What understanding of gene expression supports medical advice given to women to avoid consumption of alcohol during pregnancy

The understanding that alcohol is a potent teratogenic agent -capable of affecting the genetic expression of a developing embryo and fetus- is sufficient to support medical advice given to women to avoid consumption of alcohol during pregnancy.

Explanation:

A teratogen is a substance capable of affecting genetic expression - causing alteration and lack of regulation of the genes responsible for the form and function of a living being - and organ formation.

Alcohol is a powerful teratogen, responsible for fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which includes disorder in the proper expression of genes and abnormal development of organs such as the heart, brain and limbs.

When a doctor suggests that a woman does not consume alcohol during pregnancy, he does so to prevent alterations that this product may cause in a fetus or embryo, as well as the death before birth.

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