Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

• Carolyn Washburn, MS
• Family Consumer Science Agent

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What is Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is a pattern of
  malformations and disabilities resulting from a
  pregnant woman drinking heavily during her
  pregnancy.
• FAS will not occur if the father was drinking
  heavily or if the pregnant woman was drinking a
  very small amount of alcohol on rare occasions.
• Heavy drinking on a consistent basis or binge
  drinking on an occasional basis can produce FAS.

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1 Cause of Mental Retardation

• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is currently the leading
  cause of mental retardation in the United States.
  

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Fetal Alcohol Effects

• Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) is a condition where
  children are born with less dramatic physical
  defects, but with many of the same behavioral and
  psychosocial characteristics as those with FAS.
• FAE is often thought of as lower on a
  continuum than FAS, but this is not correct. Many
  individuals with FAE, while looking quite normal,
  have significant deficits in their intellectual,
  behavioral, and social abilities which prevent
  them from leading normal lives.

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• Alcohol in a pregnant woman's bloodstream
  circulates to the fetus by crossing the placenta.
  There, the alcohol interferes with the ability of
  the fetus to receive sufficient oxygen and
  nourishment for normal cell development in the
  brain and other body organs.

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Costs of FASD

• On an average, each Fetal Alcohol individual will
  cost the taxpayer more than 3 million in his or
  her lifetime. This includes health, special
  education, psychotherapy, counseling, welfare,
  crime and the justice system.
• More than 60 of prisoners are likely affected by
  alcohol in utero.
• Add on cost to families (foster, adoptive,
  natural).
• Lifetime costs to the individual.

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Baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

• Whose baby is this? Baby
  with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
• IS EVERYBODYS Baby!
• This is Everybodys Baby!
  
• Medical costs 1,496,000 Special
  Education 240,000
• Psychiatric care 530,000 Orthodontia
  12,000
• Foster care costs 354,000 SSI 360,000
• Respite care 6,000
  Residential placement 376,000
• Supported employment 624,000
• Total 4,998,000
• Lifetime costs for one child 5 million
• Who pays for the effects of prenatal exposure to
  alcohol? Everybody does!
• Figures do not include lost salary of mother
  and subsequent impact on the local economy.

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Physical Characteristics
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Brain Development
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FAE individuals between 12-51

• 95 will have mental health problems.
• 60 will have disrupted school experience.
• 60 will experience trouble with the law.
• 55 will be confined in prison/or treatment
  center.
• 52 will exhibit inappropriate sexual behavior.

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FAE individuals between 21-51

• More than 50 of males and 70 of females will
  have drug and alcohol problems.
• 82 will not be able to live independently.
• 70 will have problems with employment.

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What YOU Need to Know

• When a pregnant woman drinks, so does her baby.
• The baby's growth can be altered and slowed.
• The baby may suffer lifelong damage.

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What mom drinks, baby drinks.

• The alcohol that the pregnant woman drinks goes
  directly to the developing baby at the same level
  of concentration. If mom's blood alcohol level is
  0.2, so is the baby's. However, mom is much, much
  larger. Her mature liver acts to detoxify the
  alcohol. On the other hand, the fetus is
  incredibly smaller. Its liver is not yet mature.
  Therefore, while mom might stay drunk for several
  hours, the developing fetus can stay drunk for
  three to four days. It is because of this
  phenomena that binge drinking, consuming two or
  more drinks per hour, has been found to be more
  detrimental to the developing infant than low
  level, chronic drinking. The fetal blood alcohol
  level becomes very high and stays that way for a
  long period of time.

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Remember these things

• No amount of alcohol is safe in pregnancy.
• If you usually drink, quit if you are trying to
  get pregnant or if you think you're pregnant.
• If you can't quit drinking by yourself, get help
  quickly.

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Even Small Amounts

• -----of alcohol can be harmful. Because no amount
  of alcohol can be considered safe, pregnant women
  should avoid all alcohol during the entire
  pregnancy. (Drinks with alcohol in them include
  beer, wine, hard liquor and wine coolers.)

