Social Development Deputy Minister, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu has called on law enforcement to look into charging mothers who drink alcohol while pregnant. The deputy minister said this during the 9-9-9 campaign against Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder (FASD). According to the department spokesperson Lumka Oliphant, the 9-9-9 stands for 9 consecutive days in 9 provinces leading International Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Day on 9 September.
Bogopane-Zulu who is currently crisscrossing the country educating communities about the dangers of pregnant and breastfeeding women drinking alcohol, said such women should be charged with child abuse as their alcohol intake leads to FASD. "Women who drink alcohol while they are pregnant must be charged for child abuse, the sad thing is that these women have these children with FASD and then they leave them with the elderly to take care of them," Bogopane Zulu said. She pleaded with pregnant women to choose to have a healthy child by not drinking alcohol during pregnancy. "South Africans have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol where binge drinking has become the norm amongst youngsters," she said.
She said no amount of alcohol is safe for pregnant and breastfeeding women, adding that FASD was preventable but not reversible.
The deputy minister further added that with heavy drinking, young people run the risk of damaging their brains which may show shrinkage in some areas and impaired communication within the brain. While in Colesberg, Northern Cape on Monday, a 27-year-old pregnant mother told the deputy minister and the crowd that she was still drinks alcohol and smokes even though she is expecting. She said her first born child, a 6-year-old boy was being bullied at school because she is smaller than his peers because he has FASD and he is not doing well at school. The mother pleaded with other pregnant women to stop drinking as it has adverse effects on their unborn children. Bogopane-Zulu says South Africa has been identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to have the highest reported prevalence of FASD in the world.
The deputy minister handed over a stimulation room in Esidumbini Community Care Centre in Ndwendwe, Kwa-Zulu Natal which will be used to assist with stimulating children with FASD and others with other disabilities by using various equipment to improve movement as well as brain functioning. In continuing with her effort to raise awareness on the issue, Bogopane- Zulu visited Ikhwezi Lokusa Rehabilitation Centre in Umthatha, Eastern Cape. The visit comes after Carte Blanche exposed the conditions and maltreatment of children with disabilities at the Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School.
WHAT IS FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME DISORDER?
According to Mayo Clinic, fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition in a child that results from alcohol exposure during pregnancy. FASD causes brain damage and growth problems in children. It is also the leading source of non-genetic developmental and intellectual disability globally and is usually associated with primary and secondary disabilities. There is no amount of alcohol that's known to be safe to consume during pregnancy.
