Analysis Of The Movie ' The Kids Are Alright '

Substance abuse during pregnancy can have a negative force on the health and wellness of not only the fetus, but that of the mother. The harmful effects of medications, alcohol and illegal drugs on an unborn child can be devastating and can have significant consequences to its use. Sometimes the effects can be faced and treated, and other times the outcome is a lifelong challenge. During the prenatal period, it is important that new mothers are informed of the different types of abuse, how they may affect the fetus, and the adverse conditions their child may be faced with before and after birth.

The quality of life for these children is unfortunately not the best. They can have limb, facial, and organ defects, and will have stunted physical growth throughout young adult life. Prenatal exposure can also have a negative effect on motor skills, especially fine motor tasks such as writing and balancing. The disabilities depend on the mother and her drinking habits. The children of heavy drinkers while pregnant, have many more developmental problems than of those whose mother was a light drinker. The most common problems among these children with alcohol exposure are with balance, coordination, and how they are able to play and handle a ball.

     Drinking during pregnancy is often thought of as no big deal. However, drinking during pregnancy is a very big deal. An unborn baby’s life is in the hands of the mother. If she decides to drink, she is risking the unborn’s chances of being as smart and healthy as it can be. Drinking during pregnancy opens the doors to a variety of harmful effects on the mother and her unborn baby, and until this is brought out in the open with honesty, it cannot be prevented.

Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome. The severely effected victims of the syndrome have a variety of congenital defects: mental retardation, coordination problems, and heart, eye, and genitourinary malformations, as well as low birth weight and slowed growth rate. Most apparent are characteristic facial abnormalities.

“Its the importance of intervening early, ideally in the first year or two of life or even before the child is born” (Kristof 51). Before a child is even born, there is steps every mother can take to ensure a good life for their child. A doctor cant always guarentee that a baby will be healthy, but a mother taking precautions in their own life and health can always give a better chance for a child to live a healthy life. “Within four weeks of conception, a human embryo has formed a neural tube, which then begins to produce brain cells. As the brain is forming, it is shaped by the uterine environment in ways that will affect the child for the rest of his or her life. A mother who drinks alcohol may leave her child with fetal alcohol syndrome,

Even though there are many studies that highlight the damaging effects of maternal alcohol use on a fetus in utero, there are a multitude of other substances that are used by pregnant mothers that have similar and even, in some cases, more extreme repercussions such as marijuana, heroin, and cocaine. When speaking about pregnancy and drug use, the most common drug that comes to mind is alcohol. During 12 years of schooling, most people are exposed, at one point or another, to the idea of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and the detrimental effects of alcohol on a fetus in utero. The effects of maternal use of the aforementioned illicit drugs is less studied, partially because they are used less frequently. It is important, however, that as a population, we become more educated about these drugs and the potentially life threatening outcomes for babies in utero.

Symptoms can range from mild to severe.” There are many symptoms/causes of FAS such as: Growth retardation, Unique Facial features; almond shaped eyes, short, upturned nose, flattened cheeks, small jaw, thin upper lip, flattened philtrum, Nervous system problems; Mental retardation, hyperactivity, delayed development of gross motor skills and fine motor skills, impaired language development, memory problems, poor judgement, distractibility, impulsiveness, seizures, and problems with learning. Not only can children have all the following issues but when they’re born they can be premature, have a small skull, and have hearing disorders. That’s not even all the side effects of drinking when your pregnant! A child can suffer from ADD, psychosis, drug and alcohol abuse. Children that are FAS are more likely to be suspended in school, and a higher rate of FAS children end up involved in the criminal justice system. When a woman drinks alcohol while she is pregnant the alcohol travels through her blood stream and across the placenta reaching her fetus. An adult woman’s body can break down alcohol quicker but babies’ bodies are much smaller therefore the alcohol content is much higher in the baby’s

The effects of excessive alcohol consumption has been proven to have had negative and persistent effects on babies, born from mothers who have consumed alcohol throughout their pregnancy, evidence linking that low to moderate amounts have put the fetus at risk for delays and have lifelong complications. (Nathanson, & O'Brien, 2000)

Attached to each card is a "lifesaver" candy as a reminder that drinking alcohol wheil pregnant risks the health of every unborn child. Community Prevention Specialist at Trinity, Janet Larue, says the effects of alcohol on an unborn child may cause mental. physical, behavioral

This is about the effects of a smoking and alcohol while pregnant. Smoking and alcohol can cause harm to mother and child. In these cases the mother is responsible for the damage she has done to her child and herself. This is unfortunate because the child has to live with their mom’s mistake for the rest of their lives.

Regardless of the amount of alcohol consumed during pregnancy infants are in jeopardy of lifelong disabilities if better choices are not made. Devastatingly, this completely preventable condition is left at the mother’s discretion and lies solely on the patient’s education regarding alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Informing pregnant women (or even women who are interested in family planning) of the potential risk factors for their future child will ultimately lead to better decisions during prenatal

A mother drinking while pregnant can cause many problems for her newborn child, one example is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Ryan, S., & Ferguson, D.L. 2006). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome occurs when a mother consumes alcohol while pregnant causing the newborn to develop a mental and physical disability. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a disorder that is developed from the environment that the fetus was in caused by the consumption of alcohol by the mother while pregnant, resulting in the newborn developing mental and physical abnormalities, specifically of the skull and face (Ryan, S., & Ferguson, D.L. 2006). There was a specific story that stood out to me about an eleven-year-old girl named Ellie. She was diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and

It is important for midwives to be mindful that pregnant women who misuse substances such as alcohol while pregnant may be apprehensive about being judged by healthcare

Once a woman has the habit of drinking when she is not pregnant, even if the woman is pregnante, it is also hard to change her habit. “Approximately one-third of the children of chronically alcoholic mothers who were drink during pregnancy will probably have FAS characteristics, although the proportion will vary according to the chronicity of the alcoholism and the amount of exposure”(Streissguth, 1986, p.15). Therefore, if a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy, it can cause irreparable harm to the baby, and some of serious cases will cause miscarriage.

Although it is not stated, alcohol is known to have negative effects on an unborn fetus. Perhaps