What About Lips

[bra]

I attended an alcohol education class and the teacher said that when a mom drinks alcohol during pregnancy that it causes the area above the baby's mouth not to have that little up and down crease, I've caught myself examining people's mouths every since then and looking for the little indentation, you know that runs up and down between the nose and the lips, and then if they don't have it, it makes me wonder about their mother being a heavy drinker when she was preggie with them. Crazy how the mind works sometimes.

[aima123]

Really? Thanks for that info anyway I have a little idea why there are some people who doesn't have that. And I even believe that people who doesn't have that is a witch...lolz. what a belief!

[mtajim]

Yes , i too have heard that , not only that , a drunken mom's baby can have lots of fatal problems with his \ her body when he grows old.

[britjojo]

That is just one of many facial features that are common to fetal alcohol syndrome and its less severe cousin, fetal alcohol effects. Those children born with FAS have very distinct features, and can suffer life long disability because of it.

However it should be noted that alone, it is not enough to make a diagnosis. This facial feature can be absent in many individuals for no sinister reason.

[mtajim]

Perhaps sometime it can also be genetic feature , if your father had a moustache then its sure that you might to have , thats inherited

[QuietLunatic]

Um, mtajim...if you're a guy and you don't shave you'll have a moustache. It's not inherited, it's part of the human genome...men grow facial hair. Now if your MOTHER had a moustache and you're a girl...well that might be inherited. LOL.

[britjojo]

Lmao! QL, this is serious topic you know! Ah dear..... but yes, the shape of your mouth can be inherited just the same as any other feature. But not the moustache :D

[The Ogre]

The scary thing about FASD is there is no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. One glass at the wrong time can lead to a child having lifetime difficulties. There are some great websites dedicated to the education about FASD. There was one called something like not one drop dot something but I can't find it right now. I know I have it around somewhere and I'll post it when I find it. Until then;
http://www.acbr.com/fas/

[jimberan]

What a great topic LOL. I hear many people talking about what could happen to the babies of alcoholic mothers but this is the first time I heard about this.

[britjojo]

Thank you for that link Ogre. Unfortunately this is a subject that scientists and doctors around the world cannot agree upon. In many cultures in Europe drinking is the norm, and so a glass of wine a day is considered ok during pregnancy. In this culture, in America, where drinking has a very reputation, it is said that NO alcohol is safe.

What I couldn't find on your site is a study that shows that European children are falling in droves to FAS. The figures that I found were estimates, based on OTHER diagnosies, not diagnosies of FAS. It seemed that they were taking children that had ANY condition that could be caused by FAS and using it..... I do not see how that is good science. That is simply scare tactics.

Don't get me wrong, I did not drink when I was pregnant. I had a glass of wine before I knew I was pregnant and was then scared for the rest of the pregnancy that I could have hurt my daughter. For me, there was NO safe amount, as I found nothing definitive to say that there was.

However, this at this point seems to be a very cultural issue, and one that I feel is far more complicated that that site makes out.

[QuietLunatic]

Okay, this whole lip thing--are we talking about a hare-lip (or whatever the heck it's called nowadays), or something else? Because it seems to me that as a fetus forms, if it's growing together properly, the philtrum will be there as the halves of the face fuse together. Of course--and I've just given myself a clue--if it's NOT growing together properly, there can be distortion. Never mind. I think I just answered myself.

[britjojo]

No, not hare lip at all. Take a look at this page;

http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/Defect/page5a.htm

Specifically this picture http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/Defect/images/FASface.jpg

This shows well the typical FAS facial features, including the smooth philtrum.

[QuietLunatic]

What an odd result. I wonder what, in the alcohol, would cause the philtrum to form flat like that? How interesting. I have to go look at a young woman I know that people told me was born with FAS. She'll wonder why I'm staring at her lip.

[britjojo]

I'm sure! I do not know the mechanism, but plenty of other chemicals effect physical development-thalidomide for instance. I can imagine, from my basic biology education what COULD be the reasons, but I have no confirmation.

[easternbrain]

The idea or the hypothesis as you might put it does sounds a bit crazy but is worth inquiring into.

[Roxy]

I didnt knew that alcohol affeat the physical features of the unborn baby. Well thats a new information for me and take care that my wife do not drink when she is pregnant.hehehe

[Belucci]

Alcohol is never adviced during pregnancy. I think you guys provided a very nice information and I hope ladies here would try to aviod alcohol during pregnancy.

[SingleAgain]

In America it is not advised. However in Europe; France in particular, things are very different. It is common for women to continue drinking wine throughout a pregnancy there.

[Belucci]

In America it is not advised. However in Europe; France in particular, things are very different. It is common for women to continue drinking wine throughout a pregnancy there.

It is harmful for women to drink alcohol whether it is in France or any where else in the world. Doctors never advice is women to drink during pregnancy.

[marlboro]

There are so many cases in which women drink and then they have complications in the pregnancies and then regret what they have done with their life.

[SingleAgain]

It is harmful for women to drink alcohol whether it is in France or any where else in the world. Doctors never advice is women to drink during pregnancy.

Sorry but you are wrong. Yes, the harm is there regardless of where you are, but what I said is that the recommendations are different.

http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_information/html/healthy_living/lifestyle/alcohol/pregnancy.html

See that link; Bupa is a private health care company in the UK. And in fact when pregnant myself, and experiencing pre-term labour at 19 weeks pregnant (and long before I ever had a drinking problem) my doctor recommended I go home and have a nice long, warm bath and a glass of wine as a small amount of alcohol can sometimes stop contractions.

So just remember that you don't speak for all doctors worldwide.

[marlboro]

Alcoholi do have medicinal properties but not everyone of us use it as a medicine instead we are drinking it for enjoyment.

[Mess]

Alcoholi do have medicinal properties but not everyone of us use it as a medicine instead we are drinking it for enjoyment.

You are right!! Most of us drink for enjoyment rather then as a medicine. I know few people that when they wake up in the morning the first thing they will do is drinking and stay very normal through out the day. I think they used it as a medicine.

[websurfpro]

This is not a study it`s just a roumor .. I have heard of it but I cannot believe the baby won`t have a normal shape of mouth if the mom drinks, this is genetic stuff, the baby will take the shape of his mom or dad , or combined.