Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Causes, Symptoms & Diagnosis
Alcohol withdrawal may begin within a few hours after birth, and symptoms may last up to 18 months. The Department of Neurology cares for infants, children, and adolescents with all types of neurologic and developmental disorders. More than 1 million babies born annually in the United States are exposed to cocaine, alcohol, or tobacco before birth. A National Institutes of Health-funded study led by Michael Rivkin, MD, of Neurology, suggests that such exposures may have effects on brain structure that persist into adolescence. A child with fetal alcohol syndrome needs to be watched closely to see if their treatment needs to be adjusted.
Cognitive and Attention Issues
Partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS) may be diagnosed if a child has at least two of the typical facial features and a mix, but not all, of the required criteria for FAS. If you are pregnant and can't stop drinking alcohol, ask your obstetrician, primary care doctor or other healthcare professional for help. A social worker can direct you to community programs that offer help, for example, Alcoholics Anonymous. Symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome may include any mix of issues with how the body develops; thinking, learning and behavior; and functioning and coping in daily life.
Management and Treatment
Other helpful resources include Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA). It’s important to understand that FASDs can result from occasional drinking as well. Each type includes different physical or developmental characteristics on the spectrum. While two copies of the gene that causes Smith-Lemli-Optiz result in the syndrome, cells with just one copy of that gene were more likely to be affected by fentanyl exposure.
For accidental exposure
- Alcohol-Related Birth Defects are caused by the impact of prenatal exposure to alcohol on how an individual’s organs were formed and/or how they function, including the heart, kidney, bones, as well as hearing and/or vision.
- Drinking alcohol late in a pregnancy increases the likelihood of FAS.
- Alcohol use in pregnancy has significant effects on the fetus and your baby.
- It’s also recommended that you avoid beverages containing alcohol when you’re trying to become pregnant.
- FAS is characterized by prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE), craniofacial (head and face) differences, neurodevelopmental abnormalities (including behavioral issues), and growth impairment.
After delivery, you should continue to pay attention to when you drink alcohol if you’re breastfeeding your baby. Talk to your child’s healthcare provider about the best practices for alcohol use during breastfeeding, but the general rule is to wait at least two hours after having one drink before nursing your baby or pumping your milk. There isn’t a direct test for FAS and pregnant people may not give a complete history of all alcohol intake during pregnancy. It’s also recommended that you avoid beverages containing alcohol when you’re trying to become pregnant. Many people don’t know they’re pregnant for the first few weeks of pregnancy (four to six weeks). This is because it takes time for your body to build up enough hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that develops in early pregnancy) to be detected on a pregnancy test.
Physical signs
These conditions adversely affect QOL and require health, remedial education and correctional, mental health, social, child protection, developmental, vocational and disability services across the lifespan17,268,269. Lack of societal understanding of FASD is a barrier to addressing these secondary disabilities16,270. Public-health initiatives that promote and support women’s health, in general, may raise awareness about PAE/FASD. More specific measures include warning signs on alcohol products, pamphlets and public education https://ecosoberhouse.com/ programmes that encourage healthy, alcohol-free pregnancies220,221. Moreover, campaigns that use triggering imagery or blaming/shaming language (such as ‘FASD is 100% preventable’) can stigmatize and isolate pregnant women who use alcohol, particularly when paired with judgmental interventions196. Reframing alcohol use in pregnancy as a shared responsibility of women, partners, prenatal health-care providers, treatment programmes for substance use disorder, families, community and government may be helpful222.
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Diagnosis & Treatments
Other studies have found that the offspring of alcohol-exposed male mice are more likely to show foetal growth restriction, metabolic defects and various differences in genetic expression, compared with mice that were not given alcohol. Even a small amount of alcohol at a critical time during pregnancy can cause problems for children, such as lower IQ, attention deficits, impulsivity, and birth defects. Although there is no treatment for FAS, there are strategies that can improve its symptoms.
Dr. Karen Gripp, a geneticist at Nemours, and her team were the first to identify the 10 babies with fetal fentanyl syndrome last fall. “This is another huge piece of the puzzle” explaining the defects, she said. London's Albanian Heritage Club was started in May 2023 with 100 children attending every weekend.
What is FAS?
The main criteria for diagnosis of FASD is nervous system damage and alcohol exposure, with FAS including congenital malformations of the lips and growth deficiency. Prenatal alcohol exposure is a leading preventable cause of birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders in the United States. Women who need help to stop drinking alcohol can talk to their health care provider about treatment options. There are a variety of treatments available for pregnant women, including behavioral treatment and mutual-support groups. Visit the NIAAA Alcohol Treatment Navigator® to learn more about evidence-based treatments for alcohol-related problems. Later studies found that, in addition to FAS, PAE could cause behavioural, cognitive and learning problems, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and speech and language delay, in the absence of facial and other physical features10.
- The physical and mental conditions caused by alcohol exposure before birth are lifelong.
- However, this alone will not bridge the gap in services for children and adults, and a paradigm shift is needed.
- However, consumption of alcohol any time during pregnancy can be harmful, according to guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Using the information that is available, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other scientists estimate less than 2 cases of FASD in every 1,000 live births in the United States.
- The families of people with FAS should also be included in treatment interventions.
- Alcohol consumption and binge drinking are increasing among women of childbearing age in many countries, particularly in the most populous countries such as China and India26.
