Wendy Mattison and her husband adopted 4-year-old Marina two years ago, knowing that she suffered from fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Her biological mother was a heavy drinker while she was pregnant.

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Those drinks destroyed forever some of Marina's decision-making ability. She doesn't make great decisions and she's a serial risk-taker, climbing without thinking about what could happen and going into the road regardless of traffic.

Marina gets therapy at Chicago's Children's Research Triangle. It's where Dr. Ira Chasnoff led a state-funded task force that aims to change what doctors say about drinking while pregnant.

"Eighty percent of obstetricians tell pregnant women that it is OK to drink during their pregnancy, but we know that cannot be," said Chasnoff.

A CRT study said even one drink can damage a baby, so it's safest if women stop drinking completely once they start trying to conceive.

"Any alcohol use at all during pregnancy produces about a three-times increase in risk for delinquency long term," said Chasnoff.

The report estimates that nearly 9,000 Illinois children are exposed to alcohol in the womb each year -- and it is said to cause more mental retardation than any other disease, impacting behavior and development and even affecting facial features.

"There is a general flattening of the face," said Chasnoff. "The area under the nose and above the lip -- there is no groove there."

Children born with fetal alcohol syndrome usually experience growth retardation, unusual facial features, and mental retardation.

As for Marina, her mother said she just wants her daughter to have a bright future and "be happy and secure with herself."

The U.S. Senate last July unanimously passed a resolution declaring Sept. 9 as National Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders Awareness Day.

For more about FAS Awareness Day, click here.