menanamama
10-03-2003, 05:46 PM
http://poststar.com/story.html
she was 8 mo preggers though baby was 5 wks early
Baby born intoxicated
Child is hospitalized; Mother charged with endangerment of child
By MATT VOLKE
volke@poststar.com
and DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
GLENS FALLS -- A city woman was charged Thursday in connection with giving birth to an infant whose blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent, more than twice the legal adult limit for driving while intoxicated, police said.
Stacey Lynn Gilligan, 22, of 10 Bacon St., was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor.
The mother apparently got in a fight at the Daily Double bar on South Street in Glens Falls, causing her water to break and putting her into labor, said Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan. She was 9 months pregnant at the time, Hogan said.
Gilligan was transported to Glens Falls Hospital by ambulance Saturday morning while allegedly under the influence of alcohol, police said.
While it's not illegal for an expecting mother to drink, Gilligan's activities became criminal when the child was born with a high blood-alcohol content.
The investigation began when Warren County Child Protective Services was notified of the case, and the agency contacted the district attorney's office and Glens Falls police.
Authorities said Gilligan had been warned to seek alcohol treatment when she showed up at the hospital drunk on at least two other occasions while pregnant.
Gilligan was arraigned in City Court before Judge David Krogmann, and was sent to Warren County Jail because she did not post bail, which was set at $1,500 cash or $3,000 bond, police said.
Glens Falls Police Capt. Stanley Wood said it takes four drinks in an hour for a 170-pound man to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.08, which would be the level for a driving while intoxicated charge. To get to the baby's blood-alcohol content, police said the baby had to have the equivalent of eight to 10 drinks in one hour. Officials said Gilligan had a blood-alcohol content of 0.28, three and a half times the legal limit.
Wood said in his 35 years as an officer, he's never seen a baby born with that much alcohol in its body.
"This baby was innocent and had no way to defend itself," Wood said, noting anyone who drank that much would be "passed out on the floor."
Wood said he did not know the infant's gender, but said it is still in the hospital. Hogan said the baby was expected to survive, but she said it was too early to tell if the alcohol exposure would cause developmental problems.
She said the baby went through "DTs" (delirium tremens) Thursday as the alcohol was purged from the baby's system. Hogan said additional charges were possible, such as assault if it's shown the child suffered a lasting injury because of its mother's drinking.
"It's still an ongoing investigation and we want to get more information on the child's condition," she said.
Jayson White, spokesman for Glens Falls Hospital, said the baby was not listed in the hospital's directory. Under new federal guidelines, patients are allowed to opt out of hospital directories, so information about their conditions cannot be released to the public.
"Whether it was the parent's decision or the hospital's (to not list the baby in the directory), I'm not sure," White said. "I'm bound by patient confidentiality."
Kathleen Braico, a Glens Falls pediatrician, said if alcohol is taken early and often in a pregnancy, it can cause mental retardation, birth defects like short limbs and a small head, as well as heart problems. She said stopping alcohol use is the most common way during pregnancy to prevent mental retardation in infants. "There is no safe amount of alcohol to take during a pregnancy," Braico said. "Unfortunately, fetal alcohol syndrome does happen, though it is rare. But in 25 years I don't remember anything like this ever happening."
Braico said if a fetus has a chronic exposure to alcohol, it can become addicted. After being born, the newborn will go through withdrawal. Side effects from the withdrawal can be seizures, constant crying, poor feeding, vomiting and irritability.
The alcohol is metabolized by the baby's liver, like an adult, but at an immature stage it takes longer to get through the baby's system. Braico said 10 hours after the alcohol has left the mother's system, the alcohol will still be in the baby's system in the womb. The baby is also subject to the toxic chemicals from the products of alcohol breaking down from the mother's liver, which pass through the placenta into the baby's system again.
"Until that umbilical cord is cut, it's two livers dealing with the problem," Braico said
she was 8 mo preggers though baby was 5 wks early
Baby born intoxicated
Child is hospitalized; Mother charged with endangerment of child
By MATT VOLKE
volke@poststar.com
and DON LEHMAN
dlehman@poststar.com
GLENS FALLS -- A city woman was charged Thursday in connection with giving birth to an infant whose blood-alcohol level was 0.18 percent, more than twice the legal adult limit for driving while intoxicated, police said.
Stacey Lynn Gilligan, 22, of 10 Bacon St., was charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, a misdemeanor.
The mother apparently got in a fight at the Daily Double bar on South Street in Glens Falls, causing her water to break and putting her into labor, said Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan. She was 9 months pregnant at the time, Hogan said.
Gilligan was transported to Glens Falls Hospital by ambulance Saturday morning while allegedly under the influence of alcohol, police said.
While it's not illegal for an expecting mother to drink, Gilligan's activities became criminal when the child was born with a high blood-alcohol content.
The investigation began when Warren County Child Protective Services was notified of the case, and the agency contacted the district attorney's office and Glens Falls police.
Authorities said Gilligan had been warned to seek alcohol treatment when she showed up at the hospital drunk on at least two other occasions while pregnant.
Gilligan was arraigned in City Court before Judge David Krogmann, and was sent to Warren County Jail because she did not post bail, which was set at $1,500 cash or $3,000 bond, police said.
Glens Falls Police Capt. Stanley Wood said it takes four drinks in an hour for a 170-pound man to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.08, which would be the level for a driving while intoxicated charge. To get to the baby's blood-alcohol content, police said the baby had to have the equivalent of eight to 10 drinks in one hour. Officials said Gilligan had a blood-alcohol content of 0.28, three and a half times the legal limit.
Wood said in his 35 years as an officer, he's never seen a baby born with that much alcohol in its body.
"This baby was innocent and had no way to defend itself," Wood said, noting anyone who drank that much would be "passed out on the floor."
Wood said he did not know the infant's gender, but said it is still in the hospital. Hogan said the baby was expected to survive, but she said it was too early to tell if the alcohol exposure would cause developmental problems.
She said the baby went through "DTs" (delirium tremens) Thursday as the alcohol was purged from the baby's system. Hogan said additional charges were possible, such as assault if it's shown the child suffered a lasting injury because of its mother's drinking.
"It's still an ongoing investigation and we want to get more information on the child's condition," she said.
Jayson White, spokesman for Glens Falls Hospital, said the baby was not listed in the hospital's directory. Under new federal guidelines, patients are allowed to opt out of hospital directories, so information about their conditions cannot be released to the public.
"Whether it was the parent's decision or the hospital's (to not list the baby in the directory), I'm not sure," White said. "I'm bound by patient confidentiality."
Kathleen Braico, a Glens Falls pediatrician, said if alcohol is taken early and often in a pregnancy, it can cause mental retardation, birth defects like short limbs and a small head, as well as heart problems. She said stopping alcohol use is the most common way during pregnancy to prevent mental retardation in infants. "There is no safe amount of alcohol to take during a pregnancy," Braico said. "Unfortunately, fetal alcohol syndrome does happen, though it is rare. But in 25 years I don't remember anything like this ever happening."
Braico said if a fetus has a chronic exposure to alcohol, it can become addicted. After being born, the newborn will go through withdrawal. Side effects from the withdrawal can be seizures, constant crying, poor feeding, vomiting and irritability.
The alcohol is metabolized by the baby's liver, like an adult, but at an immature stage it takes longer to get through the baby's system. Braico said 10 hours after the alcohol has left the mother's system, the alcohol will still be in the baby's system in the womb. The baby is also subject to the toxic chemicals from the products of alcohol breaking down from the mother's liver, which pass through the placenta into the baby's system again.
"Until that umbilical cord is cut, it's two livers dealing with the problem," Braico said