Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms & Diagnosis

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) happens when a baby is born to a mother who drank alcohol while pregnant. There is no safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy. Most often, a healthcare provider can diagnose FASD based on the person’s history and how the baby looks. The provider will examine the baby to look for changes in the face, eyes, and upper lip. Treatment requires managing the symptoms, and providing support for the complications, including extra support at school, and early recognition and management of attention and behavior issues.

• Male babies of fathers who smoke before or around the time their partners get pregnant are more likely to deal with obesity, breathing problems, and headaches later.
• Alcohol directly affects the blood and the brain and begins the impairment process.
• The symptoms of FASDs may resemble other medical conditions or problems.
• It is hard to predict which babies will be affected and how severely they will be affected from prenatal exposure to alcohol.

Characteristics of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)

At St. Christopher, she also oversees a primary care practice dedicated to CYSHCN, including an FASD/NICU primary care follow up program and grants. She is also the Medical Director of the Pennsylvania Medical Home Program and transition program. There are concerns about long-term, repeated exposures of infants to alcohol via breast milk, so moderation is advised. Frequent consumption of alcohol may also reduce milk production. In the United States, a “standard drink” is defined for as any alcoholic beverage that contains 0.6 fluid ounces (14 g) of pure alcohol. In general, the means 12 oz of beer, 4 oz glass of wine, or 1 oz shot of hard liquor are each one standard drink.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention

• If you cannot stop drinking, talk with your doctor or contact local Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) groups or a local alcohol counselor or treatment center.
• Although people debate the amount of alcohol that can be safely consumed during pregnancy, the simple fact remains – FASDs happen because a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy.
• Despite being cast as the lead character to the Harry Potter films, Daniel Radcliffe is among scores of actors in the industry that has to contend with fetal alcohol syndrome.

Specialists could be a developmental pediatrician, child psychologist, or clinical geneticist. In some cities, there are clinics whose staff members have special training in diagnosing and treating children with FASDs. If you have an underlying health condition such as diabetes, you may be more likely to experience auto-brewery syndrome. Ultimately, the syndrome occurs because the food you eat ferments in your stomach, combining with certain gut microbes drunken baby syndrome to make too much alcohol for your liver to handle (even when you haven’t had any alcohol to drink). When your body makes too much alcohol, your blood alcohol levels rise, which can lead to symptoms of traditional intoxication. Paternal smoking, in particular, appears to put a baby at risk.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

In addition to the acute effects of withdrawal, babies often suffer the teratogenic (causing physical abnormalities) effects of alcohol. Specific deformities of the head and face, heart defects, and intellectual Oxford House disability are seen with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). To diagnose fetal alcohol syndrome, doctors look for unusual facial features, lower-than-average height and weight, small head size, problems with attention and hyperactivity, and poor coordination. They also try to find out whether the mother drank while they were pregnant and if so, how much.

• FASDs can occur when a developing baby is exposed to alcohol before birth.
• Primary care physicians are in an excellent position to initiate change in their patient’s drinking behavior.
• This was true whether the alcohol-exposed parent was the mother or the father, but was most dramatic if both parents were exposed.
• Diagnosing fetal alcohol syndrome can be hard because there is no medical test for fetal alcohol syndrome.

For example, along with oral contraceptives, advise her to use condoms, which have the added benefit of reducing sexually transmitted infections. Often long acting reversible contraceptives such as the IUD or implant are the best contraceptive alternatives. While there is https://www.corridis.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-thc-tolerance-how-to-manage/ no cure for FASD, there are many treatment options. While FASD presents lifelong challenges, there is help and hope for children and adults living with FASD. Treatment will vary greatly based on the specific diagnosis, the particular symptoms, and the environmental context.