If you drank heavily before you knew you were pregnant what are the percentages that the baby will have a birth defect.
by 
rock
ANSWERS: 3
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It's impossible to put a number on the percentage here, but the short answer is "pretty dang high". Often, a woman realizes she's pregnant shortly after the first missed period - which doing the math, could be 4-5 weeks after conception. Looking at embryology, there's TONS of important things going on in the fetus at this time of development. One of the most notable is that of closure of the neural tube and migration of the neural crest cells. These processes are highly sensitive and fragile. Alcohol during this time is very easily able to produce serious, (sometimes fatal) defects, leading to severe retardation and heart problems if the baby is delivered. There's social commentary to be made here, but I leave that to others. Cheers --SP
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I totally disagree w/Scutpuppy. There would be SO many people with birth defects if every baby who's mother drank before she knew she was pregnant was harmed. Almost any doctor will tell you not to worry about what you did during the first few weeks of pregnancy-what is important is to not drink throughout pregnancy-that is when FAS tends to occur.
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It's pretty high. Just don't do any Drug or Alcohol while pregnant.
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