Preview

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
10306 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
What is FAS/FASD?
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a set of physical and mental birth defects that can result when a woman drinks alcohol during her pregnancy. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, such as beer, wine, or mixed drinks, so does her baby. Alcohol passes through the placenta right into the developing baby. The baby may suffer lifelong damage as a result.
FAS is characterized by brain damage, facial deformities, and growth deficits. Heart, liver, and kidney defects also are common, as well as vision and hearing problems. Individuals with FAS have difficulties with learning, attention, memory, and problem solving.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications. The term FASD is not intended for use as a clinical diagnosis.
FASD covers other terms such as:
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) - the only diagnosis given by doctors.
Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) - reserved for individuals with functional or cognitive impairments linked to prenatal alcohol exposure, including decreased head size at birth, structural brain abnormalities, and a pattern of behavioral and mental abnormalities
Alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD) - describes the physical defects linked to prenatal alcohol exposure, including heart, skeletal, kidney, ear, and eye malformations
Fetal alcohol effects (FAE) - a term that has been popularly used to describe alcohol-exposed individuals whose condition does not meet the full criteria for an FAS diagnosis
What are the Statistics and Facts about FAS and FASD?
FASD is the leading known preventable cause of mental retardation and birth defects.
FASD affects 1 in 100 live births or as many as 40,000 infants each year.
An individual with fetal alcohol syndrome can incur a


References: Grant, T.M., Ernst, C. C., and Streissguth, A.P. Intervention with high-risk alcohol and drug–abusing mothers: I. Administrative strategies of the Seattle model of paraprofessional advocacy. Journal of Community Psychology, 27, 1, 1-18, 1999 Ernst, C
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Psych Development Webquest
    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Psych Development Webquest

    4. What is FAS? Fetal Alcohol Syndrome What are the specific effects of FAS on…

    • 1265 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Case Study
    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Case Study

    Like any condition, treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome is constantly emerging. Since the syndrome causes neurological changes similar to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder it was once thought that medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder would be useful in treating fetal alcohol syndrome.2 Conflicting results from the use of the medications challenged doctors to conduct treatment differently. Pharmacists and doctors are now looking at the chemical changes that occur during and cause fetal alcohol syndrome. Medical specialists are in a dilemma though in regards to studies. It is not common to have human subjects, especially infants and children to test out new experiments; however, pharmacists and doctors have been able to work with dementia patients and have seen improvement in damage. As with any drug, clinical trials continually need to be tested. This simply means that no specific treatment has been proven successful yet.2…

    • 1056 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Unit 4222
    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Unit 4222

    Brain damage- If the mother is a heavy drinker can cause the unborn brain damage.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How pies affect childhood
    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How pies affect childhood

    Also if the mother has exposed her baby to alcohol when she is pregnant then the baby could be born with Fetal alcohol syndrome. This can really affect an infant’s physical development.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Paper
    • 2151 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Paper

    Mental retardation is a serious condition which includes: development delay, growth deficiencies, and damage to the brain and nervous system. It is common sense for a pregnant woman to stop drinking, and “to drink regularly throughout pregnancy, it associates with a wide variety of problems in the offspring” (Murkoff, Eisenberg, & Hathaway, 2002, p. 57). The symptoms that result from this disorder is physical and mental. The physical symptoms include: low birth weight, small head circumference, facial abnormalities—such as small eyes and underdeveloped groove between the nose and upper lip—as well as deformities of joints, limbs, and fingers. The internal symptoms include: organ dysfunction, vision difficulties, hearing problems, and heart defects—such as ventricular septal defect or atrial septal defect. The mental symptoms include: poor co-ordination skills, learning disorders, abnormal behaviour—for example, short attention span, hyperactivity, poor impulse control, and extreme nervousness and anxiety—poor socialization skills, and overall, the ability to adapt in the world. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is truly devastating. In…

    • 2151 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay Example
    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Essay Example

    FAS is the leading cause of mental retardation in the U.S. today. FAS affects approximately 1 in every 500 born in North America. Mother’s drinking alcoholic beverages during pregnancy causes FAS. FAS is characterized by:…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Paper
    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Paper

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, is drinking during pregnancy that endangers the fetus and causes effects on the unborn. Alcohol crosses the placenta and deprives the baby of nutrients and oxygen. The consumption of alcohol during pregnancy causes physical, mental and neurobehavioral issues. It increases growth restriction, abnormalities in the brain, central nervous system with impairment in cognition and behavior, and physical abnormalities. Some of the disorders are known as alcohol related neuro-developmental disorder (ARND) and the physical malformations are referred to alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). I have learned that some children commonly go undiagnosed, causing learning difficulties later in school. Alcohol causes an incredible damage; it interferes with the orderly development of tissues during the most critical periods. When the mother consumes alcohol, the fetus is being toxic by it. My question is why risk it or why does this happen. Every woman should be educated on this matter to prevent…

    • 638 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Birth Defects While Drinking and Smoking.
    • 892 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Birth Defects While Drinking and Smoking.

