PUNXSUTAWNEY – An annual information campaign focusing on unborn children and alcohol consumption will be in Punxsutawney next week.
The Clearfield-Jefferson Drug and Alcohol Commission and Punxsutawney Area Hospital are joining forces to educate you about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, commonly known as FASD.
According to Prevention Specialist, Stacey Risinger, any amount of alcohol will affect an unborn child.
“It’s a lifelong diagnosis,” explained Risinger. “Once a child or person is diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, it’s a lifetime of possible delays and problems. The more serious ones that have more delays, it’s more debilitating abnormalities like effecting their central nervous system, their memory, their ability to learn and to retain information, that kind of stuff.
She urges that if you’re pregnant or know someone that is expecting or planning to have a child to stop all alcohol consumption, whether it be an alcoholic beverage or even as small as cold medicine.
The free event will be held on Monday September 9th starting at 10am to noon and picking back up from 1pm to 3pm at the Punxsutawney Area Hospital entrance three.
More Information on the disorder and how to prevent it can be found on the Clearfield-Jefferson Drug and Alcohol Commission’s website.
