Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a medical term used to define or describe the adverse damage effect on unborn fetus exposed to dosage of alcohol during the mother period of pregnancy in which the alcohol intake took place. FAS was coined in 1973 by Dr. Kenneth Lyons Jones And Dr. David Weyhe Smith, the malformation they have found among the affected babies are damages inflicted during pregnancy period, and they were all born from alcoholic mothers. This initial finding shocked the medical world and the public and some are skeptical about it, research and further study that follows these findings shows its reliability and confirmation.
The Damage
Fetal Alcoholic Syndrome brings an irreversible damage on the fetus, both on mental and physical aspects because alcohol can easily cross the placental barrier which is used to protect the fetus inside the mother’s womb, affecting the fetus normal growth and weight, facial deformities, eye defects as well as damaging brain neurons and some signs of abnormal brain structures which exhibits a permanent central nervous system damage due to exposure to large amount of alcohol during the prenatal period. This exposure affects the growth and development of brain cells which lead to some array of cognitive and functional disabilities which manifest as having a poor memory, attention deficits, impulsive behavior, poor judgment and reasoning ability and the worse is permanent mental retardation cause by alcohol during the mental development of the unborn baby. The effect of alcohol doesn't end on the brain alone because its effect could impaired internal organs too including kidney malfunction, heart murmurs, stomach and digestive system problem, deform facial structures like cleft lip, ptosis of the eyelid, strabismus, optic nerve hypoplasia( light sensitivity and involuntary eye movement), microophthalmia, webbed and short necked, hydrocephalus and many other body parts abnormalities like joint problems, posture or abnormal bones position, altered palmar crease pattern, abnormal size of the distal phalanges and fingers.
Diagnostic
Diagnostic procedure is needed to assess if a child exhibit FAS, and this call for a systematic procedures done by a trained physician specializing on this field. the determining outward factors include the growth factor and facial features, while brain or neurological abnormalities is determined through psychological assessment in which a pediatric neuropsychologist may check all areas of body functions including the intellectual, language or verbal processing and sensor motor. Of course the common determinant of all these assessment is an honest interview on the biological mother whether she is exposed on drinking alcoholic drinks.
Prevention
FAS can be easily prevented to happen among our children if pregnant mother will avoid exposure or drinking alcoholic drinks during the prenatal period. To avoid this unlikely development among the unborn children, it is highly recommended that women who is planning a pregnancy should abstain from any alcoholic drinks, because FAS is not curable specially the damage on the central nervous system which is a permanent disability. Prevention comes first rather than the required special attention and treatment that could be exerted that could only lessen the actual damage this Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is doing on our unborn children.
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