subject: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, A Condition That affects Infants After Birth That Is Characterized By Some Abnormalities In The Child That Are Irreversible [print this page] Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, A Condition That affects Infants After Birth That Is Characterized By Some Abnormalities In The Child That Are Irreversible
FAS or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a pattern of mental and physical defects that can develop in a fetus when a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy. The timing and frequency of alcohol consumption during
pregnancy are major factors in the risk of a child developing fetal alcohol syndrome. While drinking alcohol does not always result in FAS, there are no guidelines.
Alcohol crosses the placenta barrier and can stunt fetal growth or weight, create distinctive facial stigmata, damage neurons, and brain structures which can result in psychological or behavioral problems and cause other physical damage that could be FAS.
The main effect of FAS is permanent central nervous system damage, especially to the brain. Developing brain cells and structures can be malformed or have development interrupted by prenatal alcohol exposure,
this can create an array of primary cognitive and functional disabilities including poor memory, attention deficits, impulsive behavior, and poor cause and effect reasoning.
Growth deficiency is defined as below average height, weight or both due to prenatal alcohol exposure, an can be assessed at any point in the the child's lifetime.
STRUCTURAL
Structural abnormalities of the brain are observable, physical damage to the brain or brain structures caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. Structural impairment may include, small head size of two or more
standard deviations below the average, or other abnormalities in brain structure.
Evidence of CNS structural impairment due to prenatal alcohol exposure will result in a diagnosis of FAS, and neurological and functional impairments are highly likely.
During the first trimester of pregnancy, alcohol interferes with the migration and organization of brain cells, which can create structural deformities or deficits within the brain. During the third trimester, damage can be caused to the hippocampus, which plays a role in memory, learning, emotion, visual and auditory information, all of which can create neurological and functional CNS impairments as well.
Neurological problems are expressed as either hard signs, or diagnosable disorders, such as epilepsy or other seizure disorders, or soft signs. Soft signs are broader, nonspecific neurological impairments, or
symptoms, such as impaired fine motor skills, neurosensory, hearing loss, poor gait, clumsiness, poor eye-hand coordination.
Prenatal alcohol exposure is the cause of fetal alcohol syndrome. This condition is caused by excessive amounts of alcohol. Some studies have shown that light to moderate drinking during pregnancy does not appear to pose a risk to the fetus.
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