Description

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition in which a child that results from alcohol exposure during the mother's pregnancy. Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause the child to have a disability-related behavior, learning and thinking, and physical development. The symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome vary from child to child, but they are for all the life.

Fetal alcohol syndrome is on the severe end of the fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Fasd is a spectrum of conditions in the child caused by the mother drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

There is no amount of alcohol is known to be safe to drink during pregnancy. If you drink during pregnancy, you place your baby at risk of fetal alcohol syndrome.

If you suspect that your child has fetal alcohol syndrome, talk with your doctor or other health care professional as soon as possible. The early diagnosis and treatment can help reduce some of the problems.

Symptoms

The severity of fetal alcohol syndrome symptoms varies. Some children have a lot more problems than others. The symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome may include any combination of problems in the way in which the body develops; thinking, learning, and behavior; and the functioning and coping in daily life.

The physical development issues

How the body develops may include:

  • The facial features that are characteristic of the fetal alcohol syndrome. These can include small eyes, a thin upper lip, a plan of the bridge of the nose, and a smooth skin surface between the nose and the upper lip.
  • Slow physical growth before and after birth.
  • Delay in development, including taking more time to reach the milestones, such as sit, talk and walk.
  • Vision or hearing problems.
  • Smaller than the average of the head and brain size.
  • Changes in the manner in which the heart, the kidneys and the bones.
  • Poor coordination or balance.
  • Be restless or hyperactive.

Learning and thinking issues

Learning and thinking may include:

  • Intellectual disability and learning disorders, including problems with memory, learning of new things, approach and thinking.
  • Not understanding the results of the elections.
  • Poor judgment skills, such as having a hard time to think through issues, solving problems, reasoning, and making decisions that affect everyday life.
  • Short attention span that affects to be a task and finish.
  • Poor concept of time, which impacts following times, to know what time to leave to arrive on time and the understanding of how much time a task will take.
  • Problems with organization and planning, or working toward a goal, including the difficulty to understand and follow instructions.

Social and behavioral problems

The functioning in daily life, coping, and the interaction with others may include:

  • Challenges in the school with the assistance of, learning, behavior and interaction with others.
  • Problems getting along with others, including difficulties with communication and social skills.
  • Difficulty to adapt to the changes or to change from one task to another.
  • Problems with the behavior and control of their emotions and actions.
  • Problems of management skills for life, such as time, self-care, money management, and how to stay safe.
  • Be easily influenced by others or taken advantage of.
  • Quickly changing moods.

When to see a doctor

If you are pregnant and cannot stop drinking alcohol, ask your ob-gyn, primary care physician or other health care professional for help. You can also choose to speak with a mental health professional. A social worker can direct you to community programs that offer help, for example, Alcoholics Anonymous.

Because early diagnosis may help to decrease the risk of some of the challenges for children with fetal alcohol syndrome, let your child's health care professional knows if you drank alcohol during pregnancy. Don't wait for your child to have problems before seeking help.

If you adopted a child or are providing foster care, you may not know if the biological mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. The international adoption of some countries may have a higher rate of consumption of alcohol by pregnant women. If you have any concerns about your child's learning or behavior, talk with your child's healthcare provider to find out what may be causing these problems.

Causes

When you're pregnant and you drink alcohol:

  • The Alcohol enters the bloodstream. Within the uterus, the placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to a developing baby. The alcohol reaches your baby through the placenta.
  • The Alcohol causes a higher level of alcohol in the blood on the baby developing in your body. That is because the baby breaks down and eliminates alcohol more slowly than an adult.
  • Alcohol is toxic to the cells of the baby. Exposure to alcohol before birth can cause damage to how the body develops and cause permanent brain damage in the baby's development.

Drinking during pregnancy, the greater the risk to your unborn baby. But any amount of alcohol puts your baby at risk. Your baby's brain, heart, and blood vessels begin to develop in the early weeks of pregnancy, before you may know that you are pregnant.

During the first three months of pregnancy, the important stages of development to happen with the face and organs such as the heart, the bones, the brain and the nerves. The consumption of alcohol during this time can cause damage to how the parts of the body to develop. And as the baby continues to develop in the womb, it is harmful to drink at any time during the pregnancy.

