J Korean Acad Womens Health Nurs.
2000 Mar;6(1):109-116.
The Effect of Alcohol on health status of pregnant women and fetus
Abstract
- In modern society, the amount of alcohol ingestion is increasing at a dangerous level, especially among women. One of reason for increased alcohol consumption is stress caused by social pressures. Alcohol is a kind of depressant of centric nervous system, so it can induce relaxation of body and decrease the stress. The evidence on the effects of alcohol on the fetus is somewhat hazy, whereas that of smoking is quite clear. The literature on the ingestion of alcohol strongly suggests that drinking during pregnancy is associated with teratogenic effect and low birth weight. Therefore, the adverse effect of alcohol ingestion during pregnancy must be informed to public. More remarkable warning sign about alcohol ingestion must be attached on the top of bottles. This can be an effective measure for public education. Also legal sanction or tax imposition for the production of liquor be required. First of all, drinking habit or drinking culture must be changed. In fact, the strongest motivation of drinking in adolescent is a peer pressure which is related to drinking habit or culture. Secondly, early detection and treatment must be required to prevent from fetal alcohol syndrome. Accordingly, drinking history of pregnant women must be assess as early as possible and health professional should give a warning about the abstinence of alcohol to drinking women. Thirdly, to minimize the adverse effects for mother, withdrawal syndrome by alcohol ingestion must be treated, to correct the malformation by fetal alcohol syndrome(FAS) can be corrected. Sometimes surgical intervention may be required for this purpose.
