Fetal Alcohol Syndrome_Jacolbi Smith

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Jacolbi Smith

Think before you drink, Alcohol hurts unborn babies.

Volume 1, Issue 1 February 22, 2013 Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a h i ghl y vari abl e grou p o f bi rt h defe cts i ncl u din g me nt al re t ar dat ion , de fici en t gro wt h , an d m al form atio ns o f t he s ku ll an d face t h at tend to occur in the o ffs pr in g o f wome n w ho con s ume l ar ge amou n ts o f al co hol du rin g pre gn an cy.

Patient with FAS.

Inside this issue: The fetal alcohol syndrome is the third most common recognizable cause of mental retardation in the United States.

Features are recognizable because they include prenatal and postnatal growth deficiency, small head size with mental subnormality, and facial abnormalities , and mental retardation. Approximately 40% of babies born to alcoholic

women and 11% of babies born to nonalcoholic moderately drinking women have evidence of the prenatal effect of alcohol. There is no amount of alcohol that is safe to be ingested by a pregnant woman.

Symptoms

2

How it is Diagnosed

2

How it is Treated

2

Relevant Statistics

3

More Information

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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Symptoms The most common and consistent features of FAS involve the growth, performance, intelligence, head and face, skeleton, and heart of the child.

Growth is diminished. Birth weight is lessened. Retardation of longitudinal growth is evident on the measurements of length in infancy and of

standing height later in childhood. The growth lag is permanent.

Performance is impaired. The FAS infant is irritable. The older FAS child is hyperactive. Fine motor skills are impaired with weak grasp, poor hand-eye coordination, and tremors.

How FAS is Diagnosed To establish a diagnosis of FAS, by convention, the following minimal criteria are met: small size and weight before and after birth (pre- and postnatal retardation) specific appearance of the head and face with at least two of the three following groups of signs: small head size

(microcephaly), small eyes (microphthalmia) and/or short eye openings (palpebral fissures) and/or underdevelopment of the upper lip, indistinct groove between the lip and nose (the philtrum), and flattened cheekbones brain involvement with evidence for delay in develop-

ment, intellectual impairment, or neurologic abnormalities.

How FAS is Treated There is no cure or treatment for the disabilities of fetal alcohol syndrome but there are certain protective factors that can be implemented to lessen or prevent the development of secondary conditions associated with FAS. There is no medication or treatment that will reverse

the symptoms of fetal alcohol syndromeand the other disorders associated with alcoholrelated birth defects. There is no treatment to reverse or change the physical features or brain damage associated with maternal alcohol use during

the pregnancy.

Volume 1, Issue 1

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Relevant Statistics In 1995, four times as many pregnant women frequently consumed alcohol as in 1991. Researchers speculate that the increase in alcohol consumption by pregnant women may be attributed to widespread reports on the health benefits of moderate drinking.

51% of women of childbearing age between 18-25 and 53% between 26-34, report the use of alcohol within

the past month.

17% of women of childbearing age between 18-25 and 13% between 26-34, report binge drinking (five or more drinks on one occasion) within the past month.

A national survey found that more than half of women age 15-44 drank while pregnant.

Of the women who reported drinking during their pregnancy, 66% reported drinking

in their first trimester; 54% reported drinking in their third trimester.

FAS is estimated to occur in 1 to 2 live births per every 1,000 in the United States each year.

Fetal Alcohol Effects (a less severe set of alcohol-related abnormalities) is estimated to occur in 3-5 live births per every 1,000 in the United States each year.

For More Information‌.

For more information about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, go to www.nofas.org For more information on alcoholism, go to www.aa.org

Say no to drinking while pregnant!

There is no safe amount or type of alcohol during pregnancy.

Any amount of alcohol, even if it’s just one glass of wine, passes from the mother to the baby. It makes no difference if

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

the alcohol is a liquor such as vodka, or beer or wine.

A developing baby can’t process alcohol. Developing babies lack the ability to process alcohol through the liver. They absorb all of the alcohol and have the same blood alcohol content as the mother.

Alcohol causes more harm than heroin or cocaine during pregnancy. The Institute of Medicine says, “Of all the substances of abuse (including cocaine, heroin, and marijuana), alcohol produces by far the most serious neurobehavioral effects in the fetus.”

1 in 100 babies have FAS, nearly the same rate as Autism.

FAS is more prevalent than Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, SIDS, Cystic Fibrosis, and Spina Bifida combined. Alcohol use during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of birth defects, developmental disabilities, and learning disabilities.