Resources Page

Resources

Learning About Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (F.A.S.) | 101 Reasons to Abstain from Alcohol During Pregnancy

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of abnormalities in an infant caused by the mother's drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

FAS is diagnosed when a child shows at least one sign from each of the following three clusters: (1) growth retardation, including low birth weight, small head circumference and failure to grow and catch up with peers; (2) neuropsychiatric disorders, including developmental delays, behavioral problems, learning disabilities and mental retardation; and (3) distinctive facial features, including narrow eye slits, small eyes, short nose, flat midface and loss of groove between nose and upper lip.

• Not every baby affected by alcohol has all the symptoms of FAS. Some children only have one or two alcohol-related birth defects.
• FAS is the leading preventable cause of mental retardation. It can be prevented by women abstaining from drinking during their pregnancies.
• The more alcohol a pregnant woman drinks, the more at risk she is of having a baby with alcohol-related birth defects. We do not know what a safe level of drinking is at this time, and it may vary with different individuals. However, there is a reduction of risk as alcohol is removed from the pregnancy. We can be certain that a woman who drinks no alcohol is at no risk whatsoever of having a baby with defects caused by alcohol.
• One in six women in the peak childbearing years of 18-34 may periodically or chronically drink enough to present a hazard to an unborn infant.
• The best advice is to abstain from consuming alcohol during pregnancy.

Fetal alcohol effects (FAE), now known as alcohol-related neurodevelopmental disorder (ARND) is also caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. FAE/ARND is sometimes referred to as the invisible disability because the facial features may appear normal. Consequently, the organic brain damage is often unrecognized or misdiagnosed as a "conduct disorder," for example. Children or adolescents are often considered willful, stubborn, hyperactive, undisciplined or even predatory when in reality they were permanently disabled by prenatal alcohol exposure.

Through the efforts of Senator James Barnett, M.D., the first diagnostic clinic in Kansas for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome opened in Emporia in January 2002.

A seven member team will be trained in Seattle, Washington on the method to screen individuals to be able to make a medical diagnosis of FAS. The individual and family members can then be directed to supportive services. Team members from Emporia will include a physician, a registered nurse, a social worker, an occupational/physical therapist, a speech therapist, a psychologist, and a family advocate.

In addition, the Kansas Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Prevention Coalition will work with the clinic to increase awareness on the topic of FAS/ARND and provide presentations, training and alternative activities to promote prevention.