Preventing Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

FAS, or fetal alcohol syndrome, is the leading known preventable cause of birth defects. When a woman drinks alcohol during pregnancy her baby can be born with mental and physical deficiencies. Unfortunately many women still put their unborn children at risk. Drinking any type of liquor, especially in the first trimester, can cause the baby to develop improperly.

Symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome in babies include a low birth weight, organ dysfunction, underdeveloped body parts, epilepsy, facial abnormalities and developmental delays. Problems that are associated with FAS may increase as the child gets older. This can be especially apparent in social functioning. Children who are born with this syndrome commonly have trouble socializing with peers; they develop slowly, and often have troubles with the law. Some children are also born with FAE or fetal alcohol effects. Kids with FAE are almost always undiagnosed because they generally do not display physical abnormalities as children with FAS do. Often when children have FAE the symptoms can be as simple as stubbornness or a refusal to co operate with their parents or peers.

It is unclear how much alcohol needs to be ingested in order to affect an unborn child, but soon to be mothers should avoid alcohol at all costs. Each woman processes alcohol differently and whereas one may be able to have a few drinks occasionally and it have no affect on her child, another could have the same amount of alcohol and it may harm her baby. Other factors which come into play are how much food the expectant mother has had before drinking alcohol as well as the timing and regularity of alcohol consumption.

It is extremely important for a woman who is thinking of becoming pregnant to develop healthy lifestyle patterns before becoming pregnant. FAS and FAE can be prevented by not drinking any alcohol during pregnancy. While pregnant, there are also multivitamins women can take to ensure optimum health.