THE DANGEROUS EFFECTS OF FETAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE

FACTS:

• To this day, there is no known "safe" amount of alcohol for an expecting woman to consume, which is why doctors and nutritionists say not to have any
• No one can explain why one fetus w/ exposure to alcohol during pregnancy can be born w/ no disabilities when another w/ similar exposure can be born w/ fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
• When drinking while pregnant the alcohol you consume rapidly reaches the baby's placenta and passes through to the fetus.
• The fetus consuming the alcohol can not break it down as fast as the mature mother and can end up w/ a higher level of blood alcohol

FACTS CONTINUED...

• The fetus can also have longer lasting effects from the alcohol because of their bodies not being able to break it down at the rate the consuming mother
• Drinking while pregnant is also a high cause or factor of having a miscarriages and stillbirths
• Drinking can also cause the baby to be born w/ certain features that differ from a non alcoholic pregnancy such as being underweight and the circumference of they're head being smaller than the normal size

FACTS CONTINUED...

• Other things you risk your child having when drinking during pregnancy are learning disabilities, difficulty w/ speech, attention span, language, and hyperactivity that can come w/ having fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
• Fetal alcohol syndrome, or FAS is often mistaken by professionals w/ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD because the symptoms can be very similar but the treatments often used for ADHD can't treat people w/ FAS

FACTS CONTINUED...

• Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, also known as FASD is the term used to describe the various side effects that come w/ exposure to alcohol before birth.
• One of the worst outcomes of fetal alcohol exposure is FAS which is a lifelong condition that causes abnormal facial features, heart defects, damage to the central nervous system, poor growth pertaining to development in the womb, growth after birth, or a combination of both
• It can also cause defects in the heart ad spine, as well as intellectual disability, delays in physical development, behavioral problems, and being impaired visually and in hearing

FACTS CONTINUED...

• Babies have a much higher probability for still birth and miscarriages when the mother is a heavy drinker and drinks a large amount of alcohol during the fist trimester of pregnancy
• A mother w/ low alcohol consumption could give birth to a a baby w/ FAS while another that is a heavy drinker could give birth to a healthy baby because of things like genetics
• Genetics are another strong contributor to the outcome of their baby

STATISTICS

• Approximately 1 in every 750 infants in the U.S. Have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) every year
• In the U.S., 40,000 infants are. born w/ Fetal Alcohol effects (FAE) every year
• 10% of all women in the U.S. Expose their babies to alcohol during pregnancy

STATISTICS CONTINUED...

• 1 in every 50 women who live in the U.S. Binge drink during pregnancy
• Binge drinking is dangerous to the fetus because all of that excess alcohol being consumed in that short period of time is hard for the baby to break down

THIS IS THE BRAIN OF A 6 WEEK OLD W/ NO EXPOSURE TO ALCOHOL AND A 5 WEEK OLD EXPOSED TO ALCOHOL

THESE ARE SOME OF THE FACIAL FEATURES DEVELOPED BY KIDS AND BABIES W/ FAS

SOURCES cITED:

• http://www.babycenter.com/0_drinking-alcohol-during-pregnancy_3542.bc
• https://prezi.com/m/1g44655qk681/drinking-alcohol-during-pregnancy/
• http://www.livescience.com/35057-occasional-alcohol-drink-during-pregnancy-...