Risk factors

The more alcohol you drink during pregnancy, the greater the probability of problems in the baby. There is no known safe amount of alcohol to drink during pregnancy, and there is no type of alcohol that is safe.

You could put your baby at risk even before you realize that you are pregnant. Do not drink alcohol if you:

  • You're pregnant.
  • You think you may be pregnant.
  • You are trying to get pregnant.

Complications

Behavior problems after your child is born as a result of having the fetal alcohol syndrome. These are the so-called secondary disabilities and may include:

  • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
  • Aggression, poor social behavior, and to break the rules and laws.
  • Of Alcohol or recreational drugs, the misuse.
  • Mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety or eating disorders.
  • Challenges of stay or finishing school.
  • Not being able to get along well with others.
  • Challenges of independent living, and getting and keeping a job.
  • Sexual behaviors that are not correct.
  • Principles of death by accident, homicide, or suicide.

Prevention

To prevent fetal alcohol syndrome, not to drink alcohol during pregnancy.

Here are some steps to help:

  • Do not drink alcohol if you are trying to get pregnant. If you haven't already quit drinking, stop as soon as you know you are pregnant or if you even think you may be pregnant. It is never too late to stop drinking during pregnancy. Before stopping, it is best for your baby.
  • Do not drink alcohol at any time during your pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome is completely preventable in children whose mothers did not drink at all during pregnancy.
  • Consider giving up alcohol during their childbearing years if you're sexually active and you're having sex without protection. Many pregnancies are unplanned, and the harm that alcohol can occur in the first weeks of pregnancy.
  • If you have a problem with alcohol, seek help before you get pregnant. Talk with your health care professional or a mental health professional about their consumption of alcohol. Review of how much and how often you drink alcohol, so that together they can create a treatment plan to help you stop smoking.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome is an examination of a health care professional with expertise in the condition. The early diagnosis and services can help to improve the child's ability to function.

The development of a diagnosis involves:

  • Talking about their consumption of alcohol during pregnancy. Be honest with your health care professional about their use of alcohol during pregnancy. This can help your obstetrician or other health care professional to find out the risk of fetal alcohol syndrome. Although the fetal alcohol syndrome may not be diagnosed before birth, the health of the baby and the mother can be evaluated and observed during pregnancy.
  • Observation of the symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome in your child's early weeks, months and years of life. Your child's healthcare provider will see on your child's physical appearance to the typical changes of the fetal alcohol syndrome. The health professional also observed the child's physical and brain growth and development.

Over time the health care professional watches for matters relating to:

  • The physical growth and development.
  • The thinking, learning, and language development.
  • Health.
  • The Social interaction and behavior.

Many features that are observed with fetal alcohol syndrome may also occur in children with other conditions. If the fetal alcohol syndrome is suspected, your child's pediatrician or other health professional is likely to refer your child to an expert with special training in the fetal alcohol syndrome. This may be a developmental pediatrician, a neurologist or another expert. The expert makes an evaluation to rule out other diseases with similar symptoms to help make a diagnosis.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, describes the range of conditions in children, occurs when the mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. The symptoms vary a lot among children and can include all or a mixture of physical, behavioral, and learning disabilities, and problems with thinking.

The range of conditions caused by exposure to alcohol before birth include:

  • The Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is the severe end of the fasd spectrum. Fetal alcohol syndrome include behavioral problems, learning and thinking. It also involves the physical and the growth of the changes that may affect any part of the body.
  • Alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorders. ARND includes intellectual disability or learning and behavior problems, but do not include the physical and growth changes.
  • Alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD). ARBD includes changes in the physical development that are present at birth, such as problems with hearing, vision and the heart, the kidneys and the bones. Does not include learning problems and behavior.
  • Neurobehavioral disorder associated with prenatal alcohol exposure (ND-PAE). ND-PAE includes challenges of functioning in everyday life. There may be problems with thinking and remembering, behavior problems, and the challenges of day-to-day activities and social interactions.
  • Partial fetal alcohol syndrome (PFAS). Also called fetal alcohol effects, this condition includes some of the symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome. But the magnitude of the symptoms do not meet the guidelines for the diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome. PFAS is not common.

