Foetal alcohol syndrome

Alcohol and pregnancy | Ready Steady Baby! 0 Ready Steady Baby Pregnancy Health problems in pregnancy Looking after yourself and your baby Preparing for parenthood Relationships and wellbeing in pregnancy Your antenatal care Your babys development Labour and birth After the birth Assisted birth Getting ready for the birth Giving birth Labour Meeting your new baby Early parenthood Caring for your new baby Getting to know your baby Going home If your babys ill Your growing family Your wellbeing after the birth Other languages and formats Back Ready Steady Baby! Home Ready Steady Baby Pregnancy Looking after yourself and your baby Alcohol and pregnancy Theres no known safe limit of drinking during pregnancy. Some people will tell you that having the odd drink when youre pregnant is okay. The safest option is to stop drinking when youre trying to get pregnant or as soon as you know youre pregnant. How alcohol can harm your baby Your babys developing all the way through your pregnancy. Alcohol can be harmful at any stage. Drinking alcohol: damages your babys developing cells which can affect how their brain and organs develop and how they look makes it more likely youll have a miscarriage, or your baby will be born early or underweight can cause fetal alcohol spectrum disorder Even small amounts of alcohol can cross over from your body into your baby. The exact level of alcohol exposure that can lead to harm is not known with certainty, but the more you drink, the greater the possible harm. Drinking a lot in a single occasion (sometimes called binge drinking) is especially harmful Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) If you drink while pregnant your baby could develop fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). This is a term used to describe a range of alcohol-related birth defects. About 3 in every 100 children and young people in the UK have FASD, but its preventable by avoiding alcohol when pregnant or planning a pregnancy. FASD may not always be detected at birth but can cause problems later in life, including: problems with hyperactivity, impulsivity, and attention learning and behavioural difficulties experiencing difficulty in social interaction, personal care, making sense of the world, and staying safe sensory difficulties such as being sensitive to, and distressed by, certain patterns of light, sound, or touch vulnerability to victimisation and bullying Nows the time to stop drinking Lots of pregnancies arent planned, so you might not have known you were pregnant for a while and may have drunk alcohol in that time. The first and most important thing you can do now is to stop drinking alcohol completely. When you go to your first antenatal appointment, your midwife will ask you whether you drink alcohol and if so how much. Be honest with your midwife or GP if you have been drinking during pregnancy  you can speak safely and openly to them. There are lots of organisations available to provide information, help and support . Sometimes drinking alcohol can be a response to other problems in your life, including money worries or mental health problems. Getting help with other issues may make it easier to cut down or stop drinking. Read more about the support to available to help with the cost of living Read advice about dealing with low mood, anxiety, phobias and stress Stopping drinking when pregnant For lots of women, stopping drinking when pregnant can be difficult  sometimes harder than they thought. The social pressure to have a drink can be huge and can make it harder to say no. With the right support and a bit of planning, you can do it. Talking to your midwife is the first step towards getting the right support for you and your baby. Support your partner Dads and partners can support a healthy, alcohol-free pregnancy by: not drinking alcohol around their partner trying activities that dont involve alcohol  you could go swimming or go for a walk trying non-alcoholic alternatives such as mocktails, smoothies, and flavoured and fizzy water If you need help and support, visit Scotlands Service Directory or our where to get help page. Further information, other languages and alternative formats Translations and alternative formats of this information are available from Public Health Scotland . If you need a different language or format, please contact phs.otherformats@phs.scot. Ready Steady Baby leaflet in Arabic, Polish, Simplified Chinese (Mandarin) and Ukrainian Source: Public Health Scotland - Opens in new browser window Last updated: 14 December 2023 How can we improve this page? 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