Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Research Paper

Improved Essays
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is thought to be one of the leading causes of birth defects. When a woman consumes alcohol during pregnancy, the alcohol passes from her blood to the baby’s blood through the umbilical cord and causes the baby to “drink” the alcohol also. The baby breaks down the alcohol more slowly than the mother does, and therefore the alcohol remains in the baby’s blood longer. Drinking alcohol during a pregnancy can cause miscarriage, stillbirth, and FAS in the child. Since the baby’s brain is constantly developing, alcohol exposure at any time during pregnancy can cause damage to the central nervous system.
Since FAS is under-diagnosed, it is important to be able to recognize the characteristics. There are numerous symptoms of FAS which can include physical and mental complications. The effects of the alcohol may cause growth retardation and when born, the baby may have a small head size, shorter height, and low birth weight. Often the baby will have abnormal facial features, such as small eyes, short nose, flattened cheeks, and flattened philtrum (ridge between the nose and upper lip). As a baby, the child may also have problems sleeping. Besides these physical features, a child with FAS may have some of the following mental problems: mental retardation, hyperactive behavior, learning
…show more content…
However, although the article says that “there is no proof that drinking by a father can cause FAS in his child,” the textbook, page 111, states that there is evidence that the father’s consumption of alcohol around the time of conception may alter gene expression, and therefore effect symptoms in the baby. The textbook gives three types of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, including FAS, which is the most severe, and p-FAS (partial fetal alcohol syndrome, caused by lighter amount of drinking), and ARND (alcohol-related neurodevelopment disorder, which mainly affects mental

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Every few seconds a teen dies from an alcohol related situation. According to the article,”Alcohol- related car crashes, homicides,suicides,alcohol poisoning, and other injuries, such as falls burns and drowning”( “Underaged-Drinking”).Newly legal adults hold an ample amount of accidents that happen already. Why would we accumulate the risk of accidents by depreciating the drinking age? In chance,there will inhabit a risk of exposing illegal habits to younger drinkers. The drinking age should not be lowered because of the negative effects to a person's lifestyle.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alcohol use during pregnancy is a major public health concern and the focus of widespread media concentration (2). Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to negative effects on the baby. Consuming alcohol while pregnant can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (F.A.S.D.) and fetal alcohol syndrome (F.A.S.). Researchers Kenneth Lyon Jones and David W. Smith first came across F.A.S. in 1973 (2). This discovery led to widespread public awareness and education, informing women to limit the amount of alcohol they consume while pregnant (2).…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Parrens Patriae Case Study

    • 1024 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Define “Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a medical condition found in newborns that are exposed to alcohol during the pregnancy of their mothers. The disorder happens as a result of the mother’s heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Effects cause children to suffer from severe brain damage and growth problems.…

    • 1024 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Drinking While Pregnant

    • 2525 Words
    • 11 Pages

    When a woman drinks alcohol, it passes through the placenta to the baby. In the itty bitty immature body, alcohol is broken down much slower than it is in a grown adult. Thus, the alcohol level of the baby 's blood can be higher and remain elevated longer than the level in the mom. This often causes the baby to have some sort of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder that lasts a lifetime (March of Dimes, 2012). FASD, or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, is "an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy.…

    • 2525 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I know it can be a very tough topic to talk about but I hope I can help you to to make the right decisions during your pregnancy. Not drinking alcohol while you are pregnant is probably the most important thing you can do to help make sure your baby is born healthy and happy. Quitting alcohol consumption can be difficult without the added struggle of pregnancy, so I want you to know that I am here to help if you need it. I hope this letter can explain the negative consequences of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and convince you to ask for help if you need it.…

    • 1063 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fetal Alcoholic Syndrome Fetal alcoholic syndrome is caused by women who drink alcohol during their pregnancy. Alcohol passes through the placenta and is absorbed by the fetus. Drinking before finding out that they are pregnant still harms the fetus. Approximately 40,000 children each year are born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Statistics verify that 1 in 9 women report excessive drinking of alcohol during their first trimester of pregnancy.…

