Community Corner
"National Alcohol and Other Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week"
Use of alcohol and/or drugs during pregnancy is harmful to both mother and child.
May 8th-May 14th is "National Alcohol and Other Drug Related Birth Defects Awareness Week". Every May, during the week of Mother's Day, the NCADD (National Council on Alcohol and Drug Prevention) and its National Network of Affiliates educate people across the United States, especially women, on the dangers of the use of alcohol and drugs during pregnancy.
Some of the risks and consequences include:
- A child may develop Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) due to a mother drinking during pregnancy.
- Smoking cigarettes during pregnancy can lead to low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant morbidity and mortality among other effects.
- Cocaine users has been associated with low birth rate, abnormal neonatal behavior, and cerebral infarction at birth.
- Caffeine intake during pregnancy may lead to fetal loss.
For more information please contact the Manalapan- Englishtown Community Alliance to Prevent Alcoholism and Drug Abuse at (732) 446-8345. You may also visit the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Prevention (NCADD) website at www.ncadd.org.
