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Alcohol Fetal Syndrome
Alcohol Fetal Syndrome
By: Jason Alberti
Alcohol Fetal Syndrome is a series of mental and physical defects that can develop in a fetus in association with high levels of alcohol consumption during pregnancy. In the United States and Europe, the FAS prevalence rate is estimated to be between 0.2–2 in every 1000 live births.
When a woman consumes alcohol during pregnancy, the baby is prone to receive alcohol fetal syndrome. The baby may not get any defects due to alcohol. It all depends on the amount the mother drinks. The lifetime medical and social costs of FAS are estimated to be as high as $800,000 per child born with the disorder.
Defects vary based on how severe the syndrome is.
Growth deficiency is below average height, weight or both due to prenatal alcohol exposure. Growth deficiency is one of the most common defects.
Abnormal facial features are also a severe effect. These distinctive facial features in a patient do strongly correlate to brain damage. Some cases involved a small nose or smaller eyes. This is because the alcohol changes the way a baby progresses throughout growth in the fetus and deals great damage to the brain.
Structural impairments may include microcephaly (small head size) of two or more standard deviations below the average, or other abnormalities in brain structure. Microcephaly can be determined by the infant's head circumference.
There is no cure for FAS. Treatments are varied between patients. Not all treatments work for everyone. There are traditional medical treatments. There are also more extreme measures such as brain surgery, etc..