What Is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

Fetal alcohol syndrome, or fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, is a spectrum of disorders that can occur in a baby that is exposed to alcohol before birth. These effects can include physical, cognitive, and behavioral problems. Often, an individual with FAS has a mixture of these problems. Fetal alcohol syndrome is a spectrum disorder, meaning individuals are affected with a large range of severity, on a spectrum, depending on their exposure to alcohol before birth. The Special Olympics Arizona team is breaking down fetal alcohol syndrome: what it is, how it affects children, signs, symptoms, causes, and what to expect if your child has fetal alcohol syndrome.

What Is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)?

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a condition that results from exposure to alcohol in the womb throughout prenatal development. Fetal alcohol syndrome can cause brain damage and growth problems, but they vary between individuals.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of FASDs?

The signs and symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome can vary greatly among babies and children; one individual may have only a few mild symptoms while another individual may have all of the symptoms severely affecting them. Fetal alcohol syndrome can include mental and physical challenges – both of which may affect them and change over time. An individual with fetal alcohol syndrome may have noticeable changes to their face and limbs and delays in the way their body develops as they grow. Individuals may also experience emotional and mental difficulties over time that can affect the way they learn, socialize, and work.

Physical Defects

Infants with fetal alcohol syndrome may experience physical defects that are very noticeable or more mild. These symptoms may include:

Abnormal facial features, including a smooth ridge between the nose and upper lip, a thin upper lip and small eyes
A low body weight
Short height
Small head size
Vision or hearing problems
Problems with heart, kidney or bones
Difficulty sucking as an infant

Neurological Problems

Children with fetal alcohol syndrome may develop neurological problems that are noticeable over time, including:

Learning problems, including delayed speech and language development, difficulty concentrating and a short attention span, and hyperactivity
Coordination and balance problems
Difficulty reasoning, and difficulty telling the difference between reality and fantasy
Poor short term memory
Poor judgment skills
Low intelligence quotient
Rapidly changing moods

Social and Behavioral Issues

Children with fetal alcohol syndrome may have trouble communicating with or relating to their peers and could display signs of social and behavioral issues, including:

Difficulty in school, due to severe intellectual disability and delayed cognitive development
Trouble getting along with others
Problems staying on task and focusing
Poor social skills and delayed communication skills
Difficulty planning ahead and working towards a goal
Trouble adapting to change and difficulty switching from one task to another
Poor concept of time

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Causes

Fetal alcohol syndrome is caused by a pregnant mother consuming alcohol, which is then spread to the fetus through the umbilical cord. A fetus is unable to metabolize alcohol like an adult can, and it stays in the system longer than is safe. Alcohol can interfere with the normal development of a fetus, particularly the brain and nervous systems, resulting in abnormal physical development when alcohol kills cells in various parts of the fetus and interference in the way nerves develop in the fetus, how they travel among the body, and how they communicate. Alcohol can constrict the blood vessels, slowing blood flow to the placenta and limiting the oxygen and nutrients that can reach the fetus. Toxic byproducts are produced when the body processes alcohol, which can affect the babyâ€™s brain cells and cause damage. A baby in utero exposed to alcohol can experience a number of detrimental developmental effects, all of which are preventable by a pregnant mother avoiding alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

How Much Alcohol Causes Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

Any amount of alcohol consumed during pregnancy can cause fetal alcohol syndrome. There is no safe amount of alcohol that can be consumed while pregnant without posing risks to the baby. It is recommended to avoid alcohol while trying to get pregnant, since many mothers do not know they are pregnant for 4-6 weeks, and drinking alcohol during this time can cause risks to the developmental surge the fetus experiences in early pregnancy. All alcohol, including beer, wine, liquors, and ciders, can cause fetal alcohol syndrome.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Treatment

Fetal alcohol syndrome is not curable, and the symptoms will affect your child throughout their life. However, early intervention and treatment may help your child have a better chance of developing on track with their peers and lessening their symptoms. Treatments include using medication to treat symptoms like attention and behavioral issues, undergoing behavioral and educational therapies to treat emotional issues and learning concerns, and learning as a parent how to intervene and help your child. Parental training is designed to help parents understand the best ways to help their child deal with the symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome and includes teaching parents different routines and rules that may help their child adapt to different situations. A stable home will help children with fetal alcohol syndrome cope with the emotional, physical, and behavioral difficulties they will face in the future.

Some factors that reduce the negative impacts fetal alcohol syndrome has on a child are a diagnosis and intervention before the age of 6, a loving and supportive stable home environment throughout the school years, the absence of violence in the childâ€™s life, and the use of special education and social services. Special education and social services provide intervention services and therapies that can help children thrive no matter the severity of their symptoms.

How Common Is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

There is no exact count of babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome, and it can be hard to get a number due to the range in severity of symptoms. It can also be hard to diagnose since not all individuals who consumed alcohol while pregnant will feel comfortable disclosing this information to their healthcare provider. This means many individuals with mild symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome may never be diagnosed. Using the limited information available, the CDC can estimate that less than 2 in every 1,000 babies born in the United States will have fetal alcohol syndrome. Looking at the larger range of spectrum disorders associated with fetal alcohol syndrome, some researchers estimate that the number will be higher, around 1 to 5 in every 100 births in the U.S. and Europe.

Does Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Go Away?

Fetal alcohol syndrome will never go away. The symptoms and difficulties a child faces with fetal alcohol syndrome will last throughout their adulthood, and overtime, secondary effects may begin to affect individuals with fetal alcohol syndrome, especially those who were not treated as children. These secondary effects are not technically symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome, but are referred to as secondary because they happen as a result of having and not being treated for fetal alcohol syndrome. Possible secondary effects include: experiencing mental health problems; getting into trouble at school or with the law; spending time in a mental health facility, substance abuse treatment facility, or jail; acting out in sexually inappropriate ways; having difficulty living alone; and experiencing difficulty holding a job or unemployment. Receiving a diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible will help minimize the secondary effects of fetal alcohol syndrome in children as they grow up and reach adulthood.