Teens & Alcohol (Gallup Youth Survey: Major Issues and Tr) by Gail Snyder

Author:Gail Snyder [Snyder, Gail]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: Mason Crest
Published: 2014-09-02T04:00:00+00:00

Because alcohol loosens inhibitions, many teenage drinkers engage in unplanned sex. As a result, this group faces high rates of sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies.

Some expectant teenage mothers continue drinking while they are pregnant. A large percentage of their babies suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a leading cause of mental retardation.

Many teens who became pregnant did not even plan to have sex, but drinking alcohol impaired their judgment. In a 1990 study in the journal Adolescence, one-third of the 14- to 21-year-olds who became pregnant said they had been drinking when they conceived.

Should teenagers continue to drink while pregnant, their children may suffer from another consequence—fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS. While being pregnant can ruin a teenager’s plans for college and career, it can also leave dire consequences for the baby when the mother drinks during her pregnancy. Expectant mothers who drink alcohol are more likely to miscarry than those who do not drink, no matter what their age. When they carry their babies to term, the infants may also weigh less than most babies.

Since 1981, every bottle of alcohol sold in the United States has carried on its label a warning to women: “According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risks of birth defects.” While the warning has discouraged maternal drinking, FAS remains the most common and preventable birth defect in the United States.

FAS is the leading known cause of mental retardation. Each year between 5,000 and 10,000 babies are born with below-average intelligence because their mothers drank during pregnancy. Women who average two drinks a day will have babies that weigh less and have more intellectual problems than the babies of women who don’t drink at all. If they have an average of three drinks a day, it is virtually certain that their babies will suffer from FAS.

FAS babies share certain facial features. Small heads and eyes, short noses, and thin lips set these babies apart from other infants. These babies may also develop seizures caused by their dependence on alcohol. They may also experience poor reflexes, short attention spans, difficulty sleeping, trouble learning, and an inability to gain weight. Finally, they may suffer from problems with their heart, joints, and bladder. There is no cure for FAS and the problems that accompany it stay with a person throughout his or her life. That’s a pretty high price to pay for a short period of drinking.

Teresa Kellerman, adoptive mother of a son born with FAS and executive director of the FAS Community Resource Center in Tucson, Arizona, puts a human face on this sad health condition. In 1995 she described what life was like for her 18-year-old son John, who was born with what she describes as a “life-long hangover.” At the time of her story, he was incapable of driving a car, was having a difficult time in school, and didn’t have friends. She wrote:

John is not as bright, not as tall, not as good-looking as other teens his age.

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