    There are three diagnoses linked to FASD such as Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), -[http://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/is-it-safe/drinking-smoking-during-pregnancy/ ] (Partial Fetal Alcohol syndrome (pFAS), Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD), and Alcohol Related Neurodevelopmental Disorder (ARND). Out of all the conditions of FASD, FAS is the most severe disorder. According to A.D.A.M Medical Encyclopedia’s information on fetal alcohol syndrome “A pregnant woman who drinks any amount of alcohol is at risk for having a child with fetal alcohol syndrome. No ‘safe’ level of alcohol use during pregnancy has been established”. (Maria Trimarchi 5). Larger amounts of alcohol appear to increase the problems. Alcohol use appears to be the most harmful during the first 3 months of pregnancy. However for women and teenage girls drinking alcohol any time during pregnancy can be harmful. Furthermore, common symptoms of babies with FAS include poor growth, heart defects, facial disfigurement, and delayed development in thinking, speech, movement, or social skills. Typical facial deformities associated with FAS include a small head and upper jaw as well as small narrow eyes…

    • 892 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Prenatal Substance Abuse Research Paper
    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Prenatal Substance Abuse Research Paper

    Prenatal substance abuse continues to be a problem in this country and exposes health and development risks for the developing fetus. Each year an estimated 400,000-440,000 infants (10-11% of all births) are affected by prenatal alcohol or illicit drug exposure (alcohol and drug). Almost all drugs are known to pass through the placenta and have some effect on the fetus. Prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol has the potential to cause a wide spectrum of physical, emotional, and developmental problems for these infants. Little is documented about the long-term outcome of…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is one of many other birth defects. FAS is when a mother than is pregnancy and drinking that the same time. A mother that drinking while being pregnancy can be a risk to an unborn baby. When eating food, the baby is going to get the things he need first and the rest of it go to the mother, so if the mother drinking and the baby is going to get some of that alcohol. Drinking alcohol does not really do harm the the mother but that baby can have health problems, or even death .Your baby brain,heart, and blood vessels begin to develop in the early weeks of pregnancy, evens before you know that you're pregnant. Alcohol can prevent with the delivery of oxygen, the development of tissues,organs, and the brain.…

    • 543 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder
    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder

    II. Orient Audience : Today I will be speaking to you about Fetal Spectrum Alcohol Disorder (FASD). What causes FASD, how FASD is diagnosed, and treatments for FASD.…

    • 956 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Alcohol Impact On Fetal Development
    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Alcohol Impact On Fetal Development

    Other effects of FAS are Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBDs) and Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ARNDs). ARBDs are the physical problems in the fetus such as heart disease, eyes diseases or organs problems. ARNDs are the learning problems and difficulties in the fetus such as difficulties of understanding or short memory. There is no medicine or treatment for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ("Drinking alcohol during pregnancy,"…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Analysis
    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Analysis

    Fetal alcohol syndrome refers to a group of conditions caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy (CDC, 2015). This set of conditions (FAS) encompasses a full range of prenatal alcohol damage that can vary from mild to severe. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome can cause physical deformities, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, motor or neurological deficits, or a combination of these effects (CDC, 2015). Alcohol falls under the chemical category of teratogens, which enters the mother’s bloodstream upon consumption and subsequently reaches fetus’s bloodstream (NIH, 2002).…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
    • 1684 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

    Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders is a term that is used to describe a range of problems that can occur to a fetus if the mother consumes any amount of alcohol during her pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is the most severe form of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and has the most visibly identifiable characteristics. Alcohol drastically interferes with the growth and development of several body systems such and the brain and spinal cord, facial features and even causes many mental, behavioural and learning disabilities that last a lifetime.…

    • 1684 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
    • 2705 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

    Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), first described in the published medical literature in 1968, refers to a constellation of physical abnormalities, most obvious in the features of the face and in the reduced size of the newborn, and problems of behavior and cognition.While the effects of alcohol have been researched countless times, it was not until the 20th century that it was recognized for its effects on the fetal development. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is an umbrella term used to describe the range of effects that can occur in a baby whose mother drinks during the pregnancy. The prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome ranges from 0.5 to 7.0 cases per 1,000 births in the United States (Warren, 2011). Alcohol is now recognized as the leading most preventable cause of birth defects and developmental disorders in the United States (Bailey and Sokol, 2008). The facial effects of fetal alcohol syndrome are easy to differentiate but the cognitive effects are what make Fetal Alcohol Syndrome challenging to diagnose.…

    • 2705 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics