What is it about ?
When a pregnant woman drinks large amounts of alcohol during pregnancy (more than 10 standard drinks (units) per week or more than 5 units at a time), it has a particularly detrimental effect on the development of her child. Alcohol easily crosses the placenta. The fetus processes (metabolizes) alcohol much more slowly. As a result, alcohol stays in the fetal body much longer. Which can cause different troubles.
The term “fetal alcohol spectrum disorder” is an umbrella word for all the abnormalities that occur in a child as a result of the mother’s drinking during pregnancy. There are four clinical pictures:
- Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS): facial abnormalities + insufficient growth + permanent damage to the central nervous system;
- Partial fetal alcohol syndrome (pFAS): facial abnormalities + insufficient growth or neurological abnormalities;
- Alcohol-related neurobehavioural disorder (TNC): marked neurological abnormalities, but no facial abnormalities;
- Alcohol-related birth defects (ACLA) are limited to external deformities.
What is their frequency?
In industrialized countries, the number of new cases of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder is about 1 to 5%. It is the number one cause of mental retardation in the western world. Twenty (20) to 30% of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders can be classified as FAS or pFAS. The TNC is the most common of the four arrays.
How to recognize them?
Typical external characteristics are not always present. Sometimes the diagnosis is not made until adolescence or adulthood, due to social, behavioral or emotional problems. The anomalies observed may be physical, but they can also manifest themselves at the level of knowledge and behavior.
Physical abnormalities
- Malformation of the heart, kidneys, central nervous system, skeleton and eyes. Poor functioning of the central nervous system can result in sleep or eating problems, slowed motor development and reduced intellectual capacities or even mental retardation;
- Visible birth defects are a thin upper lip, short slit of the eyes, squinting eyes (squint), short, flattened nose, abnormal folds in the palms of the hands, abnormalities in the earlobes and poorly developed pinnae, sometimes associated hearing loss;
- Growth retardation: head too small, poor weight and size gain, lack of catching up in growth;
- Skeletal abnormalities: clubfoot, deformity (scoliosis) of the spine, limited mobility of the forearms, abnormal number of fingers and / or toes;
- Abnormalities of the senses: abnormalities of the eyes and hearing impairment.
Knowledge anomalies
- Delay in language development;
- Learning disabilities, especially in mathematics and complex reasoning;
- Problems in planning and executing tasks, and problems switching from one task to another;
- Disturbances in attention;
- Memory problems.
Behavior abnormalities
- Difficulties in understanding and respecting social rules;
- Behavior associated with the inability to understand laws and standards: for example, participation in illegal activities or inappropriate behavior at school or at work;
- Difficulty understanding the cause and effect relationship.
All of these anomalies can lead to poor academic performance, discontinuation of studies, a chaotic professional career (made up of dismissals and / or resignations), abuse of medicines and drugs, participation in illegal activities, etc.
How is the diagnosis made?
The doctor can be informed about the excessive consumption of alcohol, by the mother herself or by a reliable source of her close entourage. An ultrasound examination performed during pregnancy can clearly reveal growth retardation, which is mainly associated with cases of FAS and pFAS.
If the child’s physical characteristics are less telling, the doctor can use a specific questionnaire. This questionnaire assesses the social, behavioral and emotional characteristics of the child.
What can you do ?
There is not a completely safe amount of alcohol during pregnancy, including the first few weeks when you don’t know you are pregnant. So it is best to avoid all alcohol consumption when trying to get pregnant or when you are pregnant. If you have a drinking problem, don’t just sit back and do nothing. Discuss this with your doctor. Eventually contact Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and try to cut back on your drinking in order to quit drinking.
It is important that children with this type of disorder receive adequate care and follow-up. The environment and education are crucial for normal growth and development. These children need a safe home. Contact the social services of your municipality or city for help and advice. In addition, active support for the child is often necessary, in particular from school age. So talk about it at school and discuss important things for your child to do. A coach can certainly be of great support for your child. In the case of extremely difficult children, it may be useful to temporarily remove them from their usual environment and admit them to a care facility.
What can your doctor do?
The anomalies are permanent. The diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder are multidisciplinary. This means that there must be good cooperation between doctors, psychologists, educators, social services and care establishments. The support of a favorable environment is essential to improve the prognosis.
Want to know more?
Are you looking for more specialized help?
- Alcohol aid – Le Pélican & Le center ALFA
- AA – Alcoholics Anonymous
- Mental Health Services – The Social Guide
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