HEADLINES Published March2, 2016 By Beatrice Asuncion

Alcohol During Pregnancy Can Have Lasting Effects, Researchers Claim

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A woman six months pregnant.
(Photo : Jose R. Aguirre | Cover)

It is no secret how a woman's body is highly vulnerable during pregnancy. There are a lot of things she cannot do when she is with child. A pregnant woman cannot consume raw unpasteurized cheeses and meats, certain types of fish, junk food and fast food, and extra vitamins. They are asked to limit their exposure to paint fumes and to strenuous activities. Doctors however are adamant that pregnant women stay away from drinking alcohol.

According to previous, babies who are exposed to alcohol are more likely to develop birth defects and intellectual disabilities.

" Prenatal exposure to alcohol can damage the developing fetus and is the leading preventable cause of birth defects and intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities" read the abstract of Janet F. Williams and Vincent C. Smith's academic paper on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.

Aside from disabilities, scientists recently claimed that babies born from mothers who consumed alcohol are at a disadvantage in another aspect.

According to researchers from Binghamton University, children of mom's that consumed alcohol have a higher chance of alcohol preference and tolerance. The scientists conducted the study on pregnant rats over the course of four days. The rats received a human sixed glass of wine in those four days. They then studied whether the offspring of these pregnant rats preferred water or alcohol.

"Our findings show that in the rat, when a mother consumes the equivalent of one glass of wine four times during the pregnancy, her offspring and grand-offspring, up to the third generation, show increased alcohol preference and less sensitivity to alcohol" explained Nicole Cameron assistant professor at Binghamton University and lead researcher for the study.

The results have led scientists to conclude that children of mother's who consumed alcohol during pregnancy are more likely to develop alcoholism later on in life.

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