| Ultrasound Fetal Response To Alcohol Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Ultrasound Recording Of A Fetus Responding To Alcohol Video. Text excerpts (from Fair Use) from Jonathon Carr-Brown and Martyn Halle; The Sunday Times - Britain. November 20, 2005. Public domain video clip from www.timesonline.co.uk/sundaytimes. Royalty free music from the Music Bakery. SCIENTISTS have captured graphic ultrasound images of the damage done to unborn babies as a result of women drinking during pregnancy. Just one glass of wine a week can make babies "jump" in the womb throughout a nine-month pregnancy. Experts believe this abnormal hyperactive behavior is the result of alcohol slowing or retarding the formation of the central nervous system. Doctors have warned for decades that women who consume large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy can affect their child's mental development. However, the new research suggests even moderate alcohol consumption makes a baby 3½ times more likely to suffer from abnormal spasms in the womb. The findings, by Peter Hepper, a professor at Belfast University's fetal behavior research unit, appear to back the view that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Hepper's findings have surprised child neurology experts. Between conception and 18 weeks, babies display a primitive "startle reflex" which causes babies to jump involuntarily in the womb at loud noises and other stimuli. However, once the nervous system is fully formed at 18 weeks, the ... |
