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Articles on effects of fetal alcohol syndrome
The effects of fetal alcohol syndrome
Articles on effects of fetal alcohol syndrome
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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a disorder that can happen to children whose mothers drank sufficient amounts of alcohol sometime throughout their pregnancy. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a condition classified in a group called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and is the most known and severe of the group.
FAS, depending on the factors such as location, population and race studied is considered one of the leading known causes of mental retardation and birth defects, with 0.2 – 1.5 out of every 1,000 live births (Ismail, Buckley, Budacki, Jabbar, & Gallicano, 2010) and as many as 40,000 infants born with some sort of disorder or complication related to alcohol consumption every year. (Mayo Clinic, 2009)
The severity that the disorder may have on a fetus depends on the amount of alcohol that was consumed and the time of consumption when the fetus was in uetero. FAS does not always result from high amounts of alcohol ingested by the mother, but possibly when it was consumed. The most critical time of fetal development in pregnancy is throughout the first trimester when the fetal body systems and organs are in the most vital stages of development, and are at risk for being severely altered, effecting every individual diagnosed in different ways. The central nervous system and brain are most affected, leading to developmental and cognitive alterations as well as physical changes of the child that is born with FAS. (Ismail, Buckley, Budacki, Jabbar, & Gallicano, 2010)
Fetal Alcohol syndrome is one of the leading causes of disabilities that could be prevented in the world; the costs of someone with FAS are between $800,000 to over 2.0 million dollars in medical and overall costs throughout their life. (Lupton, Burd, & Hardwood, 2004)...
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Lupton, C., Burd, L., & Hardwood, R. . (2004). Cost of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. American Journal of Medical Genetics Part C: Seminars in1 Medical Genetics, 127C(1), Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajmg.c.30015/full doi: 10.1002/ajmg.c.30015
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2009, May 22). Fetal Alcohol Syndrom Retrieved February 13 2011, from the MayoClinic Website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fetal-alcohol-syndrome/DS00184
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According to the CDC, FAS is the leading cause of preventable developmental disabilities and birth defects. It is not known how many people have fetal alcohol spectrum disorders or FASD of which fetal alcohol syndrome is the most prevalent of the spectrum of disorders. CDC studies have identified 0.2 to 1.5 infants are born with FAS per 1000 live births, (this rate is comparable or higher than rates for other disorders such as Spina Bifida and Down syndrome) another study found FAS in 0.3 out of 1000 children aged 7 to 9 years. The Minnesota Department of Health states that because not all children exhibit facial characteristics, it is under diagnosed and up to 20% of children have been exposed prenatally to alcohol. Epidemiologic studies
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggestion that a pregnant woman should not drink alcohol during pregnancy (Advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy 2005) has been widely criticized as being unnecessarily paternalistic, but the CDC goes further into explaining that, “Alcohol consumed during pregnancy increases the risk of alcohol related birth defects, including growth deficiencies, facial abnormalities, central nervous system impairment, behavioral disorders, and impaired intellectual development” (Advisory on alcohol use in pregnancy
Trussell, J., Stewart, F., Potts, M., Guest, F., & Ellertson, C. (1993). Should Oral Contraceptives
lip, skin folds at the corners of the eyes, indistinct groove on the upper lip, and an
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FASD is not a clinical diagnosis, as stated before; it is an umbrella term for the range of disorders that are a result from alcohol exposure in the womb. The different disorders are Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), and Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND) and Alcohol-related Birth Defects (ARBD). Another term used in some sources is Fetal Alcohol Effect (FAE); this term came about when researchers noticed that there were individuals that showed some signs of FAS but not all.
A mother who drinks while she is pregnant stands a high risk of harming their unborn child because the alcohol passes through her blood to her baby, and that can harm the development of the baby’s cells. This is most likely to harm the baby’s brain and spinal cord. Many of the common effects of a child suffering from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is: distinctive facial features, growth problems making them smaller than the average child, and learning and behavior problems.
Merrick J, Merrick E, Morad M, Kandel I. (2006). Fetal alcohol syndrome and its long-term effects. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Faculty of Health Sciences Jun;58(3):211-8.
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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a pattern of birth defects caused by maternal consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome tend to have physical abnormalities such as deformed facial characteristics. They are generally born with a variety of emotional and/or intellectual limitations. It is very common for these children to be born with mild to severe forms of mental retardation (Harvard Mental Health, 2004, p. 1). Children that were exposed to alcohol while in the womb of the mother can suffer from an assortment of physical and intellectual impairments in their future.
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out!” A child has most likely heard that phrase at some point in their life. Although, it is not ethical or legal for a mother to “take her kid out of this world”, it does bring up a good point that it was through her body, that the child was born. One of the most important responsibilities in this world is a mother carrying a child in the womb. There are many divine processes that take place during gestation, but there are also many contributing factors from the mother that can affect the developing human. These factors may include what a woman ingests and exposes her embryo or fetus to. Sadly, alcohol use during pregnancy is an ongoing problem that can have detrimental affects on the fetus, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Choosing to drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy is a choice, a risky choice. Unfortunately some women don’t even know they are making a risky choice by consuming alcohol because it is in the early stages of pregnancy. It is common for a female to not find out they are pregnant until at least the fifth or sixth week after fertilization. In 2006, 49% of all pregnancies in the United States were reported unintended on a national survey.1 The highest rate of preventable birth defects and mental retardation is due to alcohol use.2 In this paper, I will further discuss FAS, the potential effects of binge drinking during the embryonic stage of gestation, and what actions need to be taken in order to reduce the incidences of alcohol related birth defects.