SALT LAKE CITY — Mandatory warning signs posted at nearly 1,900 locations where alcohol is served and sold in Utah, aim to save babies from potentially lifelong complications and millions of dollars spent on their care.
"Damage to fetuses from alcohol use can occur in each trimester of pregnancy, but the damage is completely avoidable," said Al Romeo, a counselor for the Utah Department of Health's Pregnancy Risk Line.
The Utah Department of Health reports that women who consume alcohol while pregnant are at risk of delivering a child with a range of physical and mental problems called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. FASD, which is different that Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (which is also a significant risk), can include birth defects, behavioral problems and learning disabilities that have lifelong implications for the child.
So the health department is posting the signs at every liquor store, bar and restaurant, as well as various convenience stores, to remind pregnant women to think twice about drinking while carrying a child.
"Giving the public information about the importance of avoiding alcohol during pregnancy is an important step in helping mothers and babies," Romeo said.
More than 40,000 babies are born with FASD every year — higher than the rates of those with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, spina bifida and sudden infant death syndrome, according to the health department.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated in 2002 that the lifetime costs for an individual affected with FASD average $2 million. More severe cases warrant higher costs.
Warnings to pregnant women are already on all alcoholic beverage containers, as mandated by the federal government. But there are no federal regulations that require alcohol retailers to post warnings about the risks of drinking during pregnancy.
The new signage, which includes additional wording on originally posted DUI warning signs, complies with a law passed during the 2009 legislative session. The law mandates the signs be posted by July 1, 2011, but the state's Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has already begun posting them.
Utah is the 23rd state to post the warnings.
e-mail: wleonard@desnews.com