Parents might learn different routines and rules that can help their child adapt to different situations. Often, having a stable and supportive home can help children with FAS avoid developing mental and emotional difficulties as they get older. It’s also recommended that you avoid beverages containing alcohol when you’re trying to become pregnant. Many people don’t know they’re pregnant for the first few weeks of pregnancy (four to six weeks). This is because it takes time for your body to build up enough hCG (human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone that develops in early pregnancy) to be detected on a pregnancy test. During those early weeks of pregnancy, the fetus is going through a massive surge of development.
Related Health Topics
- The baby doesn’t metabolize (break down) alcohol in the same way an adult does – it stays in the body for a longer period of time.
- Alcohol use during pregnancy can interfere with the baby’s development, causing physical and mental defects.
- You may also find it helpful to contact a support group for people with FASD.
However, even low to moderate amounts of alcohol can have adverse effects on the developing fetus’s brain and organs. Thus, the best advice is to avoid prenatal alcohol exposure. FASD can cause a wide range of symptoms and often presents differently based on a multitude of factors. Effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with lifelong implications. One of the most serious problems FASD can cause is developmental delay. FASD is the leading cause of preventable developmental delays in the United States.
- Over time, a number of secondary effects can happen in people with FAS, particularly in those who aren’t treated for the condition in childhood.
- The term fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, or FASDs, describes a broad group of conditions that result from prenatal alcohol exposure.
- There are concerns about long-term, repeated exposures of infants to alcohol via breast milk, so moderation is advised.
- Children born with this syndrome experience the symptoms throughout their entire lives.
- If you’ve consumed alcohol during pregnancy, talk to your healthcare provider.
National Institutes of Health
Drinking alcohol at any time during pregnancy can harm your baby. If you drink any amount of alcohol during pregnancy, your baby may be born with FASDs. FASDs may cause problems for your baby at birth and later in life. Up to 1 in 20 children (about 5 percent) in the United States may have FASDs. These include medicines to help with some symptoms, medical care for health problems, behavior and education therapy, and parent training. It should include close monitoring, follow-ups, and changes when needed.
Is there a cure for FASDs?
Babies born to people who drink during pregnancy may have serious lifelong health problems, including FASDs. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a collection of growth, mental, and physical problems that may occur in a baby when a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. There is no known safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy or when drunken baby syndrome trying to get pregnant. Alcohol can cause problems for a developing baby throughout pregnancy, including before a woman knows she’s pregnant.
Many types of available treatments include but are not limited to:
It is hard to predict which babies will be affected and how severely they will be affected from prenatal exposure to alcohol. Discuss your FASD concerns with your child’s health care provider and be sure to be honest about your alcohol usage. There is no blame or judgment, you just want to have your baby get the care they need. Babies with FASDs are more likely than other babies to have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- In the womb, a baby doesn’t have a fully developed liver that can process or break down alcohol, so it can easily get to and damage the baby’s organs.
- As the woman may not become aware that she has conceived until several weeks into the pregnancy, it is also recommended to abstain while attempting to become pregnant.
- “Binge drinking” (having 4 or more drinks at a time) is especially dangerous for your baby.
- Frequent consumption of alcohol may also reduce milk production.
- Remember, the effects of alcohol can make a mark during the first few weeks of a pregnancy.
Conditions
There are a multitude of reasons why it can be difficult to receive a diagnosis for an FASD. There is a lack of sufficient diagnostic capacity in most areas. Drug rehabilitation Stigma is another barrier to diagnosis, as well as healthcare access. FASDs may have similar symptoms to other disorders and are often misdiagnosed. Binge drinking is more harmful than drinking small amounts of alcohol. Alcohol use in pregnancy has significant effects on the fetus and the baby.
Risk factors
- Executive function training may improve skills such as self-control, reasoning, and understanding cause and effect.
- If you drink alcohol during pregnancy you risk causing harm to your baby.
- Many drugs can pass from the mother’s blood stream through the placenta to the fetus.
- In general, babies born to expectant parents who stop drinking do better than babies of those who continue to drink alcohol.
The type of FASD symptoms a baby has and how severe they are is different depending on how often, and how much, the mother drank during pregnancy. The greater the amount of alcohol consumed, the more severe the symptoms tend to be. Counseling can help women who have already had a child with FAS. Infants and children with FAS have many different problems, which can be difficult to manage. Children do best if they are diagnosed early and referred to a team of providers who can work on educational and behavioral strategies that fit the child’s needs. Parents and siblings might also need help in dealing with the challenges this condition can cause.