ABOUT FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME

Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a disorder that can occur to the embryo when a pregnant woman ingests alcohol during pregnancy. There is no amount of alcohol that has been determined as safe to drink during pregnancy and the effect ranges from no effect to devastating Neurological and Developmental retardation with only a limited amount of alcohol use. An ingestion of alcohol does not always result in FAS.
The main effect of FAS is permanent central nervous system damage, especially, tragically to the brain. This is a picture that dramatically depicts the potential impact

At the mild end, damage may be the loss of some intellectual functioning (IQ), visual problems and higher than normal pain tolerance. At the severe end, damage may be severe loss of intellectual potential, severe vision problems, dyslexia, serious maxilo-facial deformities, dental abnormalities, heart defects, immune system malfunctioning, behavioral problems, attention deficit disorders, hyper-activity, extreme impulsiveness, poor judgment, little or no retained memory, deafness, little or no capacity for moral judgment or interpersonal empathy, sociopathic behaviour, epilepsy, tremors, cerebral palsy, renal failure, heart failure, death
After reading this list of symptoms, it is even more frightening to know that even brief exposures to small amounts of alcohol may kill brain cells in a developing fetus. A study carried out by John Olney, M.D., at the Washington School of Medicine in St. Louis showed that just two drinks consumed during pregnancy may be enough to kill some developing brain cells, leading to permanent brain damage.

Fetal alcohol exposure is the leading known cause of mental retardation in the Western world

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

Babies diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) have the following physiological characteristics:

• Small birth weight
• Small head circumference
• Small eye openings
• Smooth, wide philtrum
• Thin upper lip

Note: Facial characteristics may not be as apparent immediately after birth or during adolescence or adulthood as they are between the ages of two and ten. Facial characteristics may not be present at all if the mother did not drink alcohol during the brief period that the midface was forming – around the 20th day of pregnancy.
Most infants with FASD are irritable, have trouble eating and sleeping, are sensitive to sensory stimulation, and have a strong startle reflex. They may hyperextend their heads or limbs with hypertonia (too much muscle tone) or hypotonia (too little muscle tone) or both. Some infants may have heart defects or suffer anomalies of the ears, eyes, liver, or joints.

Most children with FASD have developmental delays and some have lower than normal intelligence. Only 15% of children with FASD have an IQ under 70. Most children with FASD have IQ in the normal or above normal range.

The most serious characteristics of FASD are the invisible symptoms of neurological damage from prenatal exposure to alcohol. These symptoms persist into adulthood and include the following:

• Attention deficits
• Memory deficits
• Hyperactivity
• Difficulty with abstract concepts
• Inability to manage money
• Poor problem solving skills
• Difficulty learning from consequences
• Immature social behavior
• Inappropriately friendly to strangers
• Lack of control over emotions
• Poor impulse control
• Poor judgment

Adults with FASD have difficulty maintaining successful independence. They have trouble staying in school, keeping jobs, or sustaining healthy relationships. They require long-term support and some degree of supervision in order to succeed.

Without appropriate support services, these individuals have a high risk of developing secondary problems such as mental health issues, getting into trouble with the law, abusing alcohol and other drugs, and unwanted pregnancies.

Children and adults with FASD are also quite vulnerable to physical, sexual, and emotional abuse.