Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

FAS Pre-Quiz

An Ounce of Prevention 2000, 2005 The Curators of the University of Missouri

An Ounce of Prevention 2000, 2005 The Curators of the University of Missouri

Blood Alcohol Content After One Drink

Alcohol Facts

• Binge drinking: five or more alcoholic beverages in a row in a single occasion

• Women achieve higher peak of blood alcohol concentration than men who consume the same amount.

Alcohol Use During Pregnancy

• Alcohol passes to the fetus through the placenta and into the fetus’s blood stream.

• Most likely to cause physical birth defect in the developing body organs and structures during the first trimester

Alcohol Use After Pregnancy

• Alcohol appears in breast milk at the same concentration than in the mother’s blood stream.

• Depending on amount of alcohol use this could cause the mother to neglect the child

Criteria for FAS Diagnosis(All Four Must be Present):

1. Growth problems occur:-in the developing fetus-during infancy and childhood

2. Characteristic facial features:small eye opening, short upturned nose, small lower jaw, small head circumference, thin upper lip, epicanthal folds, smooth philtrum

An Ounce of Prevention 2000, 2005 The Curators of the University of Missouri

Criteria for FAS Continued

3. Central Nervous System abnormalities,mental retardation, learning disabilities, hyperactivity, decreased attention span, poor gross motor coordination, developmental delays.

4. The mother drank alcohol throughout pregnancy.

FAS Affects on Child’s Mental Development

• Intellectual Disability: IQ of less than 70, damage of the brain

• FAS is responsible for 20% of all cases of mental retardation in the United States

The Brain Differences of a Baby with FAS

The brain of a six week old FAS baby.

The brain of a six week old healthy developing baby.

An Ounce of Prevention 2000, 2005 The Curators of the University of Missouri

Characteristics of FAS

*name for the separation between the upper and lower eyelids

*the vertical groove in the upper lip

*Small Jaw

*is a skin fold of the upper eyelid covering the inner corner

*Flattening of the top part of the nose

A Two-Year Old Girl with FAS

Philtrums and Thin Upper Lips

References

• Bell, Brenda, Chou, Carrie, and Williamson-Kruse, Lori. “Fetal Alcohol Syndrome – There is No

Excuse”. An Ounce of Prevention: Addressing Birth Defects Related to Folic Acid, Alcohol and Tobacco. University of Missouri Extension 2005. Pages 75-106.