According to leading experts, the consumption of alcohol,
during pregnancy is the leading known preventable cause of
mental and physical birth defects in the United States. It
has also been shown to be the leading known cause of mental
retardation in the Western world.
Despite these very real and frightening dangers, many
pregnant women still drink alcohol. Statistics indicate
that every year in the United States, one out of every 750
infants is born with this pattern of physical,
developmental, and functional problems, while another
40,000 are born with what is referred to as fetal alcohol
effects (FAE). The main effect of FAS is a permanent
disability caused by severe and permanent central nervous
system damage, especially in the brain, leaving no way to
effect a cure for FAS.
Children who are affected by the syndrome usually exhibit
multiple signs starting with facial abnormalities,
including smaller eye openings, flattened cheekbones, and
an indistinct philtrum (an underdeveloped groove or divot
running between the nose and the upper lip). A thin upper
lip and smooth philtrum are signs used by a professional to
diagnose FAS. The presence of FAS facial features indicates
brain damage, though brain damage may also exist if they
are not. The risk factor for brain damage increases
significantly as the eyes get smaller, the philtrum gets
flatter, and the lip gets thinner. In fact in studies, the
more the face presents these FAS-like attributes, the more
likely the brain is to be abnormal.
Individuals with FAS also exhibit learning disabilities,
poor impulse control, do not understand personal
boundaries, cannot manage anger, show signs of
stubbornness, tend to be far too friendly with strangers,
show poor daily living skills, experience delays
developing, have poor attention or concentration making
them easily distractible. mental retardation, epilepsy,
display confusion under pressure, show trouble trying to
distinguishing between fantasy and reality, have slower
thought processing, display poor judgment, and lack fine
motor and gross motor skills.
Since the problems associated with FAS tend to intensify as
children go into adulthood, these people also show an
increased incidence of mental illness, are more likely to
be suspended, expelled from school or dropping out of
school, and are more likely to be charged or convicted with
a crime. FAS-affected individuals are more likely to
exhibit inappropriate sexual behavior through sexual
advances, sexual touching, or promiscuity, and suffer from
alcohol and drug abuse or dependency. Children with FAE
display the same symptoms, but to a lesser degree.
Every pregnancy is different. Drinking alcohol may cause
damage to one baby more than another. You could have one
child who is born healthy and another child born with
problems. Mothers consume alcohol during the first
trimester of pregnancy have kids with the most severe
problems because that is when the brain is developing. The
connections in the baby's brain don't get made properly
when alcohol is present.
Brain cells and structures are underdeveloped or malformed
by the prenatal exposure. The risk of causing brain damage
exists throughout the entire pregnancy, though, since the
fetal brain develops continually through each trimester.
Although full-blown FAS is the result of chronic alcohol
use during pregnancy, FAE and ARND may occur with only
occasional or binge drinking, seriously damaging a
developing nervous system.
Clearly, abusing alcohol during pregnancy is dangerous. No
evidence exists which determines exactly how much alcohol
ingestion will produce birth defects. Individual women
process alcohol differently, and many women don't even know
they're pregnant in the early months.
Alcohol is a teratogen, and the only certain way to prevent
FAS is to avoid drinking alcohol anytime before becoming
pregnant or during a pregnancy. Since experts do not know
whether the difference in the quantity of damage done to
the fetus is caused by the amount, how frequently alcohol
is consumed or at what time during a pregnancy the alcohol
is consumed, the current recommendation first made by the
Surgeon General in 1981 and again in 2005, is for a woman
not to drink at all while she is expecting or planning to
become pregnant.
Alcohol easily passes the placental barrier and the
developing fetus is not equipped to eliminate alcohol so,
the fetus tends to receive a high concentration of alcohol,
which lingers longer than it would in the mother's system.
She runs the risk giving birth to a child who will pay the
price for her alcohol consumption, both in mental and
physical deficiencies, or behavioral problems throughout
the course of his or her entire life. People with severe
problems may experience physical and emotional
disabilities, may not be able to take care of themselves as
adults, and quite frequently, they may never be able to
work, causing a burden both to the prospective parents and
society, as a whole.
About the Author:
Tell your story! Pick up recovery tips and tricks to
enhance your life in recovery. Bill Urell MA.CAAP-II, is an
addictions therapist at a leading residential treatment
center. He teaches healthy life styles and life skills.
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