"THE HEART OF THE MATTER"
a special program of the National Emergency Medicine Association (NEMA)
Week: 602.4
Guest: Louise Floyd, Director, Fetal Alcohol Prevention Unit, CDC
Topic: Fetal alcohol syndrome
Host/Producer: Steve Girard
NEMA: The effects of alcohol on babies...coming up...
SPOT: For 15 years, the National Emergency Medicine Association has worked against stroke, heart disease and trauma. Join the effort, call 800-332-6362.
NEMA: Women who drink while they're pregnant can take their baby's life away before it ever gets started...this is Louise Floyd, of the Centers for Disease Control, describes the effects of fetal alcohol syndrome....
FLOYD: It includes selected abnormalities of the face that affect the eye, the mid-range area of the face, the philtrum and the upper lip...it affects the growth, the child is undergrown or growth retarded...and third, it causes central nervous system disorders, which include mental retardation and neurodevelopmental deficits.
NEMA: Research shows who are most at risk for drinking heavily while pregnant...
FLOYD: Women who were a little older...over 35, of lower income, who are unmarried and who smoked cigarettes...were more likely to be drinking at levels of six or more drinks a week during pregnancy.
NEMA: For more information on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and for help in stopping alcohol from claiming your baby, call the March of Dimes at 888-663-4637. I'm Steve Girard at The Heart of the Matter.