With all the issues of FAS why risk it? It's not that important to be drinking all the time, have a little self control.....

If you can't practice some restraint for 9 months for the well being of your unborn child, then motherhood is just not for you. You are unfit and selfish.

one lousy drink a week isn't gonna hurt anything. FAS is meant for alkies. OMG hysteria is right

I and my siblings along with many others of the same era were born from mothers who smoke and drank with no apparent harm. Although we know now much more about the possible dangers, we are able to make more responsible choices today.

If there is a 1% chance that a drink of alcohol or smoking will harm your unborn child, it is NOT worth the risk! Period.

Jeremy Frank sounds like a quack. Where did you get your PhD? Mail order or online?

We adopted twins from Kazakhstan, our son has FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder), our daughters much more minor problems. The ACOG and AMA is crystal clear --- no amount is known to be safe, this is 100% preventable and any amount can cause permanant brain damage. We live that reality as a family every day. Our son is awesome, but we live with the dangerous consequences of alcohol in the woumb. It caused mental retardation, hyperactivity, social and bonding issues and the list goes on and on. It is not worth the risk and about the most stupid decision you can make to put alcohol in the woumb. http://www.obgmanagement.com/article_pages.asp?AID=11025&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=ETOC&utm_content=Alcohol%2BTracy&utm_campaign=0113ETOC

Hi all, I apologize for not being able to make myself clear in this forum. Perhaps I have been irresponsible in trying to explain research findings in this way. I withdrew my comments because I fear that they are being misunderstood and taken out of context. I'm afraid that trying to explain recent academic research into the very complicated nature of mothers who use alcohol or drugs while pregnant and the impact that has on developing babies is just not possible in this forum. I believe very strongly that mothers should not drink any alcohol at all while they are pregnant and that mothers and fathers should use no drugs at all while pregnant unless prescribed by a physician

To reiterate the point I was trying to make one last time...Please don't assume that because a mother drinks while she is pregnant that her child is doomed to a life of failure. Of course no drinking is safe but very small amounts of drinking may not cause severe harm. Absolutely don't drink while pregnant but if you know someone who did drink while pregnant have compassion for them as they may have the disease of alcoholism. Encourage them to get help but do not shame them because that may cause their drinking to get worse and go further underground.

Our OB/GYN authorized one glass of wine one time during pregnancy: after amniocentesis as a way to relax and rest.

Then yield to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Merion -- they are crystal clear on this point and any one advising drinking wine does so in direct contradiction to all - ALL - ACOG findings and policies. They publish these in an international effort to educate people on this and there are those that desperately need it apparently. From their publication: "Risky drinking of alcohol can harm your body and
put your safety at risk. If you are pregnant or think
you may become pregnant soon, you should not
drink alcohol at all. Doing so could harm your
unborn baby by causing Fetal Alcohol Spectrum
Disorders."
http://mail.ny.acog.org/website/ThinkDontDrink.pdf

Dr. Frank's statements are crystal clear to me. People are misinterpreting and jumping to hasty, thoughtless conclusions about his comments. If you would bother to carefully read and think his comments through, closer, and quit taking things out of context, then maybe you wouldn't be so disturbed. His comments aren't disturbing or absurd; it's the blatant inaccuracy of your (mis)interpretation that is.
You're drawing implications that aren't there.
He is actually advising AGAINST mothers of unborn children consuming *any* amount of alcohol but just stating that not every baby born to a mother who consumed small amounts of alcohol/alcohol in moderation during pregnancy with that child will definitely have problems as a result and so people should not assume that. That is not to say that she should go out and give it a try just because it may not cause damage. To say something may not cause severe damage is not necessarily to recommend it.
Severe alcohol abuse all throughout every stage of pregnancy is likely to cause severe damage, probably more than just one single sip would but that doesn't mean someone should even take that sip or that one sip is necessarily always or ever safe for a child in the earliest stages of human development (or any child) just because it may be "safer" than something else.

I completely agree no alcohol at all should be consumed while pregnant, as everything the girl consumes pervades her child's system as well; it's not worth the risk and no child should have alcohol anyway, not even a quick sip; that law, in my opinion, should not be expunged in this case merely because the child is pre-born.
But when a woman is addicted to alcohol or other drugs before pregnancy and then she happens to become pregnant she may not always be able to abruptly stop the consumption of the drugs, upon discovering that she is pregnant even if she wants to so desperately for the sake of her child. A severely addicted person cannot usually just magically snap out of addiction and bring drug use to a sudden halt no matter how strong the desire is to stop; that's not selfish, it's because of the bondage addiction has over people and addicted parents can still love and care for their children and should not be regarded with hostility and contempt over a decision or mistake that eventually contributed to or led to addiction and seeking help is not always easy and recovery does not always happen quickly or easily; it's a lot of hard work even though it is worth it.

Gee whiz, you people have the tendency to be so uncivilized. Unnecessary speculation, derogatory remarks, false claims, unwarranted criticism, aspersive comments...
Making extremely negative and judgmental comments when you have no true evidence to back up your ludicrous accusations.
You just want to resort to insults.
Why handle things in that manner?
Your vitriolic comments, very likely, will not win anyone over to your way of thinking. You may want to reconsider your attitude. Or not. Your choice.