While many pregnant women generally know of the risks involving drinking alcohol while pregnant, a new study is shedding light on the effect that even a small amount of the substance can have on a developing baby’s brain.

A recent MRI study showed that even minor to moderate amounts of drinking alcohol during pregnancy can alter a baby’s brain structure and postpone brain development. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can open up the growing fetus to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs).

If a baby is exposed to alcohol in utero, he or she can go on to have a scope of these FASD symptoms, such as learning disabilities, language and speech delays, problems seeing or hearing, heart, bone, and kidney issues, as well as physical limitations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“It might be a very small risk associated with every glass you might drink during pregnancy, but you never know if that may be the one that pushes you over the edge,” co-author Dr. Marlene Stuempflen told Insider.

In the study, scientists looked at fetal MRI scans of 24 unborn babies who had been exposed to alcohol while in utero. When the MRIs were conducted, the babies’ gestational ages were 22 to 36 weeks. Mothers submitted anonymous answers to questions about alcohol in order to reveal the babies’ exposure to alcohol. 

“Seventeen of 24 mothers drank alcohol relatively infrequently, with average alcohol consumption of less than one alcoholic drink per week,” lead author Patric Kienast said. “Nevertheless, we were able to detect significant changes in these fetuses based on prenatal MRI.”

Three of the mothers said they had one to three drinks each week, two said they consumed four to six drinks each week, and one said she drink an average of at least 14 drinks each week. Six of them also said they engaged in binge drinking alcohol at least once while they were pregnant, which is defined in a press release as more than four drinks in one instance.

“We found the greatest changes in the temporal brain region and STS,” the study’s senior author Gregor Kasprian, said. “We know that this region, and specifically the formation of the STS, has a great influence on language development during childhood.”

In the fetuses who had been exposed to alcohol, their “fetal total maturation score (fTMS) was significantly lower than in the age-matched controls, and the right superior temporal sulcus (STS) was shallower,” the press release noted. “The STS is involved in social cognition, audiovisual integration and language perception.”

While it’s not clear how the babies will be impacted once they are born, Kienast said “we can strongly assume that the changes we discovered contribute to the cognitive and behavioral difficulties that may occur during childhood.”

“Pregnant women should strictly avoid alcohol consumption,” Kienast added. “As we show in our study, even low levels of alcohol consumption can lead to structural changes in brain development and delayed brain maturation.”

The CDC noted that there was no difference in how many pregnant women said they drank alcohol in 2019 and 2020, but in both years, around 14% to 15% of pregnant women said they drank alcohol and around 6% said they had engaged in binge drinking.

“Unfortunately, many pregnant women are unaware of the influence of alcohol on the fetus during pregnancy,” Kienast noted. “Therefore, it is our responsibility not only to do the research but also to actively educate the public about the effects of alcohol on the fetus.”

The study’s findings will be presented at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting next week and have not been published yet.

Canadian financial corporation TD Bank quietly donated half a million dollars to a program earlier this year that conducts so-called “gender-affirming” irreversible procedures on minors.

According to a May 2022 newsletter, the financial institution funded $500,000 through Canada’s Children’s Hospital Foundations to support “gender transitions” through the McMaster Pediatric Gender Diversity Program, which provides medical and mental health services for “trans and gender diverse youth” at the McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario.

“We are aware that adolescent physical and mental health remains a pressing issue,” Sarah Colley, community relations manager for TD, said. “That’s why we are so pleased to provide support to the McMaster Pediatric Gender Diversity Program through the TD Ready Commitment.”

Current laws do not have an age of consent required for gender reassignment surgery, according to a report by True North.

“There is no general age of consent to treatment or counseling,” Canadian Mental Health Association writes. “Instead, the issue depends on whether the young person is capable of consenting.”

In a True North op-ed, Aaron Kimberly, a transexual man and mental health nurse, wrote that misinformation drives transgender people into transition.

“You would think that today’s gender revolution would make things easier on kids like me, who are now often identified as trans. In fact, I did transition when I was 33 and, though it did help me feel more congruent, that decision was largely based on misinformation,” Kimberly wrote.

According to the website, the program “aims to provide medical and mental health services to trans and gender diverse youth as part of a comprehensive program that includes adolescent medicine” and endocrinology — a practice that transgender individuals require to administer hormone treatments such as puberty blockers and testosterone injections.

Other services include “complete medical referrals and legal referrals such as changing gender markers and a person’s legal name on identification.”

TD Bank—one of the ten largest banks in the United States—established the program In 2016 when the demand for transitioning children had not reached the levels seen today. However, program officials say that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it began receiving three to four weekly referrals.

Funding for the program will provide so-called care to 30 children under 18 to undergo “gender-affirming” services each year, adding to the 60 to 70 minors the program treats yearly.

Now, the number of minors seeking out such services has reached approximately 150 on the waitlist, who reportedly have to wait an estimated time of 24 months to receive an initial assessment.

Dr. Rosheen Grady, a pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist at the children’s hospital, said in the newsletter she had encountered a parent whose child was “drowning in depression” before finding the program.

Grady’s statement shows that the child entered the program as male and left as female.

“They realized they have a daughter now, and they’re grateful for the resources and support that the program provided to them,” Grady said. “It can be so rewarding to hear that.”

Grady believes intervening in the lives of “gender-diverse” adolescents could “help support youths to be their healthiest selves.”