# Baby born with blood alcohol content of .21 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 15, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736 "2005-07-15T23:53:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/1 "2005-07-15T23:53:08Z")
[You read that right.](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0715051tanner1.html) The baby was born legally drunk. Dear old mum drank a case of beer a week while pregnant. Poor baby. I hope the woman loses the rest of her children too. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/2 "2005-07-16T00:15:20Z")
That’s sad. I’m still holding to my theory that people should be somehow reversibly sterilized at birth and be required to pass a parenting test to have it reversed. She never would have made it. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/3 "2005-07-16T00:18:09Z")
Maybe we need **Qadgop** or **DoctorJ** in here…is there any way this baby will grow up without any physical problems? Assuming, of course, it’s promptly adopted by a capable, loving family? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/4 "2005-07-16T00:23:56Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Maybe we need **Qadgop** or **DoctorJ** in here…is there any way this baby will grow up without any physical problems? Assuming, of course, it’s promptly adopted by a capable, loving family? Sure, it’s possible to escape without problems. But far more likely to have some damage. I’m amazed at how many of my patients (inmates) overtly look like fetal alcohol syndrome kids. [typical FAS facies](http://www.fetalalcohol.com/images/face-thm.gif) ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/5 "2005-07-16T04:10:56Z")
Something I’ve always wondered about FAS is that, a generation or two ago, women were not specifically warned off alcohol while pregnant. I’m sure that most mothers of babyboomers, for instance, had a couple of glasses of wine per week, or a gin-&-tonic, and so on, if they felt like it (not to mention a cigarette or two). Was FAS more widespread back then? Or not? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2005, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/6 "2005-07-16T04:22:30Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > [You read that right.](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0715051tanner1.html) The baby was born legally drunk. Dear old mum drank a case of beer a week while pregnant. Three beers a day may or may not be damaging, but if you read your cite, you will find that the mother admitted to drinking eight beers that day (read 12-16), and that her BAC was .2915. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/7 "2005-07-17T04:49:38Z")
Oh, I know she was drunk when she gave birth. I was pointing out that this wasn’t the only time she got drunk during her pregnancy…that it seemed to be a regular occurrence for her. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/8 "2005-07-17T08:23:31Z")
How sad. Yet, no worse than crack babies born every day. And to think there are people who cannot have children who fly all around the world to adopt children, and then there are women like this who give birth. ---
**Author:** ![Alias](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@Alias](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alias)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/9 "2005-07-17T14:54:00Z")
Things like this make me sick. I don’t understand what’s so hard about taking care of yourself and your unborn baby. If you’re going to have children, don’t drink! If you’re going to drink, DON’T HAVE CHILDREN!!! ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/10 "2005-07-17T16:18:19Z")
One or two drinks while pregnant almost certainly will not harm your baby. Daily drinking and heavy binges will almost certainly harm your baby. The problem is that somewhere between those two extremes is a whole grey area where you pays your money and you takes your chances. Since there is not an established “safe” amount to drink while pregnant, women are advised to avoid alcohol BUT no-one should be making a pregnant woman feel guilty if she has a glass of wine once in a blue moon, because it’s almost certain she’s not done any lasting damage. If she’s drinking daily and labouring while half-cut… you can tell her she’s an irresponsible person and alcoholic in denial with my full blessing. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/11 "2005-07-17T16:28:09Z")
I was under the impression that there is a certain number of weeks in the pregnancy early on when women should not drink at all and after that time period has passed (it’s a certain number of weeks into the pregnancy) the risk of FAS drops and that’s when you can have a drink once in a blue moon (though not recommended). But if you have a drink during that particular time period you are really risking it. At least, that’s what my best friend’s father told me (neuropharmacologist or something…owns a drug company). ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/12 "2005-07-17T16:31:27Z")
