Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is Preventable
FAS is the #1 Cause of Mental Retardation in Industrialized Nations
Feb 1, 2009
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects that develop in infants born to some women who drink during pregnancy. FAS is a cluster of congenital birth defects with characteristics of small heads and body size, abnormal facial characteristics, abnormal behavioral patterns, mental retardation, learning disabilities, and a failure to thrive pattern.
Even light or moderate drinking during pregnancy can cause Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) or Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD.) In fact even a single drinking binge by a pregnant woman can be enough to permanently damage the brain of her unborn child, according to a study by Dr. John Olney, Washington University School of Medicine, as published in the January 2000 issue of the Journal of Science. According to the study, “a single prolonged contact with alcohol - lasting at least four minutes - is enough to kill millions of brain cells.”
Each year about 40,000 babies are born with some level of prenatal alcohol exposure. As many as 1 in every 100 babies born in the United States has some form of alcohol related birth defects. One estimate is that there are 294,000 persons with FAS living in the United States ("Economic Costs of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders", Henrick Harwood, the Lewin Group, December 2, 2005.)
Characteristics of FAS
FAS is now recognized as the leading cause of mental retardation in the Western World and the only one which is totally preventable. FAS is manifested by an infant demonstrating abnormalities that may include:
- Central Nervous System Deficiencies, including an abnormally small head, mild mental retardation, and irritableness and tremulousness;
- Growth Deficiencies, including being smaller at birth weight, a failure-to-thrive syndrome, and growth retardation;
- Facial Characteristics, including a head size disproportionately smaller to total body size, narrow eye slits, or a lack of cartilage in the nose; and
- Abnormalities of Other Systems, possibly including heart defects, joint defects, kidney defects, etc.
Babies may suffer a decrease of intellectual capacity and lack of motor coordination skills. Many children labeled as Learning Disabled actually suffer from ARBD. Prenatal alcohol exposure can lead to difficulty mastering reading, writing and arithmetic; diminished ability to learn or use new skills; and behavioral problems including problems at school, employment problems, troubled relationships, difficulty in handling responsibilities, poor impulse control, and can lead to homelessness, psychiatric hospitalization, alcohol and drug problems, jail, etc. The effects of FAS, FAE or ARBD can last a lifetime.
The Costs of FAS
FAS carries a lifetime price tag. The comprehensive lifetime cost of just one baby with FAS for medical costs, special education costs, social service costs, etc., could be as much as 5 million dollars.
Often alcohol does the greatest damage in the first trimester. This is critically important to know because women may not know they are pregnant for the first three to six weeks, and may not understand the need to completely abstain from alcohol. Alcohol is also a leading cause of spontaneous abortion, miscarriage, and still births.
No Safe Level of Drinking During Pregnancy
No safe level of drinking during pregnancy has yet been determined. Abstinence should continue throughout the pregnancy and continue until breast feeding has ceased. For just as when a pregnant mother drinks the baby drinks because of the passing of alcohol through a shared blood supply, so too, when a nursing mother drinks so does the baby through the breast milk.
Surgeon General’s Advisory on Alcohol Use in Pregnancy
In February of 2005, the Surgeon General of the United States stated that a pregnant woman should not drink alcohol during pregnancy. The best advice for any woman considering pregnancy is to completely abstain from all alcohol consumption. Alcohol and pregnancy do not mix. A child has one chance at life, and alcohol is contraindicated for maximum health.
References
Fetal Alcohol and Drug Effects
International FAS Bell Concordance Day
SAMHSA FASD Center for Excellence
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