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FETAL ( FOETAL) ALCOHOL SYNDROME
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE TO PARENTS-TO-BE, ESPECIALLY
MOTHERS
If you are planning a pregnancy or are already pregnant, you will want to give your baby the best possible start to life. You will be aware that drugs you take could harm your baby, and so will be careful to take only medication prescribed by your doctor. However, one drug that you may not have considered is - ALCOHOL.
IMPORTANT FACTS :- Alcohol drunk by a mother crosses the placenta and enters the bloodstream of her baby. If the mother is drunk, so is the baby !
As the foetal liver is not mature until the latter half of pregnancy, most of the alcohol that reaches the foetus is retained there until the mother's liver has eliminated her alcohol. It then passes back to her bloodstream for elimination.
Alcohol is a poison as well as an addictive drug, so alcohol in the foetus has a toxic effect on developing cells and organs, especially the brain where it kills cells.
The greatest damage occurs during the first three months when major morphological (structural) abnormalities occur.
From the fourth to the sixth month, alcohol continues to affect the central nervous system and increases the risk of miscarriage.
In the last three months, alcohol contributes to dulled mental abnormalities and decreased growth.
The damage to a developing foetus resulting from the mother's alcohol intake is known as "Foetal Alcohol Syndrome " (FAS) or, where symptoms are less severe, as "Foetal alcohol Effects"(FAE). A baby suffering from complete or partial FAS, will show some of these features :-
(1) Prenatal and Postnatal growth retardation
(2) Evidence of central nervous system damage, including (a) Mental Retardation, (b) Poor sucking and swallowing reflexes, apathy, eating problems (c) Poor muscle tone and motor coordination and (d) Irritability.
(3) Craniofacial abnormalities including (a) Microcephaly or small head, (b) Flattened groove between the upper lip and nose, (c) Small, upturned nose, (d) Broad, low, nasal bridge, (e) Small, slant-like eyes set wide apart with heavily-folded eyelids, (f) Small jaw, (g) Cleft palate, (h) Protruding, often imperfect ears, (i) Eye problems, (j) Thicker than normal facial hair.
(4) Skeletal abnormalities, including (a) Painful immobility of elbows and knees, (b) Small or abnormal fingernails and toenails, (c) Abnormal creases on the hands.
(5) Defects in major organs, such as the Heart, Liver, Kidneys and Genitals
Foetal Alcohol Syndrome is now the leading cause of mental retardation in the Western world and is a preventable tragedy. Although there are changes in some features of the syndrome with time, most affected children can still be identified as suffering from FAS in late childhood and adolescence, and there is no significant improvement in intelligence with time.
BABIES AT RISK :- The incidence of FAS is estimated at 1 - 2 per 1000 live births, whereas the less-serious diagnosis of FAE is estimated to occur in 3 - 5 per 1000 live births. Dr Ann Streissguth, a leading authority on FAS in the U.S., believes that about one child per 100 has subtle learning and behavioural problems related to the mother's alcohol consumption during, pregnancy.
NO "SAFE" DOSE OF ALCOHOL consumption during pregnancy has been established . For this reason, the U.S. Surgeon-General and the British Royal College of Psychiatrists have adopted a play-it-safe policy and the uncompromising advice -
TOTAL ABSTINENCE FROM ALCOHOL DURING PREGNANCY
Studies in Britain and the U.S.A. show that the babies most at risk are those whose mothers take more than 5 to 6 drinks a day
Heavy drinkers (10 drinks per week) were more than twice as likely as light drinkers (5 drinks per week) to have a low birth-weight baby.
Even the "binge" (5 or more drinks at one time) during the most critical period, the early weeks after conception, and before you may be aware that you are pregnant , can cause your baby to suffer some FAS symptoms.
NOW IT'S OVER TO YOU
For your baby's good health, and your own, why not decide to give up alcohol during your pregnancy - and perhaps for good ?
FINALLY, A WORD TO FATHERS :- You also have an important role to play in ensuring that your child is healthy .There are two points to consider -
(1) According to Australian expert in alcohol-related brain damage, Dr. Jean Lennane, alcohol drunk BY THE FATHER up to three months before conception may also lead to birth abnormalities.
(2) When your wife decides to avoid alcoholic liquor, it is important that you respect her decision and give her your support.
BIBLIOGRAPHY :- MEDICAL JOURNALS - Canadian Journal of Public Health (July-Aug.1994); Canadian Medical Association Journal (July 15, 1981 - 2 articles); Lancet, June 9, 1973; Lancet, March 26, 1983; Lancet, April 10, 1993; Medical Journal of Australia, Oct. 17, 1994; Obstetrics and Gynaecology (NY), May 1983. - BOOKS :- Hafen, BQ & Frandsen, KJ - "Fetal Alcohol Syndrome", Hazelden Foundation, USA,, 1980. - LECTURES delivered in Melbourne, May 1995, by Ann Streissguth, PhD, USA, world authority and leading researcher on FAS and FAE. Dr Jean Lennane, MB, ChB, FRACP, DPM, Sydney.
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AUSTRALIA
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