Dear Joan...
Dear Joan,
After our conversation last week, I realized that you know very little about the dangers you are posing to your unborn child. Drinking copious amounts of alcohol while pregnant is extremely dangerous and I plan to inform you of the risks in this letter.
According to the website for the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), “Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a set of physical and mental birth defects that results when a mother drinks alcohol during her pregnancy.” Mental defects resulting from FAS include: mental retardation, impaired motor coordination, memory, attention, and language, and overactivity (Berk 113). Physical defects and characteristics include: widely spaced eyes, short eyelid openings, a small upturned nose, a thin upper lip, and a small head, indicating that the brain has not fully developed (Berk 113), as well as heart, liver, kidney, vision, and hearing problems (NOFAS website). In addition to future risks, alcohol during pregnancy has been shown to cause miscarriages or low birth weight (Eisenberg, Murkoff, Hathaway 53).
You may think, Joan, that because you do not drink heavily every single day, you do not pose a serious risk to your child. However, “The safe daily alcohol dose in pregnancy, if there is one, is not known” (Eisenberg, Murkoff, Hathaway 53). What is known is the fact that some amount of alcohol passes through to your unborn child every time you drink. In his book “The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs: Alcohol and Alcoholism,” Ross Fishman, Ph.D. explains, “When a pregnant woman ingests alcohol, the drug is distributed throughout the body. Thus, it crosses the placenta […] and reaches the unborn child itself […] Alcohol tends to slow down the movement of the fetus, just as it slows down the functioning of cells and organs” (43).
While more than two in every 1,000 babies in the United States are born with FAS (Hales 46) and “about 25 percent of American and Canadian mother reported drinking at some time during their pregnancies” (Berk 113), this is no excuse to do the same to your own unborn child. You must realize the damage that you are causing every time you take a sip of alcohol and take responsibility for the risk that you are taking. I hope you understand that I am writing to you as a friend who only wants the best for you and your child.
I realize that drinking alcohol has become a prominent part of your life, but now that you are pregnant you must think about your child first. In their famous book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi E. Murkoff, and Sandee E. Hathaway, B.S.N. offer several suggestions to help quit drinking: “If you drink to relax […] try substituting other methods of relaxation: music, warm baths, massage, exercise, reading” (53), as well as consuming virgin forms of favorite alcoholic drinks or asking your partner to join you in giving up alcohol. If you have any difficulty with this sacrifice, please do not hesitate to ask for my help; I am here for you.
Your friend,
Regina
After our conversation last week, I realized that you know very little about the dangers you are posing to your unborn child. Drinking copious amounts of alcohol while pregnant is extremely dangerous and I plan to inform you of the risks in this letter.
According to the website for the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), “Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a set of physical and mental birth defects that results when a mother drinks alcohol during her pregnancy.” Mental defects resulting from FAS include: mental retardation, impaired motor coordination, memory, attention, and language, and overactivity (Berk 113). Physical defects and characteristics include: widely spaced eyes, short eyelid openings, a small upturned nose, a thin upper lip, and a small head, indicating that the brain has not fully developed (Berk 113), as well as heart, liver, kidney, vision, and hearing problems (NOFAS website). In addition to future risks, alcohol during pregnancy has been shown to cause miscarriages or low birth weight (Eisenberg, Murkoff, Hathaway 53).
You may think, Joan, that because you do not drink heavily every single day, you do not pose a serious risk to your child. However, “The safe daily alcohol dose in pregnancy, if there is one, is not known” (Eisenberg, Murkoff, Hathaway 53). What is known is the fact that some amount of alcohol passes through to your unborn child every time you drink. In his book “The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Drugs: Alcohol and Alcoholism,” Ross Fishman, Ph.D. explains, “When a pregnant woman ingests alcohol, the drug is distributed throughout the body. Thus, it crosses the placenta […] and reaches the unborn child itself […] Alcohol tends to slow down the movement of the fetus, just as it slows down the functioning of cells and organs” (43).
While more than two in every 1,000 babies in the United States are born with FAS (Hales 46) and “about 25 percent of American and Canadian mother reported drinking at some time during their pregnancies” (Berk 113), this is no excuse to do the same to your own unborn child. You must realize the damage that you are causing every time you take a sip of alcohol and take responsibility for the risk that you are taking. I hope you understand that I am writing to you as a friend who only wants the best for you and your child.
I realize that drinking alcohol has become a prominent part of your life, but now that you are pregnant you must think about your child first. In their famous book “What to Expect When You’re Expecting,” Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi E. Murkoff, and Sandee E. Hathaway, B.S.N. offer several suggestions to help quit drinking: “If you drink to relax […] try substituting other methods of relaxation: music, warm baths, massage, exercise, reading” (53), as well as consuming virgin forms of favorite alcoholic drinks or asking your partner to join you in giving up alcohol. If you have any difficulty with this sacrifice, please do not hesitate to ask for my help; I am here for you.
Your friend,
Regina