IQALUIT - Charlotte Osler is not pregnant; she never has been. But she's well aware of the dangers of drinking while pregnant.

Charlotte Osler, a recent nursing graduate of Nunavut Arctic College, stands outside the Navigator Inn where, last week, she says she watched a pregnant woman drink three glasses of wine. Osler didn't say anything at the time, but a server at the establishment says the restaurant refused the expectant mother more than two drinks. - Guy Quenneville/NNSL photo

Osler is a nursing graduate from Nunavut Arctic College. During her studies, she's read about the birth defects suffered by children born with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

So when she recently spotted two pregnant women drinking at a downtown restaurant, Osler was naturally concerned.

"My friends and I were out for dinner last week (at the Navigator Inn restaurant) and I saw a pregnant woman in her early 30s drinking and her friend was drinking, too," said Osler. "I later found out the friend was also pregnant."

The effects of drinking while pregnant instantly came to mind.

"Which can include congenital birth defects like low birth weights and mental retardation," she said, adding she used to waitress at the Navigator Inn bar.

"As a waitress, I had to the right to refuse to serve a pregnant woman."

Osler said she asked the waitress that night if she knew the woman in question was pregnant.

"I think it put her off a little bit, not knowing what I was getting at."

Osler ultimately kept her objections to herself.

"I remember thinking that I wanted to go over there and confront the woman. 'What are you doing having three glasses of wine over dinner?' She was smoking at the same time. It's really quite selfish. Cigarettes and other drugs are really bad for the fetus."

The server who waited on Osler and the pregnant woman that night - she would not give her name - said the restaurant's policy forbids pregnant women from being served drinks.

The server said she gave the woman one drink, but after she informed the server that she was pregnant, the server ceased serving her drinks.

FASD is a big problem, according to Kathy Hanson, Qulliit Status of Women Council president.

"Not only in this community, but in all of Nunavut," she said.

"Based on things that I see, in and around Iqaluit, there are some women who do drink during their pregnancies. But I can't give you any numbers."

Hanson's advice for pregnant women is to take a hard-line stance.

"We advise women not to drink during their pregnancies. I've gone through two pregnancies, and I never drank once. And I think everyone else should be the same way."

Hanson said it's important to start education about the effects of FASD at an early age.

"We have a lot of early teen pregnancies, and I'm not sure if they're being talked to by their parents, and I hope the parents will tell their children who are pregnant that they shouldn't drink."

Nancy Campbell, a communications person with the Department of Health and Social Services, said the territory has launched a number of programs to combat FASD.

One such effort has expectant mothers make a pledge to avoid drinking during pregnancy while a supportive friend also pledges to stand by them during their pregnancy.

Campbell added the Iqaluit Royal Canadian Legion held a contest last September on World FASD Day encouraging its bartenders to creating non-alcoholic options for women who are with child.

Alan McRae, general manager of the Legion, said it has a strict policy when it comes to pregnant women.

"We absolutely do not serve pregnant women," he said. "As long as we're aware that they're pregnant. If they're unsure, our servers ask the woman."

Currently there are no Canadian laws prohibiting women from drinking while pregnant.

In a national survey conducted for the Public Health Agency of Canada in March and April 2006, Environics Research Group found 76 per cent of men and women aged 18 to 40 are aware that any alcohol use during pregnancy is harmful to the baby.