Provide a 8 pages analysis while answering the following question: Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. Besides, they advise that there is not a safe period of time to drink during the pregnancy stage and also that there is no any type of safe alcohol. On the contrary, some doctors are of the opinion that taking a few pints of alcoholic drinks during the pregnancy stage may not harm the baby after all (Skogerbø et al., 2012). The suggestion of minimizing drinking during pregnancy is becoming coming frequently amidst medical reports that even small amounts of alcohol can result in miscarriage, infant death, stillbirth and prematurity (Jacobson & Jacobson, 2013). Therefore, it is imperative to discuss the extent to which doctors may be right in advising women against drinking when they are pregnant and also substantiate is safe drinking is recommendable during the pregnancy stage.

Upon taking alcohol, it flows through the bloodstream and reaches the baby by crossing the placenta. In return, the baby’s body system can only break the alcohol at a slower rate than the mothers thus ending up with higher levels of the toxins that the mother’s blood (Astley & Grant, 2012). On the other hand, drinking has the potential of affecting the baby in very many ways since it is still growing and developing. For instance, alcohol intake is much attributed to miscarriages and stillbirths. The implication is that even a small amount of drinking exposes the baby to birth defects especially being born with low weight and also raising the risk of difficulties in speech, learning, attention span, hyperactivity and language prematurity (Jacobson & Jacobson, 2013). Nonetheless, research indicates that mothers who consume even a little amount of alcohol are at higher risks of developing birth defects than the nondrinkers (Skagerström, Alehagen, Häggström-Nordin, Årestedt & Nilsen, 2013). The reports also indicate that even the small amounts of intake expose the baby to developing delinquent and aggressive behaviors.