Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable
cause of mental and physical birth defects in the United
States.
When a woman drinks alcohol during
pregnancy
, she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price - in
mental and physical deficiencies - for his or her entire life.
Yet many pregnant women do drink alcohol. It's estimated
that each year in the United States, 1 in every 750 infants is born
with a pattern of physical, developmental, and functional problems
referred to as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), while another 40,000
are born with fetal alcohol effects (FAE).
Signs and Symptoms
If you adopted a child or consumed alcohol during pregnancy and
are concerned that your child may have FAS, watch for
characteristics of the syndrome, which include:
- low birth weight
- small head circumference
-
failure to thrive
- developmental delay
- organ dysfunction
- facial abnormalities, including smaller eye openings,
flattened cheekbones, and indistinct philtrum (an underdeveloped
groove between the nose and the upper lip)
- epilepsy
- poor coordination/fine motor skills
- poor socialization skills, such as difficulty building and
maintaining friendships and relating to groups
- lack of imagination or curiosity
- learning difficulties, including poor memory, inability to
understand concepts such as time and money, poor language
comprehension, poor problem-solving skills
- behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, inability to
concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and
anxiety
Children with FAE display the same symptoms, but to a lesser
degree.
Diagnosis and Long-Term Effects
Problems associated with FAS tend to intensify as children move
into adulthood. These can include mental health problems, troubles
with the law, and the inability to live independently.
Kids with FAE are frequently undiagnosed. This also applies to
those with alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND), a
recently recognized category of prenatal damage that refers to
children who exhibit only the behavioral and emotional problems of
FAS/FAE without any signs of developmental delay or physical growth
deficiencies.
Often, in kids with FAE or ARND, the behavior can appear as mere
belligerence or stubbornness. They may score well on intelligence
tests, but their behavioral deficits often interfere with their
ability to succeed. Extensive education and training for the
parents, health care professionals, and teachers who care for these
kids are essential.
How Much Alcohol Is Too Much?
It's clear that abusing alcohol during pregnancy is
dangerous, but what about the occasional drink? How much alcohol
constitutes too much during pregnancy?
No evidence exists that can determine exactly
how much
alcohol ingestion will produce birth defects. Individual women
process alcohol differently. Other factors vary the results, too,
such as the age of the mother, the timing and regularity of the
alcohol ingestion, and whether the mother has eaten any food while
drinking.
Although full-blown FAS is the result of chronic alcohol use
during pregnancy, FAE and ARND may occur with only occasional or
binge drinking.
Because alcohol easily passes the placental barrier and the
fetus is less equipped to eliminate alcohol than its mother, the
fetus tends to receive a high concentration of alcohol, which
lingers longer than it would in the mother's system.
Mothers who drink during the first trimester of pregnancy have
kids with the most severe problems because that is when the brain
is developing. The connections in the baby's brain don't
get made properly when alcohol is present. Of course, in the early
months, many women don't even know they're pregnant.
It's important for women who are thinking about becoming
pregnant to adopt healthy behaviors before they get pregnant.
Women who abstain from alcohol in early pregnancy may feel
comfortable drinking in the final months. But some of the most
complex developmental stages in the brain occur in the second and
third trimesters, a time when the nervous system can be greatly
affected by alcohol. Even moderate alcohol intake, and especially
periodic binge drinking, can seriously damage a developing nervous
system.
Prevention Is the Key
FAS can be completely prevented by not drinking any alcohol
during pregnancy.
Reviewed by:
Linda Nicholson, MS, MC
Date reviewed: June 2008
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice,
diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
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