The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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June 5, 2008

Your View: Alcohol problems show up in babies too

Tragically there has been yet another alcohol-related death of a young person in our community.

Our state and the states surrounding Minnesota have a high rate of binge alcohol use in comparison to the rest of the nation. This culture of excessive drinking has resulted in deaths such as the one recently reported on, as well as deaths and injuries due to incidents of drunk driving, but there are other consequences that may be less obvious to some although they are just as tragic.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) are caused by alcohol use during pregnancy. One or two binge drinking episodes early in pregnancy, before the woman may even be aware of her condition, can be enough to cause irreparable damage to the brain of the developing fetus. FASD can look much like an attention deficit or hyperactivity disorder, bi-polar disorder, autism and a myriad of other mental illnesses and learning disorders, so misdiagnosis is common.

An astounding 1 in 100 live births in our country are affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, disabilities that are 100 percent preventable!

Our classrooms have children with learning and behavioral needs that are straining the resources of our school system and our jails are overflowing. These are significant red flags for FASD. It is clear that many of the stories of alcohol’s impact on our community have yet to be told.

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