DH+fetal+alcohol+syndrome

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome



Alcohol (wine, beer, or liquor) is the leading known preventable cause of mental and physical birth defects in the United States. When a woman drinks alcohol during [|pregnancy], she risks giving birth to a child who will pay the price — in mental and physical deficiencies — for his or her entire life. Yet many pregnant women do drink alcohol. It's estimated that each year in the United States, 1 in every 750 infants is born with a pattern of physical, developmental, and functional problems referred to as **fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)**, while another 40,000 are born with **fetal alcohol effects (FAE)**.

**Signs and Symptoms of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome**
If you adopted a child or consumed alcohol during pregnancy and are concerned that your child may have FAS, watch for characteristics of the syndrome, which include:
 * low birth weight
 * small head circumference
 * [|failure to thrive]
 * developmental delay
 * organ dysfunction
 * facial abnormalities, including smaller eye openings, flattened cheekbones, and indistinct philtrum (an underdeveloped groove between the nose and the upper lip)
 * epilepsy
 * poor coordination/fine motor skills
 * poor socialization skills, such as difficulty building and maintaining friendships and relating to groups
 * lack of imagination or curiosity
 * learning difficulties, including poor memory, inability to understand concepts such as time and money, poor language comprehension, poor problem-solving skills
 * behavioral problems, including hyperactivity, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, stubbornness, impulsiveness, and anxiety

Children with FAE display the same symptoms, but to a lesser degree.

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/fas.html