Research Paper On Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

As a result of pregnant women drinking, there have been a profuse amount of children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Armstrong and Abel confirm that it wasn’t until 1973

The term “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorders” (FASDS) is used to describe the numerous problems associated with exposure to alcohol before birth. Each year in the United States, up to 40,000 babies are born with “Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorders” (FASDs) (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Additionally, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum disorders (FASDs) comes with effects that range from mild to severe. These effects include mental retardation; learning, emotional and behavioral problems; and defects involving the heart, face and other organs. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, the patterns of drinking that place a baby at greatest risk for FASDS are binge drinking and drinking seven or more drinks per week (Surgeon General). However, FASDS can occur in babies of women who drink less. There is no way of measuring how much alcohol one can consume before defects occur, and no proof that small amounts of alcohol are safe. As little as one drink a day can cause a baby some degree of harm and interfere with their normal development.

FAS is defined as a medical diagnosis involving four key features: alcohol exposure, growth deficiently, certain facial features, and brain damage. Infants who have been exposed to prenatal alcohol rarely show all symptoms of the medical condition FAS. Other terms have been used to describe the implication involved with FAS. Frequently used terms are: Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder and Alcohol-related Birth Defects. A child with Partial Fetal Alcohol syndrome exhibits only some of the physical signs of FAS and will likely have both learning and behavioral difficulties. A child suffering from Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder will demonstrate signs of neural damage, problems with memory, poor social skills, and learning difficulties. Children diagnosed with

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of mental, physical, and behavioral defects that may develop in the unborn child when its mother drinks during pregnancy. These defects occur primarily during the first trimester when the teratogenic effects of the alcohol have the greatest effect on the developing organs. The symptoms associated with FAS have been observed for many centuries, but it was not until 1968 that Lemoine and his associates formally described these symptoms in the scientific literature, and again in 1973 when Jones and associates designated a specific pattern of altered growth and dysmorphogenesis as the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Rostand, p. 302). The set of abnormalities characterized by Jones

Every year, about 40,000 babies are born with symptoms of prenatal alcohol exposure (Lupton, 2003). This number will only continue to grow if the risk of drinking alcohol while pregnant is not brought to the people’s attention. When the mother takes a drink of alcohol, so does the fetus, which will cause physical and behavioral problems after birth. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is completely preventable and irreversible. FAS awareness and prevention is important; expectant mothers need to know the background information about the syndrome, some common symptoms, signs, and treatments, and the mental and physical abnormalities that will occur because of this lifelong syndrome.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a disorder that occurs when a mother consumes alcohol while pregnant. Individuals with FAS may face many problems such as, bad vision, hearing impairments, memory difficulty, communicative hurdles, and much more (Bergen & Yu, 2012). In began in 1981 when expecting mothers were advised not to drink while pregnant (Alcohol Policies Project, n.d). However, is 1995 4 times more mothers were consuming alcohol in comparison to a few years earlier in 1991 (Alcohol Policies Project, n.d). In addition, 52 percent of women ages 18-34 claimed to have been consuming alcohol while pregnant (Alcohol Policies Project, n.d). The reason for a mothers decision to drink is unknown, it could possibly be that mothers have read reports

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a series of mental and physical birth defects that can include mental retardation, growth deficiencies, central nervous system dysfunction, craniofacial abnormalities and behavioral maladjustment's. Fetal Alcohol Effect is a less severe set of the same symptoms.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) refers to a group of physical and mental birth defects resulting from a women’s drinking alcohol heavily or at crucial stages during pregnancy. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was first named and treated in the late 1960's. This condition results from the toxic effect of alcohol and its chemical factors on the developing fetus. FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation occurring in 1 out of every 750 births. The frequency of FAS occurs about 1.9 times out of every 1000 births according to the latest figures, and minor effects can be seen in up to 20% of pregnancies per year. This number changes drastically for women who are clearly alcoholics. As high as 29 children out of every 1000 births will suffer from FAS

Alcohol is known as one the most dangerous teratogens. Every time a pregnant woman drinks, she allows alcohol to enter her blood stream and make its way into the placenta. Unlike the mother, the fetus is unable to break down alcohol that makes the blood alcohol level of the fetus the same or higher than the mother (Burk, 2013). Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), and prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are considered some of the most serious consequences of maternal drinking during pregnancy. Children can exhibit physical abnormalities such as a flat mid-face, a thin upper lip, a smooth groove between the nose and upper lip, along with growth retardation, and cognitive difficulties. The affected children also have cognitive difficulties which include intelligence, language, memory, and learning (Wacha & Obrzut, 2007).

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is the medical moniker for deformities and deficiencies that can arise in babies as the result of the mother's consumption of alcohol while pregnant. Any amount of alcohol consumption during pregnancy can contribute to the development of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and mothers are accordingly warned not to drink during pregnancy. The disorder can result in a number of medical issues including problems with sensory perception and cognitive ability that is permanently impaired.

When a woman is pregnant it is recommended that she does not consume any alcohol. If a woman does consume alcohol during the pregnancy she can cause a disorder called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Rank, J.). In 1968, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was characterized by P. Lamoine and colleagues form Nantes. They reported their findings in the French pediatric journal but unfortunately it didn’t draw to much attention. Five years later, in 1973, it was characterized again by K.L. Jones and colleagues in Seattle. Unlike the report in 1968 that wasn’t a success, this report in the British medical journal, The Lancet, triggered a great amount of reporters of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (Perlstein, David, MD, FAAP). The disorder is characterized by brain

In 1996, the United States Institue of Medicine published Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Diagnosis, Epidemiology, Prevention and Treatment. The book created four diagnostic categories for disorders caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. They were: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), Partial Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (PFAS), Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD) and Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ARND)(Stratton,1996). The differences between the disorders include the types of defects expressed and whether or not maternal alcohol consumption is confirmed. For example, ARND is characterized by intellectual disabilities and behavior and learning problems in the absence of physical defects. ARBD, on the other hand, lacks apparent neurobehavioral or brain disorders, but physical defects linked to prenatal alcohol exposure are present. (NOFAS)

Alcohol-related birth defects that may be present to those born with FAS can easily be identified because of the cluster of characteristic features involving facial appearance, growth and brain damage. Children born to mothers that drink heavily in pregnancy may also have serious congenital birth defects such as :

Through various articles and extensive research, it can be proven that prenatal alcohol exposure has a variety effects on people, children to be more exact. Prenatal alcohol exposure is the most widely recognized reason for mental retardation and the driving preventable reason for birth defects in the United States. Fetal alcohol syndrome is described by a mix of impeded development, face and body mutations, and disorders of the central nervous system. Behavioral, memory, and cognitive deficits are effects that is brought upon prenatal alcohol exposure. People should be more educated on the use of alcohol during pregnancy and its consequences.

Many studies have established that a developing organism is susceptible to exogenous and endogenous factors during certain stage of the organism’s development. The effects of ethyl alcohol or ethanol on the developing fetus, which manifest a variety of characteristic abnormalities, are collectively called Fetal alcohol Syndrome. Ethanol exposure to the fetus causes various malformation ranging from the cellular to the organismic levels with the eventual results frequently being different levels of mental retardation (3).