Research has indicated that there are a number of areas affected by the presence of alcohol, all serving developmental purposes. For example, a study by Dörrie and colleagues5 has concluded that the presence of alcohol can lead to various somatic structural abnormalities in the cerebrum and cerebellum. Dörrie and colleagues goes on to say, “At the functional level, cognition, motor coordination, attention, language development, executive functions, memory, social perception and emotion processing are impaired to a variable extent.”5(863) According to the research multiple areas of the fetus are affected by the presence of alcohol. Looking ahead to the fetus’ maturation into a child, having deficiencies in some, if not all, of these areas would
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In the case of FAS, the signs and symptoms are birth defects that result from a woman’s use of alcohol during her pregnancy. Among their symptoms, children with FAS may grow less quickly than other children, have facial abnormalities and have problems with their central nervous systems, including mental retardation. In the United States, FAS is one of the leading causes of birth defects and is thought to be the most common cause of preventable mental retardation. Each year between 5,000 and 12,000 American babies are born with the condition.”9 Although children diagnosed with FAS can lead seemingly normal lives, the prevalence of this condition needs to be reduced. Furthermore, the prevalence of this condition given in the definition only reveals the prevalence of those born with FAS in the United States. This evidence reveals that a considerably more amount of babies are born with FAS as compared to some other countries, the United States does fairly well. This is a staggering statistic to imagine since the condition is one hundred percent preventable. However, although the prevalence of this condition is far higher than what it should, the amount has been relatively stable. With that said, it is important that physicians are able to find out right away if a baby is affected by FAS which leads to the next question of how FAS is
In the case of FAS, the signs and symptoms are birth defects that result from a woman’s use of alcohol during her pregnancy. Among their symptoms, children with FAS may grow less quickly than other children, have facial abnormalities and have problems with their central nervous systems, including mental retardation. In the United States, FAS is one of the leading causes of birth defects and is thought to be the most common cause of preventable mental retardation. Each year between 5,000 and 12,000 American babies are born with the condition.”9 Although children diagnosed with FAS can lead seemingly normal lives, the prevalence of this condition needs to be reduced. Furthermore, the prevalence of this condition given in the definition only reveals the prevalence of those born with FAS in the United States. This evidence reveals that a considerably more amount of babies are born with FAS as compared to some other countries, the United States does fairly well. This is a staggering statistic to imagine since the condition is one hundred percent preventable. However, although the prevalence of this condition is far higher than what it should, the amount has been relatively stable. With that said, it is important that physicians are able to find out right away if a baby is affected by FAS which leads to the next question of how FAS is