Surgeon General Carmona Issues Advisory Urging Pregnant Women To Abstain From Alcohol Consumption

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 25 Feb 2005 - 0:00 PDT

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Surgeon General Richard Carmona on Monday advised pregnant women and women who might become pregnant to abstain from alcohol consumption to eliminate the chance of giving birth to an infant with any of the fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, according to an... Office of the Surgeon General release. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders include any birth defects caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, from a slight learning disability or physical abnormality to fetal -alcohol syndrome, which is characterized by severe learning disabilities, growth deficiencies, abnormal facial features and central nervous system disorders. Carmona's advisory updates a 1981 surgeon general's advisory suggesting that women "limit" the amount of alcohol they drink while pregnant, according to the release. Carmona's announcement came in advance of his participation in BirthDay Live!, a 10-hour live television broadcast on the Discovery Health Channel showing women giving birth in three locations nationwide. Carmona's announcement and participation in the event are part of his 2005 agenda, titled "The Year of the Healthy Child" (Office of the Surgeon General release, 2/21). As part of his 2005 agenda, Carmona will focus on ways women can keep themselves healthy before and during pregnancy by abstaining from alcohol and tobacco use, exercising regularly, taking folic acid and other vitamin supplements and having a healthy diet. Carmona this year also plans to focus on prenatal care, pregnancy and early childhood development (Office of the Surgeon General release, 1/24).

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