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*We thank Dr. Edward Riley for
contributing this page on FAS and FAE to our web site, together with links to other
informative web sites on FAS/FAE. Dr. Riley is the
Director of the Center for Behavioral Teratology at San Diego State
University. He was recently appointed as Chair of the National Task Force
on FAS/FAE. He is also the Past President of the Research Society of
Alcoholism. Dr. Riley is a long-time researcher on alcohol effects, and
has received impressive financial support from several organizations for
his research. When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, her unborn child is exposed
to the same levels of alcohol. If the woman drinks enough or at certain
critical times during her pregnancy, she might give birth to a child with
fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). FAS is diagnosed when the child has a
distinct facial appearance, is born small and doesn’t grow well, and
there is some reason to suspect that the brain of the child is affected.
The eye openings in children with FAS tend to be smaller than
normal, the groove between the nose and the mouth is smooth, and the upper
lip appears thin. While these
facial features are used to diagnose FAS, the most serious problems occur
because of the changes to the brain.
While there is a range of IQ in children with FAS, from above
normal to profoundly retarded, the majority of these children tend to be
mildly or moderately retarded. These
children also can have problems with attention and don’t seem to focus
on what they are doing as well as do unexposed children.
They can also have problems with balance and with other motor
functioning. Obviously,
giving birth to a child with FAS places a tremendous psychological burden
on the mother, but the effects on the child can be devastating.
FAS is the leading known cause of mental retardation in western
countries and, even if they have normal intelligence, children with FAS never
really seem to live up to their potential.
They might get into trouble with the law, have difficulty managing
their own lives, or simply never seem to do as well as you would expect. One major issue is how much
alcohol causes this type of damage. FAS
only occurs in children who were born to women who abused alcohol.
However, we know that children exposed to alcohol during gestation,
but who are born without the facial characteristics of FAS, can have many
of the same behavioral problems as children with FAS.
Research indicates that one doesn’t have to have FAS to have
problems that appear to be related to the prenatal alcohol exposure.
Sometimes these children are described as having “fetal alcohol
effects” or “alcohol-related birth defects.”
There is no lower threshold of drinking by a pregnant woman below which the child is guaranteed not to be affected, so the safest course is not to drink while you are pregnant. Genetic factors, nutritional state, the dose and timing of alcohol exposure and a host of other things probably interact to determine the specific outcome in any particular child. Therefore, the only safe strategy for pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant is not to drink alcohol. If you have been drinking during a current pregnancy, the evidence shows that the sooner you stop, the better it is for your unborn child. The
Family Resource Institute maintains a web
site intended to provide families with support. The National
Organization on FAS also offers a web site
with strategies for handling children with FAS. The Canadian Centre for
Substance Abuse has a web site
with many articles and a great array of information. Finally, "The
ARC" lists many resource guides, newsletters, case histories, and
other educational materials on its web
site. Last updated 12/19/03 |
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