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Binge Drinking

• Having 5 or more drinks at a time is particularly
  dangerous for your baby, because it makes the
  level of alcohol in your blood very high very
  quickly. So, even if you don't drink every day,
  you may put your baby at risk for fetal alcohol
  syndrome.

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Results of Consumption

• Forty-four percent of women who drink heavily
  during pregnancy will have a child with Fetal
  Alcohol Syndrome.
• Of the other 56, some will have Fetal Alcohol
  Effects, be Fetal Alcohol exposed, to minor
  learning and behavioral difficulties. A few will
  be apparently normal.

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Are young people drinking?

• In 2003, 44.9 of 9th through 12th graders
  reported drinking alcohol on one or more of the
  past 30 days prevalence of current drinking was
  higher for females (45.8) than among males
  (43.8)
• In 2003, 28.3 of 9th through 12th graders
  reported binge drinking (having five or more
  drinks of alcohol in a row or within a couple of
  hours) at least once during the past 30 days. The
  prevalence of binge drinking was higher for males
  (29) than among females (27.5)
• Center for Disease Control, YRBS, 2003

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• 36.5 of girls 13-17 report some alcohol drinking
  in The United States.
• Binge drinking has become an accepted norm for
  young people.

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Despite warnings, frequent
drinking among pregnant women appears to be
increasing.
Frequent drinking is defined as 7 or
more drinks per week or 5 or more drinks on
at least one occasion.
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What are our youth drinking?
Spykes, made by Anheuser-Busch, is a malt
beverage with 12 percent alcohol content about
the same as wine. It comes in mango, lime, melon
and chocolate flavors and is infused with
caffeine as well as the herbs ginseng and
guarana. Sold in 2-ounce bottles that go for 75
cents to a dollar apiece, Spykes gives kick
to your beer, flavor to your drink, and is a
perfect shot, according to the promotional Web
site. This was taken off the market May 2007.
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Statistics

• How common is fetal alcohol syndrome?
• In the United States, about 1,200 children are
  born each year with fetal alcohol syndrome. It is
  the leading cause of mental retardation in this
  country.

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Study

• The incidence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) has
  been estimated at 1 to 3 per 1000 live births.
  Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) (which
  include FAS) are estimated to occur in about 1 in
  100 births. Cessation of drinking during
  pregnancy can improve the outcome even if the
  unborn child is already affected. For individuals
  born with FASD, an early diagnosis appears to be
  a protective factor against secondary
  disabilities. A quick screening tool to identify
  newborn children at risk has been elusive.
• Alcoholism Clinical Experimental Research.
  25(2)283-287, February 2001.Barr, Helen M.
  Streissguth, Ann P.

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Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects
do not go away.

• Once the brain is damaged, it is permanent. Most
  of the damage that occurs in the brain is a
  result of the brain tissue not moving and growing
  where it should, resulting in areas of the brain
  which are not developed at all or are
  underdeveloped. Neuronal connections that should
  have been made are simply are not there. Since
  brain tissue does not regenerate, this damage to
  the brain is permanent, especially if the tissue
  did not form initially. It doesn't ever get
  better.

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Physical, cognitive, and social deficits
associated with FAS

• Low birth weight
• Failure to thrive (eat and grow well)
• An exaggerated startle response
• Poor wake and sleep patterns
• Hyperactivity, distractibility and attention
  deficits
• Lying and stealing are common behaviors
• Impulsiveness
• Temper tantrums
• Poor social skills
• Poor abstracting abilities

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Children with alcohol-related birth defects
typically have

• attention deficits
• language difficulties
• learning disabilities
• impulsive behavior
• poor judgment

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Alcohol can cause permanent damage to a baby
before most women realize they are pregnant.
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Where Are These Children?

• Foster and Adoptive Care
• -80 of these children do not stay in their
  birth homes.
• Your Schools and Neighborhoods
• Todays Adults

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The Good News.
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The good news is that FAS is 100
preventable.

• Education and awareness by everyone at all levels
  is necessary. Individuals in their child-bearing
  years, both men and women, need to know the grave
  harm that can be caused to an unborn child by
  drinking during pregnancy. Our children
  world-wide need to know so they will not make
  these irreversible decisions.

