Pregnancy: alcohol prohibited

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Extract from the article: Some pregnant women, through lack of information, desire or mimicry, indulge in alcohol. Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Etiam Koffi Sowu, Director of the Bethesda Hospital in Agou Nyogbo (Kpalimé), points out that the consumption of alcohol by pre

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Some pregnant women, through lack of information, desire or mimicry, indulge in alcohol. Obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Etiam Koffi Sowu, Director of the Bethesda Hospital in Agou Nyogbo (Kpalimé), points out that the consumption of alcohol by pregnant women during pregnancy has harmful effects on the development of the foetus.

According to Dr Etiam Koffi Sowu, obstetrician-gynaecologist, the consumption of alcohol by pregnant women is a sensitive subject for many women, but one that needs to be addressed. ‘Alcohol damages the brain development of the unborn child.The child can endure a number of stresses likely to result in disability and psychomotor instability, all caused by alcohol’, he explains.

According to the obstetrician-gynaecologist, ‘alcohol crosses the placenta and has a teratogenic and neurotoxic effect on foetal brain structures. Even occasional or moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy is not harmless and can entail major risks for the unborn child, of which foetal alcohol syndrome is the most serious form’.

‘Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is the leading cause of mental retardation in children of non-genetic origin and combines : intrauterine growth retardation, craniofacial dysmorphia, congenital malformations (cardiac, skeletal, urogenital), neurobehavioural abnormalities (withdrawal syndrome, delayed acquisition, psychomotor instability, intellectual retardation etc), foetal alcohol effects (FAE) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)’, explains Dr Etiam Koffi Sowu, Obstetrician Gynaecologist.

Abstaining from alcohol throughout pregnancy is beneficial for the health of the unborn child.

William O.