Alaska Native leaders tackle fetal alcohol issue

photo Anchorage, Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Morgan Fawcett calls himself an alcoholic who is about to celebrate two decades of sobriety — on his 20th birthday.
Even though he is a non-drinker, the Anchorage-born Tlingit blames alcohol for a host of ailments, including constant headaches, learning disabilities and constricted muscles.
He was born with fetal alcohol syndrome after his mother drank as much as 100 days during her pregnancy, he told Alaska Natives, American Indians and others who gathered Thursday in Anchorage for a two-day conference on fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
"Everybody is affected by alcohol," Fawcett said. "Nobody is immune. And we all have to deal with the effects every day."...Read here...