What effect does drinking during pregnancy have on babies?

“The journey has been very difficult. It’s time consuming, it’s stressful. It hasn’t been easy”, says a mother who adopted a child with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

According to a number of published medical papers, South Africa has the highest reported rates of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in the world.

It’s 111 per 1,000 people.

A baby can be born with this condition if its mother drinks alcohol while pregnant.

It's accompanied by all sorts of medical complications.

Some people with it can’t do some of the things we sometimes take for granted, like reading and writing.

Alan Kasujja sits down with Doreen Smit, a mother who adopted a baby born with the condition.

He also hears from an organisation that’s trying to help mothers raising children with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

Note: This podcast has been edited and republished on 6 October 2023. The research on the high incidence of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in South Africa was conducted by JAMA Paediatrics, not the National Library of Medicine as we previously stated.