Picture: A pregnant woman indulging in alcohol/Generic
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
10 September 2024- The North West MEC for Health, Sello Lehari has called on pregnant mothers to adopt a healthier lifestyle to ensure the good health of their unborn babies by refraining from consuming alcohol during pregnancy.
Lehari said this comes after the world observed World Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Day at 9:9am, on 9 September 2024, to draw attention to the fact that women should not drink alcohol while pregnant.
The theme for this year is: “FASD awareness month is “Everyone Plays a Part”.
“The theme, Everyone Plays a Part, goes beyond framing FASD as an individual issue. It is a call to action to support healthy pregnancies as the impacts of FASD matter to the whole community.
“The department continues to roll out health education to mothers and women of childbearing age in all communities to raise awareness about the consequences of FASD,” he said.
According to Lehari, through their healthy lifestyle programme, they want to ensure that every pregnancy and delivery is a safe and an enjoyable experience. He further said they are emphasising the need to care for the health of babies before and after birth to ensure that they have a healthy start to life.
“Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) as it is commonly known, is a severe medical condition caused by the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause the child to have disabilities related to behaviour, learning and thinking, and physical development.
“The symptoms of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome vary from child-to-child, but are lifelong. There is no amount of alcohol that is known to be safe to drink during pregnancy. A mother who drinks during pregnancy places their baby at risk of FAS,” said Lehari.
He added that the alcohol the mother drinks enters the unborn baby’s bloodstream causing damage to the foetus. Lehari said such damage is permanent and irreversible.
“FAS children will have physical and intellectual problems,” he said.
The Guardian 