Babies At Risk
© 2007 Teresa Kellerman

Babies at risk of having
Birth defects
Brain damage
Neurobehavioral disorders
Are more likely to have been born to
Mothers who drink alcohol

Some women continue to drink alcohol 
After they discover they are pregnant
After they learn about the dangers
After their doctors tell them 
“No alcohol is safe during pregnancy”

Women who continue to drink alcohol anyway
Are more likely to have been
Drinkers before they became pregnant
Are more likely to have started drinking at a young age
Are more likely to have partners who drink too much
Are more likely to drink with siblings

Women who drink too much or
Who have trouble quitting
Are more likely to have started drinking in their teens
With friends - girlfriends and boyfriends

Underage drinkers are future parents
Of children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

The number one protective factor
Of teens who DON’T drink is this:
They simply don’t have access
Their parents don’t drink
There is no alcohol in the house
They are supervised and monitored
They have healthy friends
They have healthy role models
They have healthy home environments
They have healthy brains that were never
Exposed prenatally to alcohol
Their babies will not be
Babies at risk


by Teresa Kellerman, July 8, 2007
Grieving the Loss of the Dream