First twelve weeks has highest risks, but most organs formed between weeks 6 and 9 when some women will not be aware that they are pregnant. You still have to drink a fair amount to get FAS though, a glass of wine a day won’t do it…in fact some obstetricians in France recommend pregnant woman drink a glass of wine a day to calm their nerves. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/13 "2005-07-17T17:16:35Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > How sad. Yet, no worse than crack babies born every day. > \ Actually, worse than “crack babies.” Crack babies is a media myth, which is not to say that smoking crack is great for babies, and all pregnant people should run right out and get some, but that the dangers and consequences have been greatly exaggerated (to sell magazines and promote the “War on Drugs”?). From [this site:](http://www.cjr.org/issues/2004/5/voices-blake.asp) > [@](#): > > Crack babies, it turns out, were a media myth, not a medical reality. This is not to say that crack is harmless. Infants exposed to cocaine in the womb, including the crystallized version known as crack, weigh an average of 200 grams below normal at birth, according to a massive, ongoing National Institutes of Health study. “For a healthy, ten-pound Gerber baby this is no big deal,” explains Barry Lester, the principal investigator. But it can make things worse for small, sickly infants. > > Lester has also found that the IQs of cocaine-exposed seven-year-olds are four and a half points lower on average, and some researchers have documented other subtle problems. Perhaps more damaging than being exposed to cocaine itself is growing up with addicts, who are often incapable of providing a stable, nurturing home. But so-called crack babies are by no means ruined. Most fare far better, in fact, than children whose mothers drink heavily while pregnant. It is possible at this point that the term “crack baby” has mutated to mean “a baby born to disadvantaged, addicted people who is not likely to claw its way out of the hole it was born into”, but if we use the term to mean a baby born addicted to crack and therefore probably going to have developmental and mental problems because of it, we are perpetuating an incorrect perception. We should be a whole lot more concerned about the effects of alcohol and cigarette smoking on fetuses. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/14 "2005-07-17T18:02:20Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Dear old mum drank a case of beer a week while pregnant. Pretty horrible. Anecdotally, when _my_ dear old mum was carrying me, she lived on a CAF base in Werl, Germany. Her doctor supplied her with a pamphlet that _recommended_ a mother drink two glasses of beer a day, as part of a nutritional regimen. My mum has always hated beer, but she compromised and dutifully drank one glass of beer each day.Times change. (Thank god.) ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/15 "2005-07-17T18:41:35Z")
Wasn’t there a time where pregnant women were encouraged to _smoke_ too? Yeesh. It’s a wonder Western Civiliation has survived at all, what with no infant car seats or immunizations 50 years or so ago. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/16 "2005-07-17T18:51:23Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Sure, it’s possible to escape without problems. But far more likely to have some damage. > > I’m amazed at how many of my patients (inmates) overtly look like fetal alcohol syndrome kids. > > [typical FAS facies](http://www.fetalalcohol.com/images/face-thm.gif) Wow. That drawing of an FAS kid looks remarkably like [Eric Smith](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/10/48hours/main660314.shtml) , who was convicted of a brutal murder that he committed when he was only 13 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/17 "2005-07-17T18:59:05Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > Anecdotally, when _my_ dear old mum was carrying me, she lived on a CAF base in Werl, Germany. > > Her doctor supplied her with a pamphlet that _recommended_ a mother drink two glasses of beer a day, as part of a nutritional regimen. My mum has always hated beer, but she compromised and dutifully drank one glass of beer each day.Times change. (Thank god.) Your sharpness and wit makes you one of my favorites on this board. It’s difficult to see that the one glass of a beer she drank every day has damaged you. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/18 "2005-07-17T19:51:37Z")
Thanks, **TYM**. Still, I wonder how many women went the other way and figured that if two glasses a day was good, four glasses a day would be better… ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/19 "2005-07-17T23:17:51Z")
When I last saw a documentary on FAS there was a couple where the woman had only had one drink the entire pregnancy and but had an FAS baby. The show suggested therefore, that although your chances are small if you only drink a little, you should not drink alchohol at all during pregnancy. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736/20 "2005-07-17T23:52:19Z")
> [@ivylass](#): > > Wasn’t there a time where pregnant women were encouraged to _smoke_ too? > > Yeesh. It’s a wonder Western Civiliation has survived at all, what with no infant car seats or immunizations 50 years or so ago. Oh, the population as a whole survived. It’s just that a lot more kids died. 3 of my dad’s sibs died before the age of 5 from diseases that are now regularly prevented or cured quite easily. Of the 5 kids that great granddad had, only 2 survived. The infant mortality rate in the US circa 1900 was 100. Currently it’s about 7. (cite: [http://www.prb.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PRB/Educators/Human\_Population/Health2/World\_Health1.htm](http://www.prb.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PRB/Educators/Human_Population/Health2/World_Health1.htm) ) So scoff if you will, **ivylass**. But more kids are living past the age of 5 mainly because of things like immunizations, better hygiene, removing of toxins from the environment, better access to medical care, etc. And fewer kids are having to live crippled by those diseases too. Now, many of the “social” darwinists thing that’s a bad thing, as it’s “detrimental to the species” in their minds. But I think it’s a good thing for the parents and the surviving kids. YMMV. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baby-born-with-blood-alcohol-content-of-21/312736.md?page=2)