Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a pattern of birth defects occurring as a result of excessive alcohol consumption by the mother during pregnancy and characterized by growth retardation, cranial, facial, or neural abnormalities, and developmental disabilities. In other words, if a woman drinks while she is pregnant, her baby could be born with fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS. ... Babies born with some but not all of these problems have what is called fetal alcohol effects, or FAE. Alcohol- related birth defects, ARBD, and alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder, ARND, are recent terms encompassing conditions where a history of maternal alcohol exposure is present, and those which have been associated with the disease to identify affected infants. Babies with FAS or FAE may have health and learning problems their entire lives, therefore, in order to prevent this and for the health and safety of an unborn child, it is best for women to stop drinking alcohol before she conceives. FAS was first recognized in 1973 as links were made between prenatal exposure to alcohol and birth defects, and many incidences of it have shown the changing clinical features of FAS from early childhood to adulthood, and the range of disabilities. ... Current data does not support a “safe level” of alcohol consumption during pregnancy where no damage will occur to a fetus, but researchers have made educated conclusions that risk drinking during pregnancy (enough to damage offspring), has been defined as an average of more than one drink per day. ... Research shows that even small amounts of alcohol can increase the risk of birth defects, so the safest choice is to abstain from drinking all together during pregnancy. Although many women reduce their alcohol use once they know they are pregnant, a large portion do not realize they are pregnant until well into the first trimester, which is a critical period of fetal susceptibility to alcohol.