Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

When a pregnant woman consumes alcohol, the fetus after being born can suffer from various conditions like fetal alcohol effects (FAE), alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD), and fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). The most severe condition of these is fetal alcohol syndrome.

Alcohol use in pregnant women is documented to be around 9.4% and 2.6% are binge drinking cases as per the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Studies have shown the rate of alcohol consumption to be of 52% in women of childbearing age (18-44 years) and 15% of binge drinking.

What Is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?


The infants whose mother has had alcohol regularly during pregnancy will display fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. These disorders can be mild, moderate or severe and can be physical, behavioral, cognitive or all of them.

The most severe condition is fetal alcohol syndrome and the problems associated with it are vision, hearing and memory problems. They have short attention span, difficulty in learning and communication. The symptoms vary from person to person, but are most often permanent. It leads to fetal alcohol syndrome in adults as well.

What Are the Symptoms of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
The symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome can be categorized into the system it falls under. We shall look at the most commonly seen symptoms:

Physical symptoms:

• Wide-set eyes, very thin upper lip, upturned nose, smooth skin between upper lip and nose


• Deformed limbs, fingers and joints


• Reduced head circumference and brain size


• Heart, kidney and bone defects


• Vision and hearing problems


• Slow physical growth of the infant before and after birth

Problems of the brain & CNS:

• Poor memory, co-ordination and balance


• Difficulty in problem solving, reasoning and identifying consequences of choices made


• Delay in development, learning disorders and intellectual disability


• Reduced attention span and difficulty in processing information


• Difficulty in making judgment, moodiness, jitteriness and hyperactivity

Social & behavioral disorders:

• Poor social skills, difficulty in adjusting in school and getting along with others


• Behavioral and impulse control problems


• Difficulty in getting tasks done and switching tasks


• Poor concept of time


• Having a hard time in planning and working towards a goal

When to See a Doctor
It is important to seek help from the doctor if you cannot stop drinking and are pregnant. Early diagnosis can help in reducing the long term problems in children.

When dealing with adopted or foster care children, it is not known whether the mother had alcohol during pregnancy. In case the child exhibits any symptom associated with FAS, it should be brought to the attention of the doctor.

What Are the Causes of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
When alcohol is consumed during pregnancy, the following occurs in the body:

Alcohol crosses the placenta by entering the blood steam and reaches the fetus.

The alcohol metabolism rate of the fetus is much slower than that of the adult and hence the concentration of blood alcohol is higher in the fetus.

The presence of alcohol impairs the delivery of oxygen, nutrients to the tissue and organs of the fetus, as well as the brain.

When a pregnant woman drinks alcohol in any amount, the unborn child is at risk of developing fetal alcohol syndrome. The higher the quantity of alcohol is, the higher the risk is. For this problem, binge drinking causes more harm than having small amount of alcohol. There is no level of alcohol which can be considered as safe to be had during pregnancy.

Alcohol consumption during a particular phase of pregnancy can determine the level of harm done to the fetus. It is most harmful in the first trimester; however, alcohol during pregnancy is always harmful.

What Are the Treatments for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
Fetal alcohol syndrome does not have any cure, and the physical and mental problems will last for a lifetime. In case the diagnosis happens early, intervention can be done to prevent the development of secondary disabilities. The following interventional measures can be taken:

• Seek help from speech therapists, physical and occupational therapists, psychologists and special education teacher


• Teach social skills, walking and talking early


• Go to special school to help in learning and behavioral issues


• Find counseling provided to parents and family to deal with the child’s needs


• Take medications for certain health conditions


• Stop the mother’s Alcoholism to prevent future cases of fetal alcohol syndrome and help in better parenting skills

How to Prevent Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
The most effective method of preventing fetal alcohol syndrome is to abstain from alcohol during pregnancy. In case a woman has alcohol occasionally prior to realizing the presence of pregnancy, it does not do much harm to the fetus.

There is no safe level determined to be had during pregnancy and for this reason. If a woman is attempting to conceive or suspects of being pregnant, she should discontinue alcohol intake immediately. Alcohol intake by father has not been linked with fetal alcohol syndrome; however, men who abstain from alcohol can help their partners better.

Watch the video below to understand why it is extremely dangerous for a pregnant woman to drink alcohol beverage:

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome






The birth defects occurring on the fetus due to excess consumption of alcohol by the pregnant mother is known as fetal alcohol syndrome. Taking alcohol during pregnancy can cause serious growth abnormalities in the developing child causing mild to severe birth defects. Fetal alcohol syndrome was first described by P. Lemoine (France) when he tested 127 children whose mothers are under the influence of alcohol during pregnancy.

Consuming alcohol can lead to birth defects and hence alcohol is medically termed as “teratogen”. There is every chance for getting a child with Mental Retardation if the pregnant women consume alcohol. Apart from this, it can cause serious physical problems and stagnation of growth of the newborn baby.

Causes :

Taking alcohol and related products can cause severe birth defects in the child and all the problems are classified under the category called Fetal alcohol syndrome. Generally drinking alcohol can cause health hazard to individuals and surely it causes extra risk to the baby. If a pregnant woman takes alcohol, it is passed on to the fetus through placenta. There may be decrease in number of neurons and malformation in the development of brain.

There is no such “safe” level of consumption of alcohol for pregnant women since drinking any amount of alcohol will create an impact on the baby. However binge drinking is likely to cause potential hazard to the developing baby. The risk becomes even higher when the women consume alcohol during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Symptoms :

To begin with, the overall growth of the baby may be less and hence the baby may be of less-weight. It would have poor coordination skills and reduced muscle tone. The child’s ability to think, talk and move can be severely impaired and even his social activities can be disrupted due to alcohol intake in the womb. The child has increased risk of having congenital heart defects like ASD and VSD.

The baby may have small narrow eyes with prominent epicanthal folds. The size of the head may be lesser than average. Similarly the size of upper jaw and upper lips may be comparatively smaller than lower ones.

There may be problems for the child in learning, remembering things. He may not be able to control emotions like healthy children. Further the child is found to have problem in socializing and communicating skills. Even the child may suffer from impairment in basic life skills like bathing and feeding.

Diagnoses :

The pediatrician may look for heart murmur in the child of fetal alcohol syndrome. Delay in physical as well as mental development is a sure sign to diagnose this illness. His facial bones may not be well developed like healthy children. However your doctor may check for alcohol level in the blood of the new mother. Sometimes, he will ask you to perform MRI scan for assessing the brain development for the baby.

Pictures of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome :

Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Treatment :

There is no treatment available for curing fetal alcohol syndrome since it is birth defects, however the effects can be controlled by behavioral cognitive therapy.

Prevention :

The only method to prevent more cases of fetal alcohol syndrome is to control pregnant women from taking alcohol. She should totally avoid taking alcohol to any level and she can join rehabilitation program for controlling her needs when she is pregnant.