Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
How common is it?
What causes it?
What does it look like?
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) develops in some unborn babies when the mother drinks too much alcohol during pregnancy. Children with FAS may have physical disabilities and problems with learning, memory, attention, problem solving, and social/behavioral problems.
In those children who don’t have the full-blown syndrome, there are many names used to describe their condition: fetal alcohol effects (FAE), alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) and alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is often used to describe the range of disabilities that may be exhibited by these children.
How common is it?
It is believed that fetal alcohol syndrome occurs in approximately 0.2 to 1.5 per 1,000 live births, but that there are three times as many children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
What causes it?
Fetal alcohol syndrome disorders are caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy. No amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy. It is recommended that women who are pregnant, who are planning to become pregnant, or who are at risk of becoming pregnant because they are not using contraception, should not consume alcohol at all.
What does it look like?
Children with FASDs have some or all of these characteristics or behaviours:
- Small at birth or being smaller than their peers
- Facial abnormalities such as low set ears or small eye openings
- Poor motor coordination
- Hyperactivity
- Learning problems
- Speech and language problems
- Developmental delays (mental retardation)
- Poor daily living skills
- Poor problem solving and judgment
- Sleeping or sucking problems in infancy
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