Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

1. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome(FAS) By Amanda Sponseller

2. What it is? • Condition that results from prenatal alcohol exposure • Defects are irreversible and vary from child to child • As many as 40,000 babies are born every year with some kind of alcohol-related damage in the US • Affects 1-2 out of every 1,000 births in the US

3. What it is?-Con’t. • Is not a single birth defect, it is a cluster of related problems • Most severe consequence that results from prenatal alcohol exposure • One of the few known preventable causes of mental retardation

4. Signs of FAS • Distinctive facial features such as small eyes, thin upper lip, a short, upturned nose, and a smooth skin surface between the nose and upper lip, and “railroad track” ears • “Hockey stick” palm crease • Problems with daily living • Heart defects • Low birth weight • Sleep and sucking problems in infancy • Deformities of joints, limbs, and fingers • Slow physical growth before and after birth

5. Signs-Con’t. • Vision difficulties or hearing problems • Small head circumference and brain size • Mental retardation and delayed development • Abnormal behavior (short attention span, hyperactivity, extreme nervousness, and anxiety) • Most extreme is death

6. Features of FAS • Characteristics of FAS

7. Features of FAS • Railroad track ear • “Hockey Stick” palm crease

8. Features of FAS • Thin upper lip and smooth skin surface between nose and upper lip

9. Other Terms of FAS • Fetal alcohol effects (FAE)-describes behavior and cognitive problems in children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol but do not have all the typical features of FAS • Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND)-refers to the mental and behavior impairments that occur as a result of fetal exposure to alcohol (ex. memory, attention, poor school performance, poor judgment)

10. Other terms of FAS-Con’t. • Alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD)-refers to the physical defects that occur from fetal alcohol exposure (ex. heart, kidney, bones, and/or hearing)

11. Causes • When drinking alcohol, it enters the bloodstream and reaches the developing fetus by crossing the placenta • The presence of alcohol can impair optical nutrition for the baby’s developing tissues and organs and can damage brain cells • First trimester alcohol intake-impairment of facial features, heart and other organs, bones, and the central nervous system • Age of mother, timing & regularity of alcohol ingestion, and if the mother has eaten any food while drinking

12. When to seek medical help? • If you drank before realizing that you are pregnant • Drinking while pregnant • Early diagnosis reduces risk of long-term problems for children with FAS

13. Screening & Diagnosis • Cannot diagnose FAS before birth • Can assess the health of mother and baby during pregnancy • Doctors can assess child’s health in days, months, and years to come for FAS after birth • Doctors rely on growth impairment, facial malformations, and the presence of heart defects to diagnose FAS • Doctors also use IQ and language tests to diagnose • After diagnosing one child, it is important to evaluate other siblings for FAS

14. Treatment • No cure for FAS • All defects (mental & physical) last for a lifetime • Heart problems may require surgery • Learning problems may be helped by special services offered at school • Parents benefit from counseling to help the family with the child’s behavior problems

15. Prevention • Completely preventable if no alcohol is present • Stop drinking altogether if planning to become pregnant • Continue to avoid alcohol throughout pregnancy • Consider giving up alcohol during childbearing years (18-44) • Get help first if you have an alcohol problem

16. Helpful suggestions for parents of FAS children • Implement daily routines to which a child can become accustomed to • Create and enforce simple rules and limits • Use rewards to reinforce acceptable behavior • Teach your child skills for daily living

17. History • Maternal alcoholism and birth defects were initially treated as a new observation • Effects of alcohol on the developing fetus had been known for centuries • One of the earliest reference to this syndrome was found in ancient Greek & Roman beliefs • FAS was not documented in medical literature until 1968

18. Miscellaneous • February 2005-US Surgeon General issued an advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy to raise public awareness about this health concern • Overall rate of any alcohol use (at least 1 drink) among pregnant women has declined since 1995 • Frequent & binge drinking continues to occur • About 130,000 pregnant women per year in the US consume alcohol at levels shown to increase the risk of having a baby with FAS or other prenatal alcohol-related conditions

19. International FAS Awareness Day • September 9th-the ninth day of the ninth month of the year • It symbolizes the nine months of pregnancy that a woman should avoid alcohol • Spread the word about the importance of having a healthy, alcohol-free pregnancy with family and friends!

20. Bibliography • Calhoun, F., & Warren, K. (2007). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Historical perspectives. ScienceDirect, 31, 168-171. • Magnusson, A., Goransson, M., & Helig, M. (2007). Hazardous alcohol users during pregnancy: Psychiatric health and personality traits. ScienceDirect, 89, 275-281. • Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. (2006, May 2). Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2007, from http://www.cdc.gov • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. (2007, July). Kidshealth. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2007, from http://www.kidshealth.org • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. (2007, May 23). Mayoclinic. Retrieved Oct. 10, 2007, from http://www.mayoclinic.com