Myth: Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) usually happens to children of women who are poor and from a minority group.
Fact: This disability affects all ethnicities and people from all income levels.
Myth: Only women who have a drinking problem have babies with an FASD.
Fact: Any exposure to alcohol can cause damage to the developing baby and may result in FASD.
Myth: Children who are diagnosed with an FASD grow out of it.
Fact: A person with an FASD cannot grow out of it. It is a lifetime disability with brain damage that is irreversible.
Myth: It’s OK to drink alcohol in the 3rd trimester because the baby is already developed.
Fact: The baby develops at a rapid rate through the ENTIRE pregnancy. In fact, approx 50,000 brain cells are formed each second during pregnancy.
Myth: It is OK to drink alcohol in moderation during pregnancy.
Fact: The US Surgeon General has stated that no amount of alcohol can be considered safe during pregnancy.
Myth: It is OK to drink red wine during pregnancy, just not hard liquor.
Fact: Alcohol is alcohol. One type is not less harmful to the developing baby than another.
Myth: If children with an FASD eat well and get lots of stimulation, they can “catch up” to typical children.
Fact: These are great things however they don’t repair brain damage.
Myth: Many children with FAS or FAE are shy and withdrawn.
Fact: They are vulnerable, have trouble with boundaries, and are impulsive
Myth: The placenta protects the baby from the alcohol its mother drinks.
Fact: In the past, this was thought correct, but it is now known that alcohol molecules easily cross the placenta.
Myth: Young women who drop out of high school are more likely to have a child with an FASD than women who attend college.
Fact: FASD is not tied to education, income or race.
Myth: Autism affects more children per year than FAS.
Fact: Autism affects 2-6 per 1,000 per year while FAS affects 1 in 100.
Myth: Down Syndrome affects more children per year than FAS.
Fact: Down Syndrome affects 1in 800 per year while FAS affects 1in 100.
Myth: Cerebral Palsy affects more children per year than FAS.
Fact: Cerebral Palsy affects 2-3 per 1,000 per year while FAS affects 1 in 100.
Myth: You can tell a child has FAS or FAE because they will all have the facial/physical characteristics.
Fact: For every one baby born with the facial/physical characteristics, there are five born without these characteristics and have “invisible” brain damage.
Myth: Once the mother’s blood alcohol level has returned to zero, the fetus is not affected.
Fact: Amniotic fluid acts as a reservoir for alcohol so the fetus is still exposed for 12 more hours.
Myth: I don’t know anyone with an FASD so it really doesn’t affect me.
Fact: You may not be directly affected, but FASD costs Minnesotan’s an estimated $131 million annually.
Myth: Minnesota doesn’t have a big problem with FASD.
Fact: There are approximately 49,722 individuals suspected of having an FASD in Minnesota.
Myth: My doctor says as long as I drink lightly or in moderation, my baby will not be affected by an FASD.
Fact: Any exposure to alcohol may cause damage. The US Surgeon General has stated that no amount of alcohol can be considered safe during pregnancy.
Myth: FASD is just not that big a deal in MN.
Fact: The annual costs to Minnesotans for Special Education and Juvenile Justice for all FASD-affected children ages 5 to 18 are $25,058,880.
Myth: There are other abused drugs with worse side affects than alcohol.
Fact: Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin and marijuana), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effect in the fetus.
Myth: It’s OK for women to drink non-alcoholic beer and wine during pregnancy.
Fact: Non-alcoholic beer and wine still contain alcohol! It’s a small amount, which legally does not need to be labeled as alcohol.