Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Did You know that, alcohol is the leading preventable cause of mental and physical birth defects. When a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy, she risks giving birth to a child who could have lifelong mental and physical deficiencies.

These physical and mental deficiencies are referred to as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). In 1996, the Institute of Medicine released this statement: “Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus.” There are an estimated 40,000 cases of FAE each year.

Signs and symptoms of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome:
• Low birth weight
• Small head circumference
• Developmental delay
• Organ dysfunction
• Facial abnormalities
• Learning difficulties
• Behavior problems

Children with FAE display the same symptoms as with FAS except to a lesser degree. FAS is typically misdiagnosed and is mistaken for disobedience, stubbornness, and lack of attention. FAS can be misdiagnosed as different types of Attention Deficit Disorders.

Problems with misdiagnosed FAS tend to escalate as the child gets older and moves into adulthood. As the child gets older, he or she tends to get into trouble with the law, be unable to live independently, and have mental health problems.

There is a new category of prenatal damage that is called alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND). ARND refers to children who exhibit only behavioral and emotional problems that come from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. There are no signs of developmental delay or physical growth deficiencies.

In these children, the behavior can be belligerence or stubbornness. They typically will score very well on intelligence tests but their behavior problems keep them from being able to succeed. Parents and teacher both need extensive education to learn how to deal with these children.

Many moms-to-be, worry about how much alcohol is too much, and what it takes to prevent FAS. The only true prevention is abstinence from alcohol because there is no evidence that shows how much alcohol will cause prenatal damage. Individual women process alcohol differently.

Typically, FAS is caused from chronic alcohol use or binge drinking during pregnancy but there have been developmental deficiencies with only occasional alcohol use.

When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, a higher concentration travels through the placenta to the baby and it tends to stay longer in the baby’s system than it does within the woman’s body. Women process alcohol differently than men and a little goes a lot further.

It takes less alcohol to do more damage. Doctors will usually tell women that abstinence during the first trimester is imperative but in later pregnancy, it is not as important. However, some of the most complex developmental stages in brain growth occur in the second and third trimesters.

During the second and third trimesters, the nervous system can be adversely affected by alcohol as well. Because of the unknown nature of exactly how much alcohol can be safely drunk during pregnancy it is recommended that women abstain until after the baby is born.