September 9th, marks the annual International Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) Awareness Day. The day was created, on 9/9/99 by a small group of parents whose children were affected by FASD.  They wanted to increase the awareness of risks associated with drinking alcohol during pregnancy. This day was chosen so that on the ninth day of the ninth month of the year, the world will remember that during the nine months of pregnancy a woman should abstain from alcohol.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder affects thousands of children all over the world and is the leading cause of developmental disability among Canadian children. FASD are a group of conditions that can occur in a person whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy.  

Many pregnancies are unexpected or unplanned and part of the reason why FASD is happening is because mothers are not always aware that they are pregnant.  Also, there are a lot of people that don’t know or understand the risks of drinking alcohol while pregnant or what FASD is and how it is caused.  Please pass on the message today that – there is no safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy. 

You can make a difference: talk to someone today (your daughter, your son, your brother or sister, your neighbour, your friend…) about FASD.