Drinking Can Hurt Your Baby

When you are pregnant, your baby grows inside you. Everything you eat and drink while you are pregnant affects your baby. If you drink alcohol, it can hurt your baby's growth. Your baby may have physical and behavioural problems that can last for the rest of his or her life. Children born with the most serious problems caused by alcohol have foetal alcohol syndrome. Children with foetal alcohol syndrome may :

• Be born small; have abnormalities of the head.

• Have problems eating and sleeping.

• Have problems seeing and hearing.

• Have trouble following directions and learning how to do simple things.

• Need special teachers and schools.

• Have trouble getting along with others and controlling their behaviour.

• Need medical care all their lives.