Our body treats alcohol as if it was a toxic substance. So when a woman who is pregnant basically drinks alcohol, that alcohol doesn't only affect her, it can also affect that developing fetus. In fact, heavy drinkers of alcohol develop. Babies give birth to fetuses who have something known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Now, what exactly is fetal alcohol syndrome? Well, this is basically a type of syndrome that is characterized by many different types of things.