Anyone born prior to 1965 (who is still alive and well) has many reasons for which to be thankful. We grew up in a world that was anything but childproof, and yet we survived. When we were babies, most cars had no seat belts and infant car seats had yet to be invented. Our parents knew nothing about the dangers of lead paint, baby aspirin or easily opened medicine bottles. We rode our bikes without helmets and skated without kneepads or elbow pads - all of this while playing outside without the protection of sunscreen.

This is not to say that parents intentionally put their children at risk. Valid safety information was not readily available and most were only doing what they thought was best. Many women of this time period naively continued smoking and drinking alcohol throughout their pregnancies, unaware of any potential threat to their unborn children.

Although there are documents dating as far back as the 1700s suggesting that alcohol may have an adverse effect on the development of babies, it wasn’t until 1973 that the term “fetal alcohol syndrome” was formally used in a medical journal written by Drs. Kenneth Jones and David Smith. These doctors noted “unusual physical features” and “failure to thrive” in infants of alcoholic mothers at the Harborview Hospital in Seattle.

“We’ve learned a lot since the ’70s, but, unfortunately, there are still many unknowns,” says Jessica Diame, LifeSkills KIDS NOW Plus prevention coordinator. “For instance, we don’t know how much or how little alcohol it takes to damage a growing fetus, which is why there is no safe amount that can be consumed at any point during a pregnancy. That’s one reason why it is important to inform your doctor and be honest about any alcoholic beverages you have while pregnant.”

We know that this birth defect is 100 percent preventable, since it is impossible for a baby to be born with FAS if the mother does not drink alcohol during her pregnancy.

Here are some other known facts: