Every time a pregnant woman has a drink, her unborn child has one, too. Alcohol, like carbon monoxide from cigarettes, passes easily through the placenta from the mother’s bloodstream into her baby’s blood.
The blood alcohol level, (BAC) of the fetus becomes equal to or greater than the blood alcohol level of the mother. Because the fetus cannot break down alcohol the way an adult can, its BAC remains high for a longer period of time.
Drinking at any time during pregnancy can harm the fetus.
“Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus.”
—Institute of Medicine Report to Congress, 1961
Prenatal exposure to alcohol can damage a fetus at any time, causing problems that persist throughout the individual’s life. There is no known safe level of alcohol use in pregnancy.
