In an otherwise healthy woman who stops drinking as soon as she finds out she is pregnant, the answer is - probably. But, the bottom line is that alcohol can be dangerous to babies in the womb.

That's why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends abstinence from alcohol for all women who are pregnant or who are planning a pregnancy. As little as one drink a day, on a regular basis, has been linked to decreased birth weight, growth abnormalities, and behavioral problems. Unfortunately, a woman may not know that she is pregnant for the first couple of weeks, hence the worrying question. Chances are there probably won't be any damage done, but there's always a small chance your baby could be affected.

When and how is my baby affected by alcohol?

At what point in your pregnancy you drank alcohol, the amount of alcohol consumed and the duration of the exposure are directly related to the degree of possible damage to the baby. The first and third trimesters seem to be the most critical times. Heavy drinkers (more than four drinks a day) or habitual binge drinkers (more than five drinks on one occasion) are the worst culprits.

Nursing mothers should also avoid alcohol, as it passes freely into the breast milk and can affect brain growth, which continues until the second year of life.

Making changes your lifestyle can be difficult. As Barbara Brennan, a certified nurse-midwife in New York City points out, "Your health care provider is there to help, without being judgmental. When a pregnant woman has a problem with drinking or smokes or has an eating disorder, our job is to spend time with her so she can understand what she is doing and its effects on her baby. We acknowledge that making changes can be hard. We know these issues are usually not corrected with one conversation."

To read more about the dangers of drinking during pregnancy, please go to: http://www.4woman.gov/faq/fas.htm