Slide 14 of 22
Notes:
When I was a medical student, I was taught that drinking alcohol during pregnancy was safe. In fact, I was taught to recommend a drink or two to women who were anxious or had trouble sleeping during pregnancy. Drinking was thought to be safe because alcohol is a natural product and pregnant women had done it for thousands of years. We now know that drinking, at least heavy drinking, is not safe in pregnancy. Heavy drinking during pregnancy can and does cause fetal alcohol syndrome. We did not know this when I was a medical student because the effects of drinking in pregnancy had not been studied adequately.
