The Effects of Alcohol from Utero into Later Life

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The Effects of Alcohol from Utero into Later Life
During the ten months of gestation, the ever-growing fetus goes through the stages and changes of becoming a functional human. Unfortunately for some, these children will not get the full advantages of life because of the choices of another. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) has been calculated to have an impact on nearly forty thousand infants a year (fasdcenter). To really see the magnitude of the effects of this easily preventable disorder, researchers followed children from birth into later years to study the deficits placed on these individuals.
The First Years of Life with FAS
Children can have many different physical and behavioral characteristics that can manifest themselves as a direct result of FAS within the first years of the child’s life. Such physical physiognomies can include low birth weight, head and facial deformities such as flattened zygomatic bones that give shape for cheeks and overall symmetry of the face, undistinguished philtrum, and reduced eye apertures (Jacobson, 2003). Some of the behavioral effects can be reduced synchronization of the socio-emotional skills within the first few years when development is essential for the young child, as well as learning incapacities.
Dealing with FAS during Adolescence
In any child’s life, they are expected to grow, learn, and flourish during their school years. Children who suffer from FAS are shown to have severe issues with these tasks. While some have shown qualities of segregation and depression, others struggle with difficulties such as unsuitable sexual behavior towards others (Green, 1992). But one thing that all these children have in common is their decreased IQ levels. While is does depend on the severity of the...

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FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDERS BY THE NUMBERS. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://fasdcenter.samhsa.gov/documents/WYNK_Numbers.pdf Jacobson, Ph.D, J. L., & Jacobson, Ph.D, S. W. (2003, June). Effects of Prenatal Alcohol
Exposure on Child Development. Retrieved from http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh264/282-286.htm Green, C. (1992). Fetal alcohol syndrome in adolescents and adults. Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED351167

Wood, RN, D. (2013, July). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.med.nyu.edu/conditions-we-treat/conditions/fetal-alcohol-syndrome

Department of Environmental and Public Health (2003). Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Retrieved from http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/fas/fas...htm

Center For Disease Control (n.d.). CDC - FASD, Treatments - NCBDDD. Retrieved February 8,
2013, from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/fasd/treatments.html

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