The Truth About What Alcohol Abuse Does to a Fetus

This shows that there are potentially fatal conditions that could happen to a child exposed to alcohol, permanently disabling them, making them slow and stand out from other kids their age even into adulthood. There are other effects that come with having FAS. For some individuals it causes “attention deficit, depression, anxiety attacks, psychosis and suicide threats” (Seaver). For these conditions most of them can be treated with medication, but the child will have to be on meds for the majority if not all of their life. All of these terrible effects could have simply been prevented if the mother would have waited just a short nine months to ingest alcohol.

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.

As stated earlier, alcohol has its greatest effect on the developing embryo during the first trimester of pregnancy with its teratogenic effect causing mental retardation as well as characteristic craniofacial abnormalities that are characteristic of the disease. It has also been demonstrated with experimental animal models that there is a clear "dose-response" effect between the amount of alcohol consumed by the mother and the risk that is associated with developing FAS symptoms (Walpole, p. 875). It has been proposed by Walpole and associates that there are various degrees to which the fetus An be effected. Walpole uses the term "fetal alcohol syndrome" to refer to serious effects due to heavy maternal drinking and "fetal alcohol effect" to refer to those effects thought to occur with lower maternal alcohol intake (Walpole, p. 875). Regardless of the degree to which

“Its the importance of intervening early, ideally in the first year or two of life or even before the child is born” (Kristof 51). Before a child is even born, there is steps every mother can take to ensure a good life for their child. A doctor cant always guarentee that a baby will be healthy, but a mother taking precautions in their own life and health can always give a better chance for a child to live a healthy life. “Within four weeks of conception, a human embryo has formed a neural tube, which then begins to produce brain cells. As the brain is forming, it is shaped by the uterine environment in ways that will affect the child for the rest of his or her life. A mother who drinks alcohol may leave her child with fetal alcohol syndrome,

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

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

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (known as FASD), is a term which encompasses a wide variety of negative health consequences as a result of exposure to alcohol while in the womb (Williams, 2006). This exposure has the potential to cause severe, permanent brain damage leading to cognitive and behavioural deficiencies throughout childhood and adolescence (Brown et al., 2015). FASD only occurs within the general population of North America in approximately 9.1 out of every 1000 births (McLachlan et al., 2014). However, this condition is much more prevalent in individuals involved in various stages of the justice system, affecting between 10% and 23% (McLachlan et al., 2014). This paper aims to explain how FASD affects a juvenile’s brain

FAS, also known as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Is a condition the occurs in a female's off spring when the mother drinks alcohol during any time during her pregnancy. What happens is that the baby absorbs the alcohol through the mother's placenta. There the alcohol can enter the fetus blood stream slowing poisoning the fetus. FAS can lead behavioral problems, speech problems, facial deformities, as well as learning problems.

Fetal alcohol syndrome- It is frightening to know that doctors used to tell their patients that it was ok to drink a glass of wine when pregnant this is a big NO, even a sip can cause FAS. What is FAS? This is when a mother who is pregnant drinks alcohol and it reaches the fetus cause adverse birth defects. When ethanol (alcohol) is drank, it is met by enzymes who break down the substance, women have less of ADH then men making alcohol very dangerous for women just in general. Therefore when a women drinks even the littles drop it is hurting the baby in more ways than one and that one drop can cause FAS. When a drug like alcohol breaks thru the placenta barrier into the fetus there called teratogens (this is what causes the birth defect).

Bohjanen, Humphrey, and Ryan (2009) say, that brain imaging has begun to show the abnormalities and effects alcohol has on the brain structurally and the deficits it causes. Psychicatic problems that can occur are anxiety, their mood, how they conduct themselves with others and have distracting behavioral disorders according to O’Malley & Storoz (2003). Mattson, Crocker & Nguyen (2011) say that one of the hardest things is to understand the various neurobehavioral outcomes that come with pre-exposure to alcohol while in the womb because you have to guess the pattern of the alcohol consumption. Was it the amount the mother drank? Was it the timing of development that she drank? All in all, it is the amount of alcohol consumed which is linked to the severity of the child’s deficits ( Mattson, Crocker, & Ngyyen, 2011).

As an infant, the child would have low birth weight, sensitivity to noises and touch and poor sleep-wake patterns. As the infant becomes a toddler, the child will have poor memory, hyperactivity, and no sense of boundaries. As the child enter grade school, the child will short attention span, low self esteem difficulty with motor skills and trouble keeping up with school. As the child become a teenager and an adult, it will have problems with impulse control, hard time dealing with daily obstacles, such as finances. Plus, they will have to differentiate public and private behaviors. The best way to help a person with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome would be them having a schedule that they abide by and having a close relationship at young age with their families and with their therapist or

FAS or fetal alcohol syndrome is a severe form of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and the effects of this condition are usually permanent. There are a wide range of symptoms and these are just a few: a small head, smooth ridge between the upper lip and nose, small and wide-set eyes, very thin upper lip, or other abnormal facial features and below average height and weight. (The Healthline Editorial Team). 2015. Another factor that may affect the fetus and the baby in future development is stress. When you’re stressed, your body goes into "fight or flight" mode, sending out a burst of cortisol and other stress hormones. These are the same hormones that surge when you are in danger. They prepare you to run by sending a blast of fuel to your muscles and making your heart pump faster. (Watson, S). 2013. Some studies show that chronic stress may lead to low birth weight, and this is when you alter your bodies stress management system. And based on what I have read I do feel that lower stress levels outweigh the minor risks of controlled alcohol consumption. This is due to the fact that there have been no studies that directley link moderate alcohol consumption to birth defects. FAS has been linked to mothers who abused alcohol during

FAS doesn’t sound so bad, but in reality it is. FAS means Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. FAS is a combination of physical and mental defects first evident at a baby’s birth. FAS is a direct result of a woman drinking alcohol during pregnancy. These defects continue through out the child’s life. One in five hundred children are born with FAS.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) describes the range of problems related to alcohol exposure before birth. The problems range from mild to severe. With the consumption of alcohol it can cause baby to have mental as well as physical problem after the birth and this may last throughout his or her life.

FASD can easily be prevented. If a mother does not consume alcohol during pregnancy, her child will not suffer with FASD. It can easily be prevented, but precautions are not being put in place to prevent FASD. Since interventions are not being used, the health care system is left to pay the costs. Doreen, M. R., Bonnett, D. M., & Gass, C. B. (2006) notes that FASD has been studied ever since the 19th century but has been “poorly understood and largely overlooked.” In the past (Doreen, M. R., Bonnett, D. M., & Gass, C. B. 2006). Since the behaviours and outcomes of FASD have been neglected, there has not been the