What are the effects of prenatal alcohol on the fetus?
The U.S. Public Health Service has indicated that there is no safe level of alcohol use during pregnancy. If a woman drinks while pregnant, she puts her developing fetus at risk for a wide spectrum of adverse effects including spontaneous abortion; growth retardation; physical, mental, and behavioral abnormalities; facial abnormalities; and CNS impairment, such as developmental delay, speech or language delay, lower IQ, and decreased head circumference. In the worst cases, prenatal exposure to alcohol may result in fetal death.
