Myth: Only Women Who Have a Drinking Problem Have Babies with an FASD

Myth: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) usually happens to children of women who are poor and from a minority group.

Fact:This disability affects all ethnicities and people from all income levels.

Myth: Only women who have a drinking problem have babies with an FASD.

Fact: Any exposure to alcohol can cause damage to the developing baby and may result in FASD.

Myth: Children who are diagnosed with an FASD grow out of it.

Fact: A person with an FASD cannot grow out of it. It is a lifetime disability with brain damage that is irreversible.

Myth: It’s OK to drink alcohol in the 3rd trimester because the baby is already developed.

Fact:The baby develops at a rapid rate through the ENTIRE pregnancy. In fact, approx 50,000 brain cells are formed each second during pregnancy.

Myth: It is OK to drink alcohol in moderation during pregnancy.

Fact:The US Surgeon General has stated that no amount of alcohol can be considered safe during pregnancy.

Myth: It is OK to drink red wine during pregnancy, just not hard liquor.

Fact: Alcohol is alcohol. One type is not less harmful to the developing baby than another.

Myth:If children with an FASD eat well and get lots of stimulation, they can “catch up” to typical children.

Fact: These are great things however they don’t repair brain damage.

Myth: Many children with FAS or FAE are shy and withdrawn.

Fact: They are vulnerable, have trouble with boundaries, and areimpulsive

Myth: The placenta protects the baby from the alcohol its mother drinks.

Fact: In the past, this was thought correct, but it is now known that alcohol molecules easily cross the placenta.

Myth:Young women who drop out of high school are more likely to have a child with an FASD than women who attend college.

Fact: FASD is not tied to education, income or race.

Myth: Autism affects more children per year than FAS.

Fact:Autism affects 2-6 per 1,000 per year while FAS affects 1 in 100.

Myth: Down Syndrome affects more children per year than FAS.

Fact: Down Syndrome affects 1in 800 per year while FAS affects 1in 100.

Myth: Cerebral Palsy affects more children per year than FAS.

Fact:Cerebral Palsy affects 2-3 per 1,000 per year while FAS affects 1in 100.

Myth: You can tell a child has FAS or FAE because they will all have the facial/physical characteristics.

Fact: For every one baby born with the facial/physical characteristics, there are five born without these characteristics and have “invisible” brain damage.

Myth:Once the mother’s blood alcohol level has returned to zero, the fetus is not affected.

Fact: Amniotic fluid acts as a reservoir for alcohol so the fetus is still exposed for 12 more hours.

Myth:I don’t know anyone with an FASD so it really doesn’t affect me.

Fact:You may not be directly affected, but FASD costs Minnesotan’s an estimated $131 million annually.

Myth:Minnesota doesn’t have a big problem with FASD.

Fact: There are approximately 49,722 individuals suspected of having an FASD in Minnesota.

Myth:My doctor says as long as I drink lightly or in moderation, my baby will not be affected by an FASD.

Fact: Any exposure to alcohol may cause damage. The US Surgeon General has stated that no amount of alcohol can be considered safe during pregnancy.

Myth: FASD is just not that big a deal in MN.

Fact:The annual costs to Minnesotans for Special Education and Juvenile Justice for all FASD-affected children ages 5 to 18 are $25,058,880.

Myth: There are other abused drugs with worse side affects than alcohol.

Fact:Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin and marijuana), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effect in the fetus.

Myth: It’s OK for women to drink non-alcoholic beer and wine during pregnancy.

Fact:Non-alcoholic beer and wine still contain alcohol! It’s a small amount, which legally does not need to be labeled as alcohol.