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Drinking during pregnancy puts baby at risk of epilepsy
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Moms-to-be,
please note -- make sure that you abstain from alcohol, for a new study says
that drinking during pregnancy puts your baby at risk of epilepsy.
Researchers, led by Queens University in
Ontario, have carried out the study and found that children born with a
condition, caused by exposure to alcohol in the womb, are more likely to suffer
from debilitating seizures.
In fact, according to the researchers, being exposed to alcohol while in the
womb damages parts of the developing brain associated with seizures, the
Daily Mail reported.
The study looked at 425 people aged between two and 49 who had foetal alcohol
spectrum disorder (FASD). Fewer than one per cent of people developed epilepsy,
but six per cent of those with FASD had it and 12 per cent had experienced at
least one seizure, the findings revealed.
Dr Dan Savage, a neuroscientist at the
University of New Mexico , said: "This report builds on a growing body of
evidence that maternal drinking during pregnancy may put a child at greater risk
for an even wider variety of neurological and behavioural health problems than
we had appreciated before.
"The consensus recommendation of scientists and clinical investigators, along
with public health officials around the world, is very clear -- a woman should
abstain from drinking during pregnancy as part of an overall programme of good
prenatal care."
The study has been published in the latest edition of the
Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research
journal.
PTI / Times of India
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