How Alcohol affects the Fetal Brain - Dr. Bruce Perry

Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D., who is considered the WORLD’s leading expert on childhood trauma, joined us on the medspiration podcast this month to discuss brain development & trauma informed care.
Link to full episode:

►Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mB4xNs6U3RkNHNuIX0IIF?si=3HXWCFsfQPSj-frxvtsiAg

►Listen on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bruce-perry-growing-into-healthy-brain-neuro-development/id1440527968?i=1000449094915

► Watch here on YT: https://youtu.be/gjG_yJ_vRc8

Dr. Perry is seen in this video discussing how alcohol affects the fetal brain. I was surprised to learn that there are periods in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy where the fetal brain makes ~20,000 brand new neurons per second!!! The average adult makes only about 400 new neurons a DAY (if they’re lucky). If the mother does something neurotoxic during this time, like drinking alcohol until she’s intoxicated, she’ll impede her child’s neural development at the rate of ~20,000 neurons per second!! At this rate, even 3 hours of being intoxicated can cause a baby to miss out on creating 3.6 million new brain cells!
In last month’s podcast (with Dr. Bessel van der Kolk), we dove into the CDC’s Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) study & how it connected childhood trauma to chronic disease. Today’s episode investigates further by touching on how the brain forms differently depending on the types experiences we have during childhood!! This is the best one yet fam