    • 1578 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a congenital syndrome. It is known to be caused by alcohol consumption by the mother during pregnancy. Intellectual and mental disabilities, stunt of growth, behavioral problems, learning disabilities and a lack of sense for cause and effect are just a few of the characteristics of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. New research shows that the father's’ drinking habits prior to conception can also contribute to fetal abnormalities. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is 100% preventable.…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stewart’s Fetal Alcohol Syndrome had stated, yet it has a medical viewpoint and a large emphasis on the symptoms, behaviors and the physical, mental and psychological traits that are commonly associated with the syndrome. It firstly explains, in the “Introduction” subtitle, that the most complete form of prenatal alcohol abuse that occurs in the newborn is called Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, or FAS, but alcohol-related injuries to the fetus vary in terms of severity and pervasiveness. Less complete forms may be referred to as fetal alcohol effects (FAE) or alcohol-related birth defects (ARBD) and that symptoms differ between the lot. In a fetus, the developing brain is the structure that is the most defenseless; it is still growing and therefore, anything introduced to the environment either helps it grow or decreases its growth. Since alcohol abuse in a pregnant mother harms the unborn child and their brain, the “resulting neurobehavioural abnormalities have the most profound and lasting consequences”.…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    First recognized and defined in 1973, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome occurs when there is prenatal alcohol exposure to embryo or fetus (Murawski et. al, 2015). Developing fetuses have the same blood alcohol concentration as their mothers. However, unlike their mothers, they are unable to metabolize and excrete the alcohol from their system, creating opportunity for alcohol to greatly influence development (National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, 2015). This prenatal exposure has a wide range of effects on the physiological and neurological development of the child that extends far beyond their embryonic development.…

    • 1248 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition in a child that is caused from exposure to alcohol during the mother's pregnancy. Fetal alcohol syndrome causes growth problems and brain damage. The problems caused by fetal alcohol syndrome can vary from child to child, but defects caused by fetal alcohol syndrome are irreversible. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a number of birth defects such as, mental, behavioral and learning problems. It has not been proven how much alcohol consumed during pregnancy causes Fetal Alcohol Syndrome but it has but has been said no known amount of alcohol is safe to drink while you are pregnant.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Fetal alcohol syndrome affects each baby differently. It can cause learning disabilities, behavior problems, and problems with physical development. Some children are born with little or no effects from alcohol exposure during pregnancy, while others are severely affected. Damage caused by drinking alcohol during pregnancy is not…

    • 619 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    (book pg19) Alcohol can harm an embryo or fetus at any time. Even before the women knows she is pregnant. Women who drink until they find out if they are pregnant are still at risk. It can happen to anyone. Many women who have given birth to a child with fetal alcohol syndrome have also given birth to other children with it.…

    • 1285 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brain Abnormalities Essay

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Parts of the brain most affected There are multiple facial abnormalities that occur with FAS, but brain abnormalities are also a huge aspect of this syndrome.9 Studies have shown that brain volume in patients with FAS is less than people with healthy brains. Another difference is in the parietal and ventral frontal lobes where the gray matter is denser and underdeveloped in babies with FAS. Also, the temporal, inferior parietal lobe, and right frontal lobe were thicker than a normal brain.9 Finally, cell migration is another aspect that is interrupted with FAS.5 Effects of Alcohol on the heart Alcohol cannot only affect the brain, but also many other organs such as heart, kidneys, bones and special senses such as hearing.10 In the heart, prenatal alcohol exposure can cause atrial and ventricular abnormalities, problems with valve formation, and puts them at a higher risk of heart disease when they are older.11 Severe heart defects can be harmful to the embryo because this is the first organ that…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Alcohol is one of the greatest abused drugs. Women intaking alcohol during there pregnancy could cause different health problems to themselves and the fetus. Once the mother intakes too much alcohol the fetus is then affected as well, causing FASD. When the…

    • 1192 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays