Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, also known as FAS, is caused when the mother has moderate to heavy drinking during the embryonic period. Most women are 2 to 3 months pregnant before they find out. The odds are very high that about 20% of babies have been exposed to multiple episodes of being bathed in high levels of alcohol in the first trimester, before the woman even knew she was pregnant. Maternal prenatal alcohol consumption even at low levels is adversely related to child behavior. The effect was observed at average exposure levels as low as 1 drink per week.
FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) individuals may have a distinctive physical appearance and lower IQs, but have lower crime and addiction rates than FAE (Fetal Alcohol Effects) individuals as they get earlier diagnosis and can be better protected by society and their parents. While FAE individuals may lack the outward physical appearance of alcohol damage, and generally have higher IQ's, the internal damage to the brain and other organs can be just as serious as full FAS. IQ measures convergent fact based thinking. Life skills require divergent adaptive thinking that in FAE individuals will be substantially lower than their IQ. However, because FAE individuals "look normal" they are expected to perform normally. These issues lead to secondary disabilities. Primary disabilities are those the child is born with. Secondary disabilities are those that develop as a result of failure to properly deal with the primary disabilities.
Alcohol is toxic at all concentrations. Alcohol damage to the fetus occurs over a wide continuum. Damage varies due to amount drank, timing during pregnancy, peak blood alcohol levels, genetics and environmental factors. FAS is a lifetime disability. It is not curable. A child does not "grow out of it". However, early diagnosis and intensive, and appropriate, intervention can make an enormous difference in the prognosis for the child. There is a small window of opportunity, up to about age 10 or 12, to achieve the greatest potential for an alcohol affected child. That period is when the greatest development of fixed neural pathways occurs.
Some physical abnormalities of FAS include: facial distortions, growth deficiency, and evidence of central nervous system dysfunction, poor motor skills, poor hand-eye coordination, sometimes also have learning problems, memory problems, attention problems, and judgment problems.
All in all, it is very important to make sure that you DO NOT drink if you know that you are pregnant, or even thinking about becoming pregnant, because your choices could have a major effect on you and your unborn baby. |