Where does the idea that pregnant women can drink come from?
It’s really a modern concept. When I started researching my book, I read pregnancy advice books from generations past. Way back then — we’re talking the 1600s — doctors told women to drink red wine to get pregnant and to stay pregnant. Moderate amounts, of course. The notion that alcohol is toxic emerged in the 1970s when two pediatricians found that a group of infants with developmental delays and facial deformities all had mothers who were chronic alcoholics and drank heavily throughout pregnancy. They published their findings in The Lancet, a British medical journal, and coined the term Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Q: What are the possible outcomes of drinking too much while pregnant? A: Women who drink a lot – and we are talking quarts of vodka a day or bottles of wine a day – throughout pregnancy are at risk of having a baby with mental retardation and facial deformities. These problems are lifelong for the child. Q: Is it OK if a woman drinks moderate amounts of alcohol while pregna