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From Fantastic Antone Succeeds

• FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME/EFFECTS
• "The alcohol-affected child is like a garden.
  Some seeds need to be planted year after year,
  like the carrots and the radishes. The seeds the
  birds carry away have to be replaced almost
  immediately. But there are bulbs that grow in the
  garden and every year they come up almost without
  tending. It can be too easy to see what failed to
  come up this year and step on the crocuses close
  to the ground. The important thing is to be
  thankful that there is a garden. It is not a
  wasteland."

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• "The births of all things are weak and tender,
  and therefore, our eyes should be intent on
  beginnings. -Michel Eyquem Montaigne

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Everyone Suffers the Effects

• Children born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)
  or Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) have an impact on
  all members of society.
• Not only does the individual effected face a
  lifetime of pain, frustration and disappointment,
  the impact on all levels society cannot be
  ignored.

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Remember-It is Preventable!
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How much is too much???
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Is there a safer alcohol drink?

• NO!
• They all contain approximate amounts of
  alcohol.
• Hard Liquor Beer Wine

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From the Office of the Surgeon General

• Based on the current, best science available we
  now know the following
• Alcohol consumed during pregnancy increases the
  risk of alcohol related birth defects, including
  growth deficiencies, facial abnormalities,
  central nervous system impairment, behavioral
  disorders, and impaired intellectual development.
  
• No amount of alcohol consumption can be
  considered safe during pregnancy.
• Alcohol can damage a fetus at any stage of
  pregnancy. Damage can occur in the earliest weeks
  of pregnancy, even before a woman knows that she
  is pregnant.
• The cognitive deficits and behavioral problems
  resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure are
  lifelong.
• Alcohol-related birth defects are completely
  preventable.

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For these reasons

• A pregnant woman should not drink alcohol during
  pregnancy.
• A pregnant woman who has already consumed alcohol
  during her pregnancy should stop in order to
  minimize further risk.
• A woman who is considering becoming pregnant
  should abstain from alcohol.
• Recognizing that nearly half of all births in the
  United States are unplanned, women of
  child-bearing age should consult their physician
  and take steps to reduce the possibility of
  prenatal alcohol exposure.
• Health professionals should inquire routinely
  about alcohol consumption by women of
  childbearing age, inform them of the risks of
  alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and advise
  them not to drink alcoholic beverages during
  pregnancy.

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The problems that school face?

• The primary challenge schools face is
• that FAS/FAE students are disruptive,
• unpredictable and have uninterruptible
• behavior.
• They need to be taught what other students
• may just assimilate. They require repetitive
• instruction, less distractions, specialized
• techniques, and additional encouragement.
• They require understanding and support.

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Special Needs

• FAS children will have special needs and
  behavioral challenges
• Hyperactivity
• Problem processing

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What Can You Do?

• Education
• Information, Posters, Signs
• Start talking before they start drinking
• Understanding
• Patience, Reinforcements

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• Early diagnosis can help prevent secondary
  disabilities such as mental health problems,
  dropping out of school, trouble with the law and
  substance abuse.
• After diagnosis, parents and teachers often find
  that their ability to cope with the child's
  behavior changes dramatically when they
  understand that the problems are most likely
  based on organic brain damage, rather than the
  child's choice to be inattentive or
  uncooperative.

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What helps the FAS child?

• Early diagnosis.
• Loving, stable structured family with knowledge
  of diagnosis.
• Tools to develop to the best of their abilities
  and the support needed.
• Understanding school and community.

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What Youth Can Do

• Teen Councils
• Light a Little Star (March of Dimes)
• Booths, face painting, free information
• Posters
• Put where alcohol is sold
• and in public restrooms
• Poster Contests
• State Legislation
• They can make a difference!

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A Childs Story

• John Kellerman

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Media
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Cultural Differences
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Would you?
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Mothering begins before birth!
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Resources

• Minnesota Department for Mental Health
• Center for Disease Control and Prevention
• Office of the Surgeon General
• FASD Center
• The ARC of the United States
• http//www.ninezero.org/info/
• National Organization for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
  http//www.nofas.org/resource/factsheet.aspx
• www.samhas.gov

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