five at the time, and could spot it straight away.
"A lot of people don't know about FAS," she added. "And that includes doctors and social workers. Often, FAS won't be diagnosed if a child is in care because giving them that label will put people off adopting them. And that's not just me guessing: I have been told that.
"Also, often doctors don't want to diagnose it as it will stigmatise the mother – no doctor wants to tell a mother that she's harmed her child, or to stigmatise her. It's easier to treat FAS as something else, such as ADHD.
"But the sooner a child is diagnosed, the sooner the right services can be accessed for them, and the more likely they are to be able to live a relatively normal life."
Time passed, and Jade's birth mother had two other children, Freddie and Emily, who were taken from her at birth and adopted by Ali and Barry.
"We had a lot of soul searching over that, but Jade wanted a sibling, and then when it came to Emily, we were just thinking of that other child, who would be in care for the rest of its life, or passed from family to family, and not have a proper shot at life," said Ali, who is also a qualified social worker.
Freddie is four now, and isn't too badly affected – Ali and Barry (47) hope that one day he will live a relatively normal life. Emily is five, but wears clothes meant for two to three-year-olds. Ali and Barry don't work, but are their children's full-time carers.
"We met the children's birth mother recently," said Ali.
"And she admitted that she hadn't wanted to have Emily, and so she had drunk bottle after bottle of vodka during her pregnancy to try to abort her, but it didn't work.
"When we adopted Emily her tongue hung out the side of her mouth, she had glue ear and couldn't hear, and she would cry all the time.
"She has improved and can speak and understand things, but I don't expect her to ever be able to live by herself.
"She is a very lively little girl, but she only sleeps for two hours a night, and will lie there singing to herself. Her development has been very slow.
"Half of me was angry at their natural mum, and half of me pitied her. If you want to live like that – drinking and living a hectic life – then that's one thing, but I don't think you should inflict that on children. She took drugs as well as drinking.
"But the sad, odd, thing is, that drugs might be illegal, but they actually aren't as bad for an unborn baby as alcohol."
Next page: Support group for parents and Factfile: Foetal Alcohol SyndromeSupport group for parents
ALI has set up a support group for other parents who have children with FAS – and she is keen to spread the message that enjoying a tipple when you're pregnant really isn't worth it.
"I don't want to preach," she said. "And I don't want to worry any pregnant women who has had a drink while expecting, but the fact is that drinking when you're pregnant is like Russian roulette with your baby – it might be very badly affected, it might not.
"How it'll be affected depends on how you metabolise alcohol – some people fall over after half a pint, others can handle 10 pints. It also depends on when you drink, and what part of the baby is growing at that time.
"A baby metabolises drink 20 times faster than its mum, and it can suffer from a hangover for days. If you're feeling and after a night on the drink, your baby is feeling 10 times worse.
"Other parts of the world, such as France and America, have recommended for years that mums to be keep away from alcohol altogether, and Britain has only recently come on board.
"I don't know why they have lagged behind for such a long time – I think maybe because the drinks' industry is such a profitable and powerful one.
"FAS is the commonest cause of disability in the UK, and it is one that can be wiped out just by staying off the booze for nine months. And not drinking for nine months is much better than a lifetime of dealing with what might happen if you do."
n If your child has FAS, or you suspect it might have, Ali can be contacted at fasawareuk@btinternet. com. Ali also offers training on FAS to health professionals and social workers.
Her group was set up thanks to a 750 donation from Ramsey Rotary Club, and Ali would welcome e-mails from anyone wanting to help with fundraising.
Factfile: Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a 100 per cent preventable disability.
It is a mental birth defect caused by a mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy
FAS children have three main characteristics: 1. Smaller growth, 2. Dysfunctional central nervous system, 3. Facial abnormalities.
There may also be other abnormalities with eyes, hearing, heart and a cleft palate. Some have a lower than average IQ.
Adults with FAS have difficulty maintaining successful independence. They have trouble staying in school, keeping jobs or sustaining healthy relationships.
Children and adults with FAS are also quite vulnerable to physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
For more information visit www.fasaware.co.uk.
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