Alcohol, also known as ethanol, is a legal substance that makes a person feel relaxed and “carefree”. Once consumed, alcohol is released into the bloodstream, causing the brain to react, causing side effects. When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy, it can cause physical and mental harm to the fetus. When a fetus is affected by alcohol exposure, it is called fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). If the effects are severe, it is called fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Abnormalities occur in the child's central nervous system, facial structure, growth, and neurobehavioral development. The severity of harm depends on the amount of consumption, frequency, and timing of consumption (Ungerer, Knezovich, & Ramsay, 2013). About 1 in 100 births experience FASD effects. In the United States, 2-7 out of 1000 births are affected by FAS. 2-5% of young children in the United States and Western Europe are affected by FASD, while in Italy the rate of FASD is 20.3-40.5 per 1000 births (Riley, Infante, Warren, 2011). These results are obtained because 10-20% of women in the United States, 40% in Uruguay, and 50% in Italy consume alcohol during pregnancy (Valenzuela, Morton, & Diaz, 2012). Many experiments testing prenatal alcohol exposure have been conducted in recent decades. These studies have shown that exposure causes a variety of abnormalities. These anomalies include unusual growth, mental disabilities, central nervous system deformities, and distinct craniofacial disfiguration (Ungerer, Knezovich, & Ramsay, 2013). In the article “Effects of Moderate Alcohol Consumption During Pregnancy on Placental Gene Expression,” they conducted an experiment to determine whether gene expression… center of paper… know where it is needed. Over the past 20 years, the cost of FAS continues to increase. In 1991, the cost of FAS alone was approximately $75 million; it is now close to $3.6 billion. This only happens in the United States, which shows how much the public needs to be educated (Riley, Infante, & Warren, 2011). Prenatal exposure to alcohol has become a serious problem not only in our country, but throughout the world. It is affecting future generations of this planet and their health. The public needs to be well informed about the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and how to prevent it. This will save our people billions of dollars as a whole and put an end to anomalies among people. FAS and FASD are malformations that do not necessarily occur and can be prevented very easily. If only people knew the severity of the consequences of their actions.