My thoughts are how incredibly frelled up that is!

That's not nearly enough prison time...

Didn't it die?????? She should be tried for murder if it did!! And she should get more time for all the disabitlities I am sure it will have as a result.

WOW, that is controversial.... i definitely think there should be a punishment for putting a baby in danger before birth. smoking, drinking, taking drugs (legal or illegal thaat harm the baby). the responsibilities of a pregnancy are far less then the one of parenthood, so if she cant handle one she cannot handle the other.

Unfortunately we must use these terrible situations to learn more about the patterns. Here is some medical information regarding FAS: Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of clinical abnormalities found specifically in some children whose mothers ingested alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol is a teratogenic drug; that is, it can cause birth defects which manifest as physical malformations of the face and head, growth deficiency, mental retardation, and in particular central nervous system dysfunction. FAS results in more babies being born mentally retarded than any other known factor--including Down's syndrome and spina bifida. Although FAS sometimes causes fetal death, more often it interferes with the normal development of the fetus. Every child born with FAS had a mother who drank during pregnancy. Although use of illicit drugs both alone and in combination with alcohol can cause birth defects, more unborn babies are in greater danger from alcohol use alone than from any illegal drug, even cocaine. Infants, young children, and young adults whose mothers abused alcohol during pregnancy and who suffer from FAS display lower than average birth weight and height, physical problems which may include low muscle tone, abnormally small skull, irregularities of the face including small eye sockets, mid-face hypoplasia (arrested development of the nose, or "flat-face" syndrome), and a very thin upper lip with either an elongated or absent mid-lip line indentation. Neurologic or central nervous system disorders such as hyperactivity, learning and intellectual deficits, distract ability, temper tantrums, short attention and memory span, perceptual problems, impulsive behavior, inability to concentrate, seizures, and abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG, or brain wave patterns) become apparent after the infant stage. Usually, the more severe the physical symptoms of the syndrome, the more severe the intellectual deficits. Even for FAS-affected children with almost normal intelligence, learning problems become evident by second grade. By grades three and four, affected children experience increasing difficulty with arithmetic, organization, abstract thinking, and attention. Because they have difficulty regulating themselves,children with FAS often develop behavioral problems by the time they reach middle school or junior high, where increased independence of judgment and self-control are expected. Behavioral problems then become social adjustment problems around the time the child leaves school and enters the larger environment. Impaired judgment and decision-making abilities and incompetence in independent living become troublesome by this age. The affects of FAS range from severe to mild and are linked to the amount and frequency of alcohol consumed by the pregnant woman, stage of pregnancy in which drinking takes place, and variability or changing patterns of alcohol ingestion. It appears that higher rates of abnormalities are caused by mothers who binge drink than among women who steadily drink consistent quantities,and in whom the most severe physical manifestations of alcoholism are obvious. Also, drinking in the first three months of pregnancy, often before pregnancy is determined, has more serious consequences. The most severe cases seem to be children of long-term, chronic alcoholic mothers. There is no data so far established which suggests there is a "risk-free" level or period of alcohol ingestion during pregnancy, which means there is always the risk that even one or two drinks will damage the development of the extremely vulnerable fetus. For further information check the following link: http://www.come-over.to/FAS/ Regards.

WTF!!! Why would any mother drink while she was pregnant? That poor little baby girl. I think the mother should immediately get her tubes tied and sit in prison for at least 20yrs. That is horrible. What kind of people live in this world?

Only 5 years?

that baby will suffer health and mental problems for the rest of her life. I think it should be a law EVERYWHERE that mother's like that and mothers who ACCIDENTALLY (BS) forget and leave their kids in a car for hours , etc should be taken and immediately sterilized. they do NOT deserve to be parents. All these people who would die to have a baby and people like her don't appreciate the chance to be a mom. 5 years.. that is sick. wonder how much time she will actually serve or will she get some lawyer to get her off on insanity (she had an addiction she didn't know what she was doing). If there is justice in the world, the prisoners will take care of her..if not, maybe she will have an accident or something and NEVER be able to have kids again. unfortunately, that baby will never be the same.

My initial thought was, "That story has got to be a fake. They wouldn't put a newborn in jail, no matter how drunk it was." Even after re-reading the question, I'm happy with where my misinterpretation took me.

Will the girl be sober enough by age 16 so she could drive a car?

My thoughts: Alcohol should not be consumed while pregnant. There's a fine line across somewhere... I really dont know what to think about this; I think that the mother should be making informed choices. When you're pregnant, she should be taking responsiblity more seriously. There are worst stories out there, and I think that 5 years is suitable for the Polish mother.

Well I understand how shocking it is I must ask where was her support team? For someone to be that drunk while giving birth suggests she had a major problem which should have been apparent to anyone attending her during her pregnancy. I find it sad that it is not until she gives birth that anyone steps in and then it is to punish and not to help.

She should go to jail.What kind of mother is she to do that to an unborn child.