If a child in a family is diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, which may be important to assess the brethren for the fetal alcohol syndrome if the mother consumes alcohol during these pregnancies.

Treatment

There is No cure or specific treatment for fetal alcohol syndrome. The physical and mental conditions caused by exposure to alcohol before birth are for life. But the early intervention services can help reduce some of the challenges of fetal alcohol syndrome and may help prevent some of the secondary disabilities.

The intervention of the services may include:

  • Health professionals who can provide the care, vision, hearing, or of diseases of the heart. Medications may help with some symptoms.
  • Early intervention specialists, such as a speech therapist, physiotherapist and occupational therapist, to help them to walk, talk and social skills.
  • Special services, such as a special education teacher and a psychologist or other mental health professional, to help with learning and behavior problems.
  • Vocational rehabilitation services to help you get and keep a job.
  • Life skills in the training of professionals to help with independence, such as social skills, coping, communication, problem solving and decision making.
  • Mental health professionals to parents and family members to help them cope with the child's behavioral problems.
  • The counselors that deal with substance abuse to address the alcohol and recreational drugs, misuse, if it is necessary.

The treatment for alcohol abuse

The treatment for the mother and the abuse of alcohol can help with a better upbringing of children and prevent future pregnancies be affected. If you know or suspect that you have a problem with alcohol or drugs, please consult with a medical professional or mental health professional for help.

The substance abuse counseling and treatment programs can help with overcoming alcohol or recreational drug use. Join a support group or 12-step program of Alcoholics Anonymous can also help.

Coping and support

The challenges that occur along with the fetal alcohol syndrome can be difficult to handle for the person with the disease and for the family.

Family support

Children with fetal alcohol syndrome and their families can benefit from the support of professionals and other families who have experience with this condition. Ask your health professional or a social worker or mental health professional of the local sources of support for children with fetal alcohol syndrome and their families.

Dealing with behavioral problems

Challenges with behavior often occur in children with fetal alcohol syndrome. To help your child, the use of these parenting skills:

  • Recognizing your child's strengths and limitations.
  • Establish and maintain daily routines.
  • Create and apply simple rules and limits.
  • Keep things simple by using clear, specific language.
  • Repeat things to reinforce the learning.
  • Point of acceptable behavior and the use of rewards to reinforce the behavior.
  • Teach daily living skills, and social interaction with others.
  • Guard against your child from being taken advantage of by other people.

The early intervention and stable, homey feel that are important to protect children with the fetal alcohol syndrome from some of the other topics that are at risk of later in life.

Preparing for your appointment

Call your child's doctor or other healthcare provider for an appointment if you have any concerns about your child's growth and development.

You can ask a family member or friend to come with you to help you remember all of the information provided.

Here's some information to help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

Before your appointment, make a list of:

  • The symptoms that I have noticed in your child. Include any that may seem unrelated to the reason for the appointment, and when the onset of symptoms.
  • All the drugs, vitamins, herbs, or other supplements that are taken during the pregnancy, and your dose. Also, if you drank alcohol during your pregnancy, tell your child's healthcare provider how much you drank and when.
  • Questions to ask your child's healthcare provider.

Questions may include:

  • What is the most likely cause of the symptoms of my son?
  • There are other possible causes?
  • Should my child see a specialist?
  • My child will have the condition to get better with time? It's going to get worse?
  • What treatments are available, and which do you recommend?
  • There are medications that can help? There are medications that should be avoided?
  • How can I prevent this from happening in future pregnancies?
  • Do you have some material that can help me learn more? What websites do you suggest?

Feel free to ask questions during your appointment.

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare provider is likely to ask you questions, such as:

  • Do you drink alcohol while you were pregnant? If yes, how much and with what frequency?
  • Do you use any recreational drugs during pregnancy?
  • Do you have any problem with your pregnancy?
  • When did you first notice the symptoms of your child?
  • Have these symptoms been constant or come and go?
  • Does nothing seem to symptoms better?
  • What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?

Be prepared to answer questions that you have time to talk about what's most important to you.

Symptoms and treatment of Fetal alcohol syndrome