| Show A chamber of horrors While alcoholism has long been recognized as a serious problem in America recent findings concerning alcoholism among women comes as a shocker Experts now estimate that as many as 50 percent of the nations nation's alcoholics are the hidden housewife The studies indicate that the hidden housewife alcoholic is typically between 35 and 55 years old and from the middle upper-middle upper or upper income groups And no one knows about it because the family works full time at keeping the word of Mothers Mother's drunkenness from being known in the community Thus the truth is kept from the neighbors family friends the childrens children's playmates and the husbands husband's employer and many times even from the doctor or organizations such as A. A A. A from whom help could be obtained If II the guesses concerning the numbers numbers numbers num num- bers of hidden housewife alcoholics is correct then alcoholism ranks as the number one disease in the United States today leaving heart disease and cancer in second and third place Of all the suicides in the United States this year third one-third will be attributed t to alcoholism Some people will be killed in automobile accidents this year and over half will be due to drunk driving But most chilling blood-chilling of all are recent studies of babies born to alcoholic mothers In every instance barring none it was found that the infants had suffered damage some slight many serious There were no exceptions All of the babies were below normal in intelligence weighed less were 20 percent shorter than the average infant and were all permanently retarded in growth Some of the babies suffered from malformation of the head face legs arms or heart Dr Kenneth Jones at the University of Washington estimates that as many as 20 percent of alcoholic mothers give birth to deformed children Truly here is a chamber of horrors that demands immediate and intense action on the part of every type of agency whether public or private |
