Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

What can happen to a fetus when a pregnant women drinks heavily during her pregnancy?

It can lead to permanent, irreversible and incurable effects that will bring a lifetime of pain for

both the child and the family. These permanent and unchangeable effects arise from a fetus

attaining fetal alcohol syndrome from its mother. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of

malformations and disabilities resulting from a pregnant woman drinking heavily during her

pregnancy. FAS is unique in that effects on the children are directly linked to maternal drinking

habits. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is currently the leading cause of mental retardation in the United

States. A baby with FAS can suffer from mental retardation, central nervous dysfunction, organ

dysfunction, facial abnormalities and many other effects. At least 5,000 to 10000 infants are born

each year in America with FAS. There is a little less then a 50% chance that the new born child,

whose mother drank heavily during pregnancy, will be born with FAS. Even if the child is not

born with FAS, there is a better then 50% chance that the child will have many Fetal Alcohol

Effects (FAE) from maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy (Berhow 364). Each infant

that is born with FAS is a large financial burden. The institutional and medical costs for one child

with FAS is an average of over a million dollars during the child’s lifetime. Whatever the mother

drinks while she is pregnant, the child inside her is drinking. If the mother gets drunk from

consuming to much alcohol so will her child. A mother’s high risk behavior during pregnancy

effects the child more then it might effect her. But FAS is a syndrome that is 100% preventable.

The only way to prevent FAS is for a pregnant woman to abstain from drinking alcohol during her

entire pregnancy.

“In a broad sense FAS may be viewed as a repercussion of an external environmental

influence on the internal physiological environment of the developing fetus” (Caleekal). What a

mother does to herself externally has an immediate impact on the fetus which lies inside her. If a

pregnant woman drinks wine, beer, or any liquor when she is pregnant, her baby could develop

FAS, its that simple. The disabilities which stem from FAS will last a lifetime. No amount of

alcohol has been proven safe to consume during pregnancy. He...

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...he laundry, making decisions and things needed to do for everyday

life. With tutoring, many can learn to read and spell at an elementary level. They must be

constantly monitored and reminded about what to do and they must be exposed to much failure

because of their low self-esteem (Long).

There is good news about FAS, it is 100% preventable. The easiest way to prevent FAS

is for the mother to not drink any alcohol during her pregnancy. People need to know what

drinking during pregnancy can do to a developing fetus and the lifelong impact that it can have on

a child. The more education there is about FAS the less prevalence of it we will be exposed to.

There needs to be more worldwide information so others will not make these irreversible

decisions. FAS lasts a lifetime. It is costly and a heavy burden on whoever takes care of a FAS

child. It also shows the mother is irresponsible when the child is diagnosed with FAS. How

could anyone want to harm their unborn child? At least 7000 babies are born with FAS each year

in the United Sates, from irresponsible mothers who had one to many drinks during their

pregnancy. Many of these mothers are unknowingly damagi