Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders more common than Autism; No amount of drinking alcohol is safe during pregnancy; Wisconsin drinking rates of women 18-44 highest in the Nation

A recent two-part PBS NewsHour report released this week describes how Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders affect between 1-5% of all children, potentially higher than the number of children born on the Autism Spectrum. The report states that there is no clinically safe amount of alcohol that mothers can drink, and there is no known period of time that is considered safe. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 10 women drink alcohol during pregnancy, and one-third of those who do drink, report binge drinking. Women who are at the highest risk of giving birth to a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are unmarried and college educated women ages 35-44. Wisconsin has both the highest rates of women ages 18-44 who drink (68.3%) and those who binge drink (29.6%) in the United States.

Link: www.pbs.org/newshour/show/fetal-alcohol-disorder-is-more-common-than-you-think and